WAR MEDALS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 2119, 24 April 1920, Page 1

WAR MEDALS.

MEMORIALS TO DECEASED,

Now that practically the whole of the N.Z.E.F. have returned to the Dominion it is commonly thought that the work in Base Records Office, Wellington, is drawing to a close, but this is quite contrary to fact. The Officer in Charge of that branch of the Defence Department advises that the rolls for the issue of all service medals are now being prepared, and is throwing heavy work upon the staff. There are the tiles of approximately 100,000 men to be carefully examined; so that a flawless record of their war service may be compiled, and it is not difficult to realise that the task is one

that will not bo completed for a considerable time. The first issue, the 1014-15 Star, is now well in hand, and many returned soldiers are already in possession of this medal. The Stars arc being released in strictly alphabetical order, first to surviving soldiers, and when this is complete, to the next-of-kin of deceased soldiers. No departure from this rule will be permit led. In all, a.bout 28,000 Stars are to be issued to New Zealand soldiers. The British War Medals and the Victory Medals have not yet been, received from the War Office, London, but pending their arrival the soldiers’ Service Cards are being prepared so that as little delay as possible may occur when the medals come to hand.

The regulations governing the issue of all medals to the relatives of deceased soldiers provide that where a will does not otherwise dispose of the medals, the following order of next-of-kin shall be observed:- —• (a) Widow. (b) Eldest surviving son. (c) Eldest surviving^daughter. ■(d) Father '(e) Mother (f) Eldest surviving brother. (g) Eldest surviving sister, (h) Eldest surviving half-bro (her. (i) Eldest surviving half-sister. Each case not provided for under the regulations will be decided upon its merits, on the principal that the medal should go to the person best able to preserve it as a memorial to the deceased.

It is a part of the training of a soldier that any change of address he may make should be notified at the Base, and ns a consequence very little difficulty has been met with in communicating with the men. The same cannot be said, however, of the next-of-kin. It is a matter for regret (hat the next-of-kin of many of our soldiers who fell on the battlefields remain .untraced, and that photographs of graves and returned effects cannot be delivered to them. What is to become of the medals in these cases it is too early to say, but it is hoped that many will reveal their whereabouts in due course. A large number of soldiers, on joining the forces, did not nominate their legal next-of-kin, but gave the name of a brother, sister, or friend when one or both parents were alive. Obviously this was done to spare their parents the first shock of any official telegram of a distressing nature from the front, but the practice is one that is creating great: difficulties in the issue of medals, etc. It is not an uncommon thing for a file to give no information regarding blood relations, and relatives of deceased soldiers would be doing the Department a service if they would notify Base Records of the name and address of the legal next-of-kin.

MEMORIALS TO DECEASED. It bus been decided that a memorial .shall be presented to the legal next-of-kin of all those members of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force who lost their lives through the war. This memorial is to take the form of a bronze plaque of emblematic design and. a parchment scroll with appropriate wording. The plaque, which measures Dims, in diameter, and sin. in thickness, will bear the deceased’s Christian name and surname. The scroll, which measures llin. by Tin., will bear his rank, Christian names and surname and regiment. The memorial will be accompanied by a letter from His Majesty the King. The recipient is to be the blood next-of-kin of the deceased at the time of distribution of the memorial, and there is no question of legal succession to the plaque and scroll. They will not be issued to any legatee under a will in preference to the next-of-kin. The order of next-of-kin is laid down as follows: —

(a) Widow. (b) Eldest surviving son. (e) Eldest surviving daughter.. (d) Father. (e) Mother. (f) Eldest surviving brother. (g) Eldest surviving sister. (h) Eldest surviving imlf-bro- ’ ther.

(i) Eldest .surviving l half-sister. (j) Paternal Grandfather. (k) Paternal grandmother. (l) Maternal grandfather. (m) Maternal grandmother. (n) Eldest surviving nephew. (o) Eldest surviving niece, (p) Eldest surviving uncle on War Meiads —2 . father’s side. ((|) Eldest surviving aunt on fathers side. (r) Eldest surviving uncle on mother’s side. (s) Eldest surviving aunt on mother’s side. In the case of children, the memorials will be issued to their guardians to hold in custody. The name to be inscribed upon the plaque jfi the name under which the soldier attested, and this will be strictly adhered to. Many members of the N.Z.E.F., for reasons best known to themselves, joined the army under assumed names. In their cases the plaque and scroll, which are intended to commemorate the deceased’s services in (he army, will be issued in the name under

which the soldier fought and died. The rolls have been forwarded to New Zealand, and are at present being checked at Base Records, Wellington. The memorials are to be manufactured in (he Prilled Kingdom, and it is anticipated that the lirsl shipment will come in two or three months’ lime. It should not be necessary to point out to the legal next-of-kin of all deceased soldiers the necessity of keeping Base Records advised of any change of address.