MAN IN UNIFORM

Wairarapa Times-Age, 14 January 1941, Page 8

MAN IN UNIFORM

HEALTH AND RECREATION LESS WASTAGE THROUGH SICKNESS. EXPERIENCES AT TRENTHAM. As a result of long experience the Army knows it has to make allowance for a daily wastage due to sickness. This will vary in sympathy with the environment imposed on it by the exigencies of its service, but in training

camps where conditions are more or less stable valuable comparisons are possible.

A daily sickness wastage of three per! thousand would be regarded by any; commanding officer as normal. but Trentham’s sick rate comes out better J It is two per thousand. Epidemics of! measles and influenza, coinciding with 1 similar outbreaks in the civilian popu-! lation. have caused fluctuations, but two per thousand is the figure which! usually prevails.

In the camp hospital there are fifty j beds. Six fully-trained nurses, assisted; by medical orderlies form the nursing stall and the hospital cooks are all. women. When ?>lr Wheeler was inspecting Trcntham he was handed a series j of admission records for examination.! They gave him an opportunity to I check the health results of camp diet.! He says that he looked over the records for evidence of dietetic weaknesses. A j mid-winter weekly return showed "Nil" in the column for dietetic! troubles and also disclosed the reas-1 suring fact that the total admissions for! the period had been 34 or less than one r a day per thousand mon then in camp.| Diatotic troubles, ho says, hardly ever appeared—there was a recent week ■ with two cases.

"Parents will be interested in what! happens to a man who is 'off colour.' " i he goes on. "Each training unit has its ; own medical officer. If the soldier is, unable to face the day's duties, he goes j to his Regimental .Aid Post, that is if he is able to get out of his bed. Other-{ wise his condition is reported and a! visit from the medical officer follows, i At the Regimental Air Post the sold- ; ier’s condition is investigated, and ifi the illness is mild, he is given modi-! cine, ordered light diet and excused j from duty. But the medical officer may ' consider him a hospital case. If so, he; goes back to his sleeping quarters toi await an ambulance. Men who are run-1 ning a temperature must not parade! for medical examination —a sensible! precaution which the eld hands at . Trcntham would have appreciated in ' their time. • I

"Unofficial organisations did a fine, service for lhe soldiers of the Great i War and today's activities are much ; the sasne with the facilities more ex-; tensive." says Mr Wheeler, "and they, arc supplemented by a spacious wet i canteen which seats three hundred; men and has a 'no shouting' rule. The social centres at Trcntham are num-' erous —the Y.M C.A . the Salvation I Army. Church .Army. Catholic and j Everyman’s Hut (conducted by the l Brethren) all provide for letter-writ-, ing. reading, recreation and social en-J joymont. Give the soldier a place in 1 which to gather, a piano and he can! make his own fun. However, there are ; experienced officers in charge of these 1 attractive places who organise things’ well and it is characteristic of their’ broad outlook on life that the ten billiard tables in the big Y.?,1.C.A. are. available on Sundays when a two-hour | programme is also arranged in the main hall. The programme includes! pictures 'one religious film), a short reading from the scriptures and a talk j from lite padre, usually under ten minutes. Then lite mon see more pictures. | .‘.'omething humorous this lime.” Padres are provided with comfort-' able little private rooms a', these camp acini centre- 1 and the soldier who desire- a quie: talk with these chaplain' linos <ij‘portuniiie' Bible classes ami meetings for men who prefer a morel devotional atmosphere are not over-1 Tin’nt ha mlibrary service is in a tcnlial builfimg One of Wellington's best keowu hbrin'ians v. ho retired fr !>.i -ervice jirior u> the outbreak of war, e-.iiis-s back int>« hard work as a ■wrgci.nt in charge of the Central j ;< r t .K:mi. room stocked with a full! •eleeti.-n of N\w Zealand daily news-1 jxipur ■ ‘thanks t».» lhe tin .| ropfi * >l7 i Ihe it* bct’ii as many as ...IHiurs m this (.vniiumlh ; is thr most ixpulnr larc lhe librarian! Th.- duM-hpip.i-iit <T :n<-ehafu>aUc)H a-.’ ‘he Ai.’ii.x r- !.*!lcu!vd :n lhe ‘vchnieal‘ ; ier may .J •> 'tuc.lv nuhnuy tinmuah f;.c: wa : fpm'DH**.’trd t<» tin- Camp V» h<'»”’«-r that thvi v xn’!'?<•