CAN SIGN HIS NAME

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 178, 30 July 1942, Page 6

CAN SIGN HIS NAME

CAN'T READ OR WRITE

PETROL CHIEF'S ADMISSION

LONDON. A man whose job is to arrange the allocation of petrol—he was approved for the job by the Ministry of War Transport—stated during a police court case that he could not read or write.

. The Ministry are to begin an inquiry into the appointment at once. The man is William Shaw, group manager under the Petroleum Order, and he is a garage owner and haulage contractor at Hednesford, near Cannock, Staffordshire. He said that he could not read or write when giving evidence at Rugeley against Edward Mattison, Lichfield haulage contractor and former University student, who was said to have obtained thousands of gallons of petrol illegally. Forms recommending supplementary rations, apparently signed by Mr. Shaw, were said to be forgeries Mattison was fined £200, ordered to pay £23 15/ costs, and sent to prison for six months. The chairman commented that the Bench thought men of a higher educational standard should be appointed to a job such as that held by Mr. Shaw. " Seems Incredible " Mr. Shaw told a Daily Mail reporter that he was able to read a little and could write his own signature. "I had very little schooling," he said. "I pay a clerk out of my own pocket to help me with the forms, which I am able to sign after I have satisfied myself that they are all : n order."

A Ministry official said, "It seems incredible. You may rest assured that inquiries will be made at once. These group managers are nominated by their own trade for various areas and their names submitted to the Ministry for approval. Their job is to arrange for all petrol allocated for commercial vehicles in the area they represent. They are unpaid."

Sergeant Malcolm Vernon Cato, R.N.Z.A.F., eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. Anson Cato, of Te Kaha, Bay of Plenty, who has been reported killed in an aircraft accident. Twenty-five years old, he was a keen Maori linguist. He was educated at the Te Kaha School, where his father was native schoolmaster, and then at the Mount Albert Grammar School, which he represented at Rugby. He also belonged to the North Shore Rugby Club.