WAR TROPHIES.

Taranaki Daily News, 17 May 1919, Page 11

WAR TROPHIES.

THE METHOD OF DISTRIBUTION. Wellington, May 10. Many applications, have been received by the Minister of Defence from local bodies and private individuals throughout the Dominion for war trophies, and as there is evidently some misunderstanding regarding the system of distribution, the Defence Department lus issued the following statement of the principles governing the matter:— Trophies captured by units must, in the first instance, he handed over to the Imperial authorities. Each unit subsequently submits claims for all articles captured, such claims "being dealt with by a special committee which in due course allots the trophies to the various units.

Each regiment or territorial area in New Zealand embraces one to five of the principal towns in the particular area. Thus Auckland city is the territorial area of the 3rd (Auckland) Regiment and Ist Battalion of N.Z. Rifle Brigade; Wellington City the hc-adquarters of the sth (Wellington) Regiment and 2nd Battalion N.Z. Rifle Brigade; Christchurch City the Ist (Canterbury) Regiment and 3rd Battalion NZ. Rifle Brigade; Dunedin City the 4th (Otago) Regiment and 4th Battalion N.Z. Rifle Brigade. Similarly, provineially. the Territorial Regimental Area of the loth (North Auckland) Regiment embraces Whangarci, Darg.v ville, Helonsville, and Kolmkohu; the 7th (Wellington and West Coast) Regiment embraces Wanganui, Marton, Palnierston North and Feilding; the 13th (Nelson and West Coast) Regiment Rangiora, Kaiapoi, Hokitika, Reefton; the 10th (North Otago) Regiment Oamaru, Mosgiel, Cromwell, Duntroon. On the formation of expeditionary force units, each battalion of infantry was composed of four companies, one company being drawn from each territorial area. Each regiment of mounted rifles was similarly constituted by squadrons drawn from mounted rifle territorial areas. It is, therefore, hut natural that the personnel of each unit | in the field and their relatives in New Zealand are concerned that trophies captured by each unit should be distributed to their own territorial areas throughout the Dominion. The principle governing the distribution of war trophies in the Dominion is, therefore, that all trophies captured by the troops are issued in the first place to the towns in which the headquarters of the units which captured them are situated. Headquarters of units have been instructed that trophies bo issued are not to be considered the exclusive property of the respective regimental areas, and that the claims of other towns in those areas must receive consideration. With this end in view, officers commanding units have been instructed to confer with the Mayors of towns in which their headquarters are situated, requesting them in turn to communicate with the mayors of other towns in their areas with a view to forming committees to deal with the distribution of the trophies on an equitable basis.

Thus it will be seen than applications for war tronliies should not be made to the Hon. the Minister of Defence but to the mayors of the towns in which the headquarters of units are situated.