BRIGADIER’S VIEW OF COMPLAINTS

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 8, 5 October 1943, Page 6

BRIGADIER’S VIEW OF COMPLAINTS

Many Criticisms Called Baseless Stating that he personally felt like apologizing to everybody concerned with the patriotic funds, and to all who had helped and contributed to them, for many of the churlish and baseless criticisms that had been made. Brigadier H, K. Kippenberger, D. 5.0., in an address on Sunday paid tribute to the benefits the •services had obtained from the funds. Brigadier Kippenberger commanded the sth Infantry Brigade in the Middle East, and was in charge of a furlough party which recently returned to the Dominion. * He had been astonished to hear of complaints by soldiers that they had not received patriotic parcels, he said. The parcels were sent, up according to the ration strength and he had never at any time in the field heard a complaint from a single soldier that he had not received a parcel. Men who missed a parcel would be either on leave (and even then the parcels were usually supplied when the men returned) or they were in British military

detention camps, or they were not speaking the truth when they said they did not get a parcel. When occasionally they had heard of complaints from New Zealand and had been able to check up they had found that the complainant himself had received parcels regularly. Apart from the parcels, said Brigadier Kippenberger, many of the members of the Second N.Z.E.F. failed to appreciate that the activities among them of the Y.M.C.A., Bed Cross Society, and Church Army were financed from the patriotic funds; that the note paper on which they wrote home, the free issues of cigarettes, the Kiwi Concert Party, the bands with the Second N.Z.E.F., sports gear, the mobile cinemas, and so on were all made possible through the patriotic funds. There were also some who were inclined to forget that there were other members of the New Zealand Services who had a call on the funds and who were provided for besides those in the Middle East. In his experience, said Brigadier Kippenberger, the money had been well spent. He paid tribute to the help given by the voluntary workers in New Zealand. particularly by the women.