MARRIED MEN

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 20660, 10 January 1942, Page 7

MARRIED MEN

STATUS IN RESERVE DEFINITION OF CHILDREN AGE NOT A FACTOR ; .. T ~ j The question is being asked whether married men with children over 1C •years-of - age are regarded for military purposes as married men with children or as married men without children. The impression seems to have spread that such men Can expect to be included in the coming ballot, says the Auckland Herald. This class of men need only to refer to the general reserve classification order, 1941, for a definition of their status. Clause 8 of that order stated that the term “child” was used irrespectively of age and: —(1) Included a child legally adopted by the reservist before May 1, 1940, if the reservist were married before that date, but included no other adopted children: (2) included a child of me wife of the reservist if the reservist married the mother of the child before May J, 1940, but included no other stepchildren; and (3) included a legitimated child of the reservist if the reservist married the mother of the child before May 1, 1940, but included no other legitimated children. Two Other Provisions The same order stated that a child who had been legally adopted by any person should not be regarded as a child of his natural parents. This means that the natural father of an adopted child cannot regard himself as being a married man with a child. The order also stated that if any child of a reservist has died during the present war while a member of any armed force the child should continue to be regarded as one of the children of the reservist in the same manner as if he had still been living. Earlier Policy Statement

By implication, in that it sets out the various classes of men deemed to be unmarried, and states that all other men are deemed to be married, the order shows that a widower with children, a divorced man.with children, and a man with children who has been judicially separated from his wife by decree of judicial separa,tion, separation order, or otherwise, is a married man with children within the meaning of the order. ’ ;

Yet another class of married men are wondering whether they will be liable to service if called in the coming ballot. They are married men at present childless who expect to become fathers within the next few weeks. It was explained last year, and there seems to be no reason to expect a modification of this policy, that if a reservist be drawn in a ballot gazetted ori a date prior to the birth of a child, he is still liable to perform his military service.