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  • 8/9/2019 1947 Summer

    1/33

    THE ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS

    JOORNAL

    EDITORI L NOTES

    EDITOR :

    Lieut.-Colonel A. L DUNNILL, O .B.E.

    The Royal

    Army

    Pay

    Corps Journal

    is

    published

    quarterly, viz.,

    Spring

    (in March),

    Summer

    (in

    June), Autumn (in

    September), and

    Winter (in

    December).

    Local Representatives have been appointed in

    each

    Pay

    Office,

    to whom

    all

    Corps Ne

    ws

    and Notes

    should

    be sent

    for

    transmission

    to

    the

    Editor.

    Other

    articles intende:i for publication may be sent either

    to the Local Representative

    or direct

    to

    the Editor.

    All letters, articles, etc., should be clearly written

    in ink or typed on one side of

    the

    paper only and

    should

    be

    signed.

    f the signature

    is

    not

    intended for

    publication,

    but

    as a

    guarantee of

    goo:i faith, a nom

    de

    plume

    should be given.

    Articles,

    photographs,

    etc. ,

    should be forwarded

    to

    the Editor to

    ensure receipt

    by the

    20th

    of

    February, May , August or November, if intended

    for publication in

    the

    issue

    of the

    following

    month.

    All articles printed in

    this

    Journal are

    copyright,

    and application for reproduction should be made to

    the

    Editor.

    INDEX

    Editorial

    Officers' Club Notes

    Old Comrades' Ass')ciation

    Pay Services, S.E.A.C.

    The

    Editor

    will always be pleased

    to

    receive con

    structive criticism for

    the

    improvement of the

    Journal,

    including

    suggestions of particular features

    which could be included

    or omitted.

    Subscribers

    are requested

    to notify

    at

    once

    any

    change of address. The Editor cannot

    be

    responsible

    for delivery of copies unless this is done.

    All correspondence

    should

    be

    addressed

    to:

    THE EDITOR,

    THE

    ROYAL

    ARMY PAY

    CORPS JOURNAL

    DISTRICT PAY OFFICE ,

    LADYSMITH BARRACKS,

    ASHTON-UNDER-LYNE,

    Lancs.

    Tel.: Ashton

    3051

    The rates of

    subscription

    to The R.A.P.C. Journal

    are as follows

    Through

    Office

    Representative

    f

    sent by post

    For

    12

    months

    4/

    5/

    Single

    Copies

    1/

    1 3

    Small advertisements

    in

    connection with articles

    for sale, accommodation, etc., will be inserted

    at

    a

    charge

    of 2d. per

    word.

    For

    Scale of Charges for other advertisements

    application

    should be

    made

    to the Editor.

    Readers

    can materially assist us in our advertise

    ments.

    Remember

    to

    deal with firms

    who

    advertise

    in

    the

    Journal

    and

    always mention the Journal in any

    correspondence with our advertisers.

    g

    e

    Jewish terrorists attack Syrian Orphanage, Jerusalem

    Personalia

    4 8

    4 9

    411

    415

    421

    423

    424

    425

    427

    431

    432

    433

    436

    Corps News - Officers

    Classification - A tragedy

    R.A.P.e. in Netherlands East Indies

    I was posted to Jerusalem

    12 Command Pay Office, Allied Land Forces, Norway . .

    The British Paymaster, First Canadian Army

    Notes and News from Offices

    4 7

  • 8/9/2019 1947 Summer

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    The Royal Army Pay Corps Journal

    Vol.

    V. No. 40

    EDITOBIAI..J NOTES

    District Pay Office,

    Ladysmith Barracks,

    Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancs.

    JunF 1947.

    During the

    past quarter,

    it

    will be noted,

    the address of the Editorial Office of the

    Journal has been' changed

    and

    all subscribers

    are requested to dispatch all correspondence,

    subscriptions,

    ~ t c .

    to the new address.

    All members

    of

    the Corps will have received

    with

    gratification

    the

    news

    that Major-General

    R. G.

    Stanham

    has

    been

    granted an extension

    of

    his

    term

    at

    the War

    Office as Paymaster-in

    Chief.

    The

    responsibility

    of

    the P.LC. in p l ~ n n i n g

    the Corps' share in

    the Post-War

    Army is

    indeed

    heavy

    but

    we are

    happy

    to think

    that

    our

    future remains for a little longer in his

    capable hands.

