SOLDIERS' RECORDS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 4, Issue 124, 2 July 1941, Page 8

SOLDIERS' RECORDS

and the films used are kept on record for future inquiries if necessaiy. The campaign in Greece and Crete have contributed to the: jvorl: in Base Records. The large number of men missing naturally leads to inquiries being madev by relatives, and a branch has, been established to deal wilh such inquiries. TbK as in all other branches, calls, for rapid and accurate work, for the responsibilities of Base Records do not begin or end with the soldier alone. The present and future needs of ; hose depending on him are always kept in mind.

HOW THEY ARE KEPT PAY AND ALLOTMENT'S When a civilian becomes a soldier ho soon learns to depend on the Army to meet all his requirements and those of his dependants, but it is doubtful if either the soldier or those who receive his allotment realise that most comprehensive records have to be kept regarding his affairs. The place where this is done is at Base Records in Wellington. Base Records employs a large staff for the work, but they are* congregated in a quiet part of the city, doing a work that is ; , in part, of a confideritial nature, and consequently the public seldom, if ever, give them a thought. As soon as a man enters the Army full particulars about him and all who depend upon liim are collected, and he shortly finds that whilei his wants are attended to, the allowances or allotments payable to his wife wife or mother are provided without any trouble on his part. The) young man with no one depending on him may draw 3s. a day (if a private) while he is overseas, and the remaining 4s. 6d of his pay must be allotted. He may elect to have, it deposited in the Post Office Savings Bank, or lie may arrange with a near relative it draw it month by month and deposit or invest it for him. The arrangements are left to Base Records. Allowances payable to the w r ife of a married soldiers are arranged in the same way. Pay for Dependants. All the particulars regarding a soldier that are supplied to Base Records do not apply to his pay and the disposal of his allotment, but as a soldier's pay is one of the most important aspects of his army life it is also an important task for the Base Records staff. As soon as the soldier's particulars are received his "finance" records arei prepared and a pay warrant is typed out and forwarded to the allottee, who may cash the Avarrant at any: money-order office. The typing of warrants each fortnight for all members of the Expeditionary Force would be an enormous task, so "addressagraph" plates are also prepared and each fortnight the warrants are run through the "addressograpli" machine and come out ready for mechanical folding in other machine. They are then inserted in "window" envelopes, for posting

Obviously great care must be taken to avoid leaving a dependant without funds and to ensure that the correct amount goes through to the savings bank, if the allotment isi to be banked, and a thorough check is kept at all stages. When the warrants return from the post offices they are again checked, and consequently if anyone* claims non-pay-ment there is no difficulty about ascertaining the position. This process goes on throughout the Avhole time the soldier is in the Army, and when he returns from ovcT?eas all payments that have been made to him, to his. allottee, or to the bank, are checked and entered, and his financial affairs go to the branch of Base Records dealing with men leaving the service. Thei soldier landing in New Zealand is given an advance to tkle him over the first few days. Lateir, when a final accounting is made the soldier is paid the balance owing to him and is given a pass over all New Zealand railways for a period of four weeks. This pass may be used at any time within 12 months of discharge.

Personal Effects. Another section of Base Records deals with the personal effects of deceased soldiers. Wherever possible the effects of a soldier are collected and itemised for return to New Zealand. When they arrive here they are checked and sent to the executor of the soldier's estate for distribution to relatives or friends according to the provisions of the soldier's will. Soldiers' wills also form part of the work of Basel Records, as all soldiers are asked to make wills, or to state I where wills previous 1 .}' made are held. Other activities of Base Records are Far too numerous to mention in a brief survey. Experience gained from the last Avar showed that medir;i! records eon be of great value to the soldier many years after he ! - a c returned to civil lifei, and consequently most exhaustive records of aii sifknes-sos, accidents, or wounds are being kept. All soldiers also examined by means l , of X-ray photographs for constitutional weaknesses(Continued ?.*. foot previous column)