JAPAN NOT LIKE ITALY

Chronicle (Levin), 23 July 1946, Page 8

JAPAN NOT LIKE ITALY

-Press Associotior;

complaints by j-force mfn equipment arriyed late

Bv Teleciravh-

(.TLR LSTCI1 1' R CI1, July 22. [ Coniplaints, some bitter, some gooclj natured and otliers inerelv resigned. ■ about living conditicms in Japan, were ! faivly general aiuongst the men of- the | J Force who returned to New Zptiland ! 011 the Chitral whicli arrived today at ' Lyttelton. The coinplaiuls voiced. ; freelv to reporters 011 ihe sliip eonceni- : ed 'wo mattevs — amenities and enuip- [ nient. Tvpieal comments of the men ■ were: " We only liad oue leave and ; that was to Tolcio. We liad to stay at ! a leave camp miles out of the city and | conditioiis in it were far worse tlian anytliing we ever knew in Italy. ' ' (He [spoke for the Divi'sional Ca\alry „ "Oiir equipinent was terribly late in I following us from Italv. 1 have seen I mgn walking around our eanip wearing i gumboots or sandshoes or anytliing | they could get because their boots were 1 worn riglit th rough and they rouiti not ! get replacemenl's for thein. We only ' iuul oue change parade (for clothiug) I all the timo we were there and that ; was just before we eame on tliis ship. ; Even Llien, Ordnam-e, although they | liad the gear, wonkl not issue it in anv | quantity." I ' ' My niother uscd to write to me and j say that she would not be sending any j reading matter sinee 1 could get it at j the Y.-M.C.A. hut. They were just j building that hut wlien we left. We I did not have oue and what annoyed us j was to reud from New Zealand news- | papers ot' all Ihe line amenities we were i supposed to have. The only real amen- ' ity we hatl was a beer canteen whirli j was opou almost every night to sell j beer (nuide in .Japan) at about 3d per | glass and it wasn 't very good beer. From the dav we arrived in .Japan it i was strictly regimental and 'spit and i poi isli. ' Going on leave we liad to j wear web eijuipiueut and gaiters. Notli- | ing at all Jike Italy." j. All the nieu were eonvineed that the > next dral't relieving tliem in Japan j would be luckier because the amenities I whieh pionoe-rs there liad lacked, wero j gradually being assembled now. j These coniplaints were referred on I the wharf to the Minister of Defence ; (II on. F. .JonesJ who met the ship. The j trnuble had lieen, .Mr. .Jones said, that ihe equipinent for Ihe men arrived a i long time al'ter they did. Coniplaints ' f'ell olT al'ter the transport arrived and [ the mon were able to get around. I On the eredit side the nieu said the I beaches and swimming in season had | been good. Soine of the troops had ; niade unoHicial frieudships witli the | .Japanese — frateruisatiou being frowned 1 on — and a munber said that in spito of | their grumble, the experieuce of going ! to Japan had in the long niu been worth while. N'oue of the nian had any i coniplaints about the food or condij tions on the Chitral and manv said she I was th'e best troopship they had ever travelled on. j After completing disemliarkation of : the South Tslaud personnel, ihe Chitral ' sailed for Wellington at 5.45 p.m.