    During the

    past few weeks several thousands

    of

    circulars have been sent out to personnel

    of

    all ranks recently released from

    the

    Corps

    and

    as a result we are glad to say a large

    number

    of new subscribers have been enrolled.

    This

    issue contains news

    of

    a

    number

    of

    re-unions

    of Old

    Comrades

    in

    various parts

    of

    the country. The organisation

    of

    the several

    branches

    of

    the O.C.A. has meant a lot

    of

    preparation

    and hard

    work.

    Thus

    it was

    unavoidable

    that

    these meetings could

    not

    be

    arranged earlier. Now

    that

    an active start has

    been made we hope the good work will con

    tinue,

    and that

    all those who have served in

    the

    Corps will be able to

    attend the

    periodic

    functions and thus avoid losing contact with

    their colleagues.

    The Corps Journal also, we hope, serves as

    a means of maintaining this contact.

    To

    avoid

    missing any copies we would advise readers,

    when they are notified

    that

    their subscription

    has expired, to complete the

    pink

    form enclosed

    in

    their copy and

    return

    it to the

    Editor without

    delay. Only by doing so can they ensure

    receiving their copy in the future.

    In

    these

    days of rationing it is only possible to provide

    for a very few copies that have not been ordered.

    408

    Summer, 1947

    BIRTHDAY OF

    H R H PRINCESS ARTHUR

    OF CONNAUGHT

    On

    the

    o c c s i o ~ of her

    birthday

    on

    17th May,

    1947, the followmg telegram was dispatched

    to

    her

    Royal Highness, Princess

    Arthur

    of

    Connaught, R.R.C., ColoI).el-in-Chief, Royal

    Army Pay Corps.

    The

    Colonel Commandant, The

    Paymaster-in-Chief

    and

    All Ranks Royal

    Army Pay Corps

    send

    Greetings to your

    Royal Highness

    on the

    occasion of your

    Birthday.

    The

    following reply has been received

    by

    the Colonel Commandant from

    Her

    Royal

    Highness.

    Please accept and convey to All Ranks

    Royal

    Army

    Pay Corps my grateful thanks

    for Birthday Greetings.

    TOBRUK 94

    An

    Officers'

    Dinner

    will be held at the

    Connaught Rooms, London, on 12th Septem

    ber, 1947. All Officers and ex-Officers who

    served in the Defence and Maintenance of

    Tobruk

    between

    10th

    April

    and

    10th Decem

    ber, 1941, are eligible to attend.

    Particulars from Major-General Lomax,

    Flagstaff House, Colchester.

    PHILATELY

    A number of readers have written suggesting

    that

    a Philatelic Society should be formed for

    the

    benefit

    of Stamp

    Collectors

    in the

    Corps.

    Whether such a club can be formed will

    naturally

    depend on

    the

    number of

    collectors

    interested in

    the

    hobby.

    It will only be possible to operate an

    Exchange Club

    but

    as

    personnel of the Corps

    are stationed

    in

    all parts

    of

    the world such a

    club should give ample opportunities for

    disposing of duplicates and for acquiring

    wanted items.

    Will any collector who is interested in the

    formation

    of

    this club kindly communicate

    with

    the

    Editor as early as possible.

    THE ROYAL ARMY

    PAY

    CORPS JOURNAL

    R A P ~

    Officers

    ~ I u b

    THE ARMY GOLF MEETING

    The

    Army Golf Meeting was resumed

    in

    its

    full peace-time

    manner and

    took place at

    St. Andrews on 18th-19th

    and

    21st-25th April.

    The

    R.A.P.C. entered teams for the Army

    Inter-Regimental Championship (limited to

    regular officers

    up

    to

    and

    including rank

    of

    Lieut.-Colonel) and for the Ordnance

    Cup

    (Colonels and above

    and

    retir ed officers). Each

    team is of four players, each playing 18 holes

    match play. The following officers represented

    the Corps

    and

    played in

    the

    individual com

    petitions

    :-Major-General

    Stanham, Brigadier

    Bednall, Lieut.-Colonel Milling, Lieut.

    Colonel Thompson, Lieut.-Colonel Beauchamp,

    Major Chaundy and Captain Page.

    General Stanham played in the Generals'

    Cup

    but

    struck a

    bad

    patch (a most unusual

    thing for him)

    and

    lost to General

    Thorpe,

    who received five strokes, in the first round.

