DEMOBILISATION

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12688, 9 July 1919, Page 3

DEMOBILISATION

HOMECOMING OF DOMINION MEN. An officer of tlie New Zealand Forces in the Mother Country in. a letter to his relatives in Christchurch gives some interesting information regarding the method of returning the soldiers to the Dominion. He says;— As the New Zealand Government had decided that the men were not to be sent home by units, but according to length of service, and by district .of residence, a tremendous reorganisation oi the camp had to take place- Sling was now to take all “ A ” class men—infantry, artillery, engineers, pioneers (Maoris), machine-gunners and veterinary corps, eto. So we reorganised the 4th New Zealand Brigade into “A” Group N.Z-E.E'-. comprising the Auckland detachment, Canterbury detachment, Otago detachment and ‘Wellington detachment. All the men in camp and all subsequent arrivals were posted to the district in which they live in Now Zealand. Districts are determined by the most convenient port for disembarkation.

it was a huge piece of work to effect all this changeover. New staffs had to he created, and each draft arriving from France had to be divided up by districts immediately it arrived in camp; 1000 men arrived frdtn France every week, necessitating the opening of new camps at Larkhill till that camp became as big ns Sling. Arrangements for embarkation have been made on these linos; —Rolls of men to embark have to be at the Record Office and Pay Office in London seven days before a boat sails. The Pay Office takes a photographic record or the pay account ledger of each officer and man on the ..roll. The Record Office sorts out all the records documents for each man. In camp every man of the draft has to go through an elaborate medical board and dental examination. .Tins' is largely with a.view to establish what pension a man may be entitled to, and

to see whether any are unfit to travel. In camp there is collected for every man on the roll his medical report, his previous medical history sheet, his dental chart, his clothing and equipment card, his conduct sheet, and his education record. In addition, each man must have his pay-book and demobilisation card on bis person, and hand these in at the gangway- This is all in addition to the pay and papers taken on board from the London offices; and it- may he guessed that it takes many Hours of checking to see that all these documents are complete for overv man on a long roll of, say, 1500. It generally occupies all nighttill the train goes. The rolls are prepared in. this order: —(1) Officers, (2) sergeants and warrant officers, who travel second class,

and (3) all below the rank of sergeant in strict alphabetical order. A separate foil is provided for each district, where men from more than one district are to embark on one ship. Usually there are two—North Island men or South Island men. Opposite each name is the man’s unit, demobilisation district, and the date ’on which he left Now Zealand. If any men are on the roll out of their proper order, the reason and authority for their inclusion is shown in the margin. For every frobpslnp, whether taking i! A ” class men from Sling, or unfit men from Codford. or Hornchurch, n. ship’s staff is appointed, i.e., adjutant, quartermaster, canteen officer, disembarkation forms officer, ser-geant-major, quartermaster - sergeant, orderly-room sergeant, clerks, etc. All these have to he specially selected on account of their qualifications and previous experience. In addition to this they attend a special school of instruction. where they are all given instruction in their ship’s duties. All the officers going on board al» get instructions regarding disembarkation and dispersal in New Zealand, ship’s sanitation, arrangements for pay on board and in New Zealand, recreational training on board, canteen methods, education courses, nensions and gratuities, Returned Soldiers’ Association and so on, so that they can pass on the information to the men- Every draft coming from France is given_ an hour and a half’s talk on these subjects.

For various such for example as sickness, a proportion of the selected men are at the last moment found not to be available. This is s. great nuisance, hut cannot, he avoided, so there is always a waiting list. The men on the waiting list are equipped, and their documents prepared, in exactly the same manner as the rest- If anyone drops out. another from the waiting list takes his place. The hoot rolls are divided into companies and platoons and sections of equal strength, each under its own officer or N. 0.0. As men are constantly coming over from Franco not exactly in order of service, the final draft, cau-

not be organised long ahead, and the officers and X.C.O.’s do not nave more than a week in which to get to know their men. _ This cannot bo avoided without sending the men home by units. But 1914 men in the unit selected to go Inst would naturally object to 1918

men in the unit selected to go first getting home months before them. There are practices of entrainment, detramment and embarkation. The men are entrained in. approximately alphabetical order, and detrain in the same order- Near the gangway the i oils aro called oy the platoon officers, when ca.cn man, strictly in order of the boat rolls, marches to the gangway, whore his name is checked and he ‘is given a card giving the number of his berth. Ho goes straight to his berth and puts away hie gear. In this way we embark the men as fast as thev can wnlkiip the gangway, and there is no possibility of any man getting on board whose name is not on the roll A tramload of 500 men is put on board m about fifteen minutes from the time' the tram arrives at the docks- The pay and records staffs in London take to the ship all documents for the men on the waiting list as well as for the men on the main roll. As soon as the men are all on board these documents are checked with the final embarkation roll ns cheoived nt the gangway, and those papers Pot required are * taken hack to London to wait for another ship.