THE SOLDIER AND THE GIRL

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3073, 8 May 1917, Page 3

THE SOLDIER AND THE GIRL

A BOMBSHELL IN 'ARCADIA. 'A bombshell has just been cast into the big Australian military office in Horseferry &oad, Westminster (says a London paper of March 13). The office has a staff of some hundreds of girl clerks, as well as a staff of soldier clerks, military police, etc., all members of the Australian Imperial Forces, and many of them wearing on their arms the big A, \hich denotes an original Anzac from Gallipoli peninsula. The relations between the two staffs, the civil and the military, have boen very pleasant and cordial. The girl clerks have afforded many of the young Australians the chance to visit English homes of the right kind, and to form a circle of social acquaintance euoh as they left behind them in Australia. All oversea soldiers in London-have not been so fortunate, and, if one is to credit the correspondence that haß recently been appearing in the parsers, have been all the worße for the tajik of some outlet for their ordinary social instinct. The friendly relations existing between the two staffs, however, has come under the notice of the Australian Military Administration, and the Administration has decided that it .will not do. Accordingly, the following notice has just been issued to the members of the two staffs :->

"The_ following extract from office orders is Drought to your notice: "The strictest discipline is to be maintained between the A.I.F. and the civilian staff. This covers both the period of office hours and AFTERWARDS. No communication should take place between the two sets of staffs, other than that demanded by,<the exigencies of the service. If this instruction is not strictly carried out, arrangements will be made to place all the A.I.P. staff in barracks. ' Individual failure to observe the above rule will be followed by the soldier being returned to Tidworth.'"

The threats have annoyed the men. "As to the first threat," said one," "that of plaoing us in barracks, it is a well-known fact that such would have been done long ago if the Commonwealth had approved of such, a sohemo. But Australia will not permit it. As for the threat of sending individual men back to their units—well, we volunteered to fight for our country, ■ and not to push pens in Army Headquarters. Most of us know what it is to rough it in the field, and thoso responsible for this unreasonable order do not, worse luck!"