    The

    Individual Competition was played

    on

    Monday and Tuesday (21st

    and

    22nd)

    in

    conditions which some of the caddies described

    as

    the worst they had known for a competition.

    The

    only officer to receive a prize was Captain

    Page, who playing from handicap 8 received

    second prize for the two days' aggregate off

    handicap.

    The

    winner

    of the

    Army Individual

    Championship was Captain Blair

    of

    the

    Seaforth Highlanders, who played remarkably

    well

    in

    the difficult conditions.

    In practice beforehand Major Chaundy had

    been playing very well (handicap scratch)

    but

    most unfortunately he contracted

    Mumps

    and

    spent the week-end in bed, by the Monday,

    however, he felt better and decided to play,

    and the teams to represent the R.A.P.C.

    were:-

    Ordnance Corps Major-General Stanham,

    Brigadier Bednall, Brigadier Lightfoot

    and

    Brigadier Forde.

    Inter Regt. Cup Major

    Chaundy, Lieut.

    Colonel Beauchamp, Lieut.-Colon el

    Thomp

    son and Captain Page.

    t

    was a magnificent effort

    on

    the part

    of

    the

    ~ o r p s to e ~ t e r a team for the Ordnance

    Cup

    and

    It was particularly gallant of Brigadier Lightfoot

    and Brigadier Forde to make

    up

    the team when

    neither had any opportunity for practice. We

    were drawn against the strongest team, A.A.

    C o m m ~ n d who proved eventually to be very

    easy w I ~ n e r s ..

    They

    were led by two very good

    golfers m Major-General Hornby and

    Brigadier

    409

    J. C. Wood. General Stanham, playing the

    former, lost by 6 holes

    and

    Brigadier Bednall,

    playing the latter, won by 4 holes. Brigadier

    Lightfoot lost his match by

    16

    holes and

    Brigadier Forde lost his by 15 holes.

    In

    the

    Inter

    Regt. Championship the

    R.A.P.C. team was again beaten by the event4

    al

    winners,

    but put up

    a remarkably good effort.

    In the

    first

    round

    they were drawn against a

    strong R.A.S.C. team and won a very close

    fight by 7 holes to 2 (Chaundy 2 down,

    Beauchamp 4 up,

    Thompson

    3 up, Page all

    square).

    In the

    second round,

    the

    team rout-ed

    their opponents, R.A.O.C.

    (Northern

    mand), by 27 holes to 0 (Chaundy 2 up,

    Beauchamp 10 up,

    Thonipson

    7 up,

    and

    Page

    8 up).

    This

    brought the team to the semi-final,

    against

    the

    Seaforth Highlanders,

    and it

    was

    expected

    that

    whichever team won would win

    the final.

    The

    Seaforths were led by Captain

    Blair, who had won

    the

    Individual Army

    Championship and was playing magnificent

    golf. Chaundy had only partly recovered

    but

    nevertheless he was given the task of playing

    Blair

    and

    achieved a magnificent victory

    in

    coming in 5 holes up. Beauchamp, however,

    lost 2 holes to Cassels and Thompson 6 holes

    to MacKinock whilst Page came

    in

    all square

    in

    this match with McCrae. We, therefore, lost

    by 8 holes to

    5

    an excellent effort on the part

    of the

    team,

    ha

    ying regard to all

    the

    circum

    stances.

    .

    R A P

    C.

    GOLFING SOCIETY

    The Summer

    Meeting is being held at West

    Hill Golf Club, Brookwood, Surrey,

    on

    3rd and

    4th July.

    CORPS HOCKEY

    Prior to

    the

    1939-45 war the Corps was

    represented

    by

    a team

    in the

    Hockey world

    with very creditable results, culminating

    in the

    winning

    of the

    Eastern Command Hockey

    Tournament

    and reaching the semi-finals

    of

    the

    Army Hockey Tournament in 1938. Since then

    the war has dispersed and aged all the old

    hands and

    much

    spade work will be required

    to revive the team and

    put

    it on the map again.

    The

    fou ndation

    of

    .a sound Corps team can

    only be laid

    on

    a solid strata of Pay Office teams

    playing regular weekly games, from which

    representatives for the

    Corps team can be

  • 8/9/2019 1947 Summer

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    THE ROYAL

    ARMY

    PAY

    CORPS JOURNAL

    drawn as required. A preliminary examination

    of the

    hockey potential of

    RA.P.C.

    units

    stationed

    within one hour of London

    carried

    out

    last

    autumn

    disclosed an almost complete

    lack

    of

    interest

    and

    players. The factors con

    tributing

    to this state

    of

    affairs are well known

    but as

    RA.P.C.

    units move to and settle

    their e s t ~ b l i s h e d

    peace stations

    it

    is hoped

    that

    O.C.s

    WIll

    take a personal interest

    and impart

    the

    essential drive

    and

    encouragement to

    the

    formation

    of

    a

    unit

    team to play local clubs

    and

    units in their immediate neighbourhood.

    In

    view

    of

    the

    concentration

    of

    RA.P.C.

    units

    in and

    around Aldershot

    it

    has

    been

    decided provisionally

    that

    Aldershot shall

    be

    the home centre for Corps Hockey.

    Further

    details will be published in due

    course.

    v

    v

    v

    *

    * *

    CORPS CRICKET FIXTURES, 1947

    A.E.e., 7th and 8th July

    (Away),

    at

    Aldershot Officers' Club.

    RA

    .O.C.,

    9th and 10th July (Home),

    at

    Aldershot Officers' Club.

    R.A.S.C.,

    11th and

    12th

    July

    (Away)

    at

    Buller Bks., Aldershot.

    GOOD

    MORNING

    PRIV TE

    Y O U N G

    PAY

    F te

    --

    TENNIS

    The annual tournament will be held at the

    Officers' Club, Aldershot,

    on

    10th July, 1947.

    * * *

    Social

    Functions

    During

    this coming season two social

    gatherings

    ha

    ve

    been

    arranged.

    The

    first will

    take place

    on

    10th

    July at the

    Officers' Club

    Aldershot.

    On

    this day

    the

    Corps are playing

    the

    second day of their cricket match versus

    the RA.O.e. and

    in addition are holding the

    annual tennis tournaments.

    It

    is hoped that

    t h ~ s e

    two t t r ~ c t i o n s will result

    in

    a big

    re-

    umon

    ,

    of

    servmg

    and

    retired officers

    of

    the

    Corps.

    Tea

    will be provided.

    The

    second will

    take place

    in London on 9th

    September

    at

    Lords ~ r i c k e t

    Ground,

    when the

    Corps will

    be

    playmg a one-day match against The Cross

    Arrows. Tea will also be provided on this

    occasion.

    *

    *

    *

    OFFICERS DINNER

    CLUB

    The

    first post-war Annual

    Dinner

    will take

    place

    at

    the Mayfair Hotel, London, W., on

    Friday, 4th July, at 7-30 p.m. for : 8 p.m.

    GOOD

    MORNING

    AJ OR

    BROWN

    C L O T H E S

    MAY

    BE

    WORN

    ON

    S TURD YS

    410

    THE ROYAL ARMY

    PAY

    CORPS JOURNAL

    B il P C Old o m r a d e s ~ Association

    Since the publication

    of

    addresses

    of

    Branch

    Secretaries

    in the

    spring issue

    of the

    Journal

    the following changes have taken place:-

    NORTH

    EASTERN

    AREA

    CAPTAIN

    O. THORNHILL,

    RA.P.C.

    Retd.

    ,

    19

    Heworth Hall Drive, Heworth, York.

    SOUTH WESTERN

    AREA

    MAJOR

    D.

    Y.

    CUBITT, R.A.P.e.,

    Regimental

    Pay Office, By-Pass Camp, Exeter, Devon.

    BRANCH FUNCTIONS AND ACTIVITIES

    The

    following reports

    of

    functions

    and

    meetings have been received.

    1

    SouthWales and Monmouthshire Branch

    The

    first annual re-union dinner

    of the

    South Wales

    and

    Monmouthshire Branch

    of the

    Old Comrades' Association was held at the

    Park Hotel, Cardiff,

    on

    Saturday, 26th April.

    Captain B. Rowe,

    M.S.M.,

    Pontypridd, pre

    sided, and the Guest

    of Honour

    was Major

    General Sir Guy Riley, K.B.E., C.B., Colonel

    Commandant

    of the

    Corps.

    The

    Toast of The Corps was proposed by

    Captain J.

    T.

    Smith, Cardiff.

    He

    said

    he

    wondered whether those present who were

    pre-war civilians, realised before 1939 that

    there was such a Corps as

    the

    Royal Army Pay

    Corps, and

    if

    they did know that such a Corps

    existed whether they had any conception

    of

    the

    duties the Corps

    had

    to perform . Person ally,

    he confessed

    that

    he did

    not

    know

    much

    about

    it.

    As most

    of

    those present knew, the Royal

    Army Pay Corps was quite a young Corps as

    compared with other regiments .

    It

    would

    celebrate its seventieth birthday next year

    and

    it was not until after the 1914-18 war

    that it

    was granted

    the

    title

    of

    Royal.

    In the

    last

    war the work

    of

    the Corps was increased

    enormously.

    It

    was carried

    out in

    every theatre

    of

    war

    and it

    was very varied in its character.

    Not

    only did

    the

    Corps have to perform its pay

    duties

    but

    its members had to assist in the

    common attack against

    the

    enemy. Captain

    Smith referred humorously to early training

    with the Home Guard when they held the

    heights at Shrewsbury with great tenacity.

    That

    was only a start. During the war

    men of

    he Corps

    had had to do quite a number

    of

    combatant

    duties and to act as infantry and pioneers.

    They

    served

    on

    the anti-aircraft batteries, tackled

    fire-fighting and the work of the ordinary

    soldier.

    For all

    the

    work they had done

    in

    all theatres

    of

    war the Corps had earned great praise from

    all Commanders in the Field, and from various

    other high

    auth)

    rit ies.

    Captain

    H.

    C. Allinson,

    RA.P.C.,

    Shrews

    bury, responded.

    He

    also gave reminiscences

    of the

    early days at Shrewsbury

    and

    said he

    greatly appreciated

    the

    privilege

    of

    being

    present and seeing so many old friends.

    He

    was particularly pleased to see General Riley

    present.

    During the

    war

    the

    prestige

    of the

    Corps

    had

    gone

    up

    very considerably and those

    who were still serving would do their best to

    carry

    on

    the

    good work.

    Proposing Th e Old Comrades' Associa

    tion Mr.

    A. L Richards, Swansea, said

    that

    it was really great to

    meet

    so many

    of the

    old

    comrades.

    They

    had been indulging

    in

    reminiscences and

    it

    was amusing to recall some

    of the

    tricks

    and

    dodges

    that

    they had

    been up

    to during their service,

    not

    to get

    out of

    work

    but

    to get

    it

    done quickly. As old comrades

    they could look back

    upon

    many

    happy and

    yet

    strenuous years.

    Mr.

    Richards suggested

    that

    owing to

    the

    difficulties

    of

    travel a dinner

    should be held at Swansea

    and the Monmouth

    shire members

    might

    like to hold one

    in

    Newport.

    They

    must maintain their happy

    association which brought back such pleasant

    memones.

    411

    Major-General Sir Guy Riley responded.

    He

    cordially thanked Captain Rowe

    and

    his

    committee for all their

    hard

    work in organising

    such a successful dinner

    and

    for their in

    vitation to

    him

    to attend it.

    This

    was

    the

    first

    of the

    branches to hold a dinner so naturally

    he was very pleased to come to it.

    In

    pre-war days

    the

    size

    of the

    Association

    enabled

    them

    to 'hold

    the

    dinner

    in

    London,

    generally

    on the

    evening

    of the

    eu

    p Final,

    but

    even before the

    war

    their numbers were getting

    too big

    and now

    with their increased member

    ship they

    must

    decentralize and hold branch

    dinners,

    but

    he hoped

    that

    they would

    go

    back

    to

    the London

    dinner as well,

    in

    time.

    He

    hoped they would all do their best to get new

    members.

    One

    made friends during the war

    and it

    was very pleasant to keep

    up

    those

    friendships

    and

    to keep

    in

    touch with one

    another through gatherings such as they

    had

    enjoyed

    that

    night.

    He

    heartily agreed

    with

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    THE ROYAL ARMY

    PAY

    CORPS JOURNAL

    every

    remark

    which Captain Smith had made

    when

    he proposed the health of the Corps,

    which had done extremely well during the war.

    Sir

    Guy

    entertained the company with

    several amusing anecdotes of Corps happenings

    and quoted the old saying of the Corps that its

    members never

    went

    to a show because any day

    in a Pay Office could be so

    much

    funnier

    than

    any revue.

    Captain Rowe proposed the Toast

    of

    Absent Friends. He cordially thanked

    Sir

    Guy

    for coming down from

    Surrey

    to

    attend the

    Dinner

    and also Mr. Sheppard for

    all that he had done to help in its organisation.

    Captain Rowe

    agreed

    that the Branch covered

    a large area and

    that it might be

    advisable for

    the

    Swansea

    and

    West Wales members to hold

    a

    dinner in that

    town.

    There were quite

    a

    number

    of

    ex-members of the A.T.S. who had

    served with

    the Corps for a long

    time

    and it

    should be possible to organise very successful

    dinner dances at Cardiff and

    at

    the Langland

    Bay Hotel, Swansea, in the near future.

    Excellent entertainment was provided by

    Mr. Tom

    Jones, a well-known

    B.B.c.

    artiste.

    2. East Midlands Area.

    Report

    of

    preliminar.y 'meeting held oil

    Thursday, 24th April, at Army Pay Office

    RA /AA, Nottingham.

    ' L /Cpl. J. Hollis was a p p o ~ n t e d Acting

    Chairman pending a full meetmg. It was

    proposed

    by the

    Chairman

    the

    position

    of

    Entertainments' Officer be dropped and that

    Officers be limited to three, i.e., Chairman,

    Secretary

    and

    Treasurer.

    This

    was carried

    pending confirmation at full meeting.

    It was agreed to enlarge the committee to

    seven members instead of the present four,

    taking two

    members from the Nottingham

    area

    and one more from the Leicester area.

    It was _proposed that the social activities

    of

    the area be suspended until a complete list of

    members in the area has been compiled. This

    was

    carried and

    will

    be brought up

    again at

    the

    next meeting. Advertisements have been

    inserted in six newspapers in 'various counties

    and results are awaited.

    The

    date

    of

    the next meeting was fixed for

    Thursday, 29th May, at 7 p,m. at Army Pay

    Office, Nottingham.

    3. West of Scotland Branch.

    A grand re-union dance was held at the

    Central

    Halls,

    Bath

    Street, Glasgow, on the

    412

    30th April. Jim Hargie and his band provided

    the music to just under 100 couples. There

    were many spot dances and other competitions

    and

    a very enjoyable evening was spent, T h i ~

    is the forerunner

    of

    other functions to be held

    by this branch, the aim being to hold at least

    one

    a month .

    4. Home Counties and London Area.

    The

    Home Counties Branch is now well

    under

    way after tussling

    with

    10,000 record

    cards and members will be hearing from the

    Secretary in the future.

    Old 29th members (especially those who

    browsed

    on the

    lawn

    of the

    Welsh Girls'

    School on 2nd September, 1940) will be happy

    to

    learn that Stan. Theobald,

    Wally Smith,

    Terry Gaffney and Ken. Kennedy are all doing

    their bit on the Branch Committee.

    All members should, by now, have received

    the Branch circular, but if they haven't yet

    returned the form or otherwise contacted their

    Area Secretary, they are asked to do so now.

    f the drag-net did happen to miss anyone,

    then the Branch Hon. Secretary will be pleased

    to receive inquiries at 41 Oxford Drive,

    Ruislip, Middlesex.

    By the time these notes are read the initial

    function will be over. Members should watch

    these columns for future announcements.

    S.S.M.

    Harry

    Leader is doing some excellent

    work in finding employment for members, but

    the

    applications are beginning to exceed the

    supply.

    Would

    any members in

    the

    position

    to offer employment, or who can su pply

    contacts that may lead to jobs, kindly get in

    touch with

    S.S.M. H.

    Leader,

    The

    W ~ r Office

    (F9), Hotel Victoria, Northumberland Avenue,

    London, W.C.2.

    5. N. Wales and W. Midlands Branch.

    The

    Branch Secretary sends cordial greetings

    to members of this and all other Branches

    of

    the

    O.C.A.

    It

    had

    been hoped to hold a function at the

    beginning of February but Dame Nature cast

    her

    evil spells and made

    it

    impossible for travel.

    Furthermore, caterers were not too eager to

    accept orders for a large gathering on the

    grounds that supplies-liquid and

    solid-were

    very scarce at the time.

    It

    is hoped to hold such

    a gathering

    in the

    not far distant future.

    The

    Secretary would be glad to hear from members

    who are interested in inter-district sporting

    events, e.g., cricket.

    THE ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS

    JOURNAL

    Would members who have not yet paid t h ~ i r

    subscriptions for 1947-48 please make a ~ p e c a l

    effort to

    get

    them

    posted

    as soon as pOSSIble to

    Mr

    W. F. McNamara, Br.anch ?ecretary,

    /

    0 Regimental Paymaster, KIddermmster.

    c

    General.

    f

    ex-serving members would be good

    enough to contact t h e ~ r particular Branch

    Secretary, it may be pOSSIble to

    a r r a n g ~

    further

    functions.

    They

    should quote theIr home

    address and membership number.

    R.A.P.C.-O.C.A. Lapel Badges.

    t

    may not be generally known that an

    excellent O.C.A. lapel badge is available,

    price 1/3, and these may be o b t a i n e ~ from

    Branch Secretaries, Office RepresentatIves or

    the General Hon. Secretary, c/o R.A.P.C.

    Training Centre, Marlborough Lines, Alder

    shot, Hants.

    .

    O.C.A. Civilian

    Appointment

    Bureau.

    Will any ex-serving member who has the

    opportunity of offering employment to . an

    ex-serving member, or could

    put

    aI y ex-servmg

    member

    in touch with a prospectIve employer

    please contact his Branch Secretary, or S.S.M.

    H. Leader, R.A.P.C.,

    The

    War Office (F9),

    Hotel Victoria, Northumberland Avenue,

    London, W.C.2

    ?

    1947 48 Subscriptions.

    Subscriptions for 1947 were ~ u e on the

    1st April, 1947, and any ex-.servmg member

    who has not yet paid his subscription for

    194.1

    or arrears, is advised to forward same to hIS

    Branch Secretary or the

    General Hon.

    Secretary, accompanied by h i ~ Membership

    Card. f any member wishes to beco.me a

    Life member he still has the

    opportumty of

    doing so by paying the difference between the

    amount of subscriptions paid since and

    includ

    ing 1939 provided

    he submits

    his receipted

    membership card to support payments

    of

    annual subscriptions. Life membership cards

    are obtainable from the General Hon. Secretary

    direct.

    40 BATTALION, R.A.P.C.

    The first re-union of the members of " K "

    Company A.T.S. (attached 40 Battalion,

    R.A.P.C. (Marylebone and Whitchurch) was

    held at

    the

    Criterion Restaurant, London,

    on

    Saturday, 17th May last, under the auspices of

    the

    Comrades' Association (Hendon

    Branch).

    The

    gathering was honoured by

    the

    presence

    of

    Dame Helen Gwynne Vaughan, G.B.E.,

    who took the Chair.

    Colonel O. P. J. Rooney, O.B.E., was also

    present,

    supported

    by Major A. L .

    H.

    Wilson

    (on leave from Middle East), Captam J. C. G.

    Howes Lieut. F. Jaque, and many members

    of

    the' Pay Office Staff (both ex-Milita:y,

    ex-A.

    T.S.

    and civilians) who had served WIth

    the 40 Battalion from 1939 onwards.

    The excellent dinner arrangements followed

    by a cabaret and dance were ably arranged by

    the Branch Chairman and her daughter (Mrs.

    Barnard, ex-C.S.M., and Joan, ex-Sergeant

    A.T.S

    .).

    I t was unanimously agreed that every

    endeavour should be made to arrange a re

    union ball for all who have

    served

    with

    40 Battalion and interested personnel are asked

    to write

    to '

    Mrs. 1 R. Barnard, 36 Shireall

    Lane,

    London,

    N.W.4,

    or

    Captain

    J. C.

    G.

    Howes, lo British Legion, 9

    Upper

    Belgrave

    Street London S.W.I. Further announce

    ments'

    will be

    ~ a d e through the medium of

    this Journal and the evening

    ~ r e s s

    Happy did we meet, happy dId we part, and

    happy meet again.

    413

    DROITWICH and KIDDERMINSTER

    On Sunday, 8

    th

    June, a very enjoyable day

    was spent by 34 R.A.P.C. Old o m r a d ~ s and

    ex-A.T.S. from the Droitwich and Kldder

    minster Pay Offices.

    The

    party left Birmingham by private coach

    at

    10 a.m. for Ross-on-Wye, via Dudley,

    Stourbridge, Worcester and Malvern. A halt

    was made at the British Camp to enable the

    coach engine to cool down after the steep pull

    up

    from Worcester, whilst t ~ e party n a t u r a ~ l y

    adjourned

    to the Camp Hotel m order to acqUIre

    the true reunion spirit

    Mter

    a picnic lunch the afternoon was s p ~ n t

    roaming

    round

    the glorious Herefords.hIre

    countryside. A splendid high tea was prOVIded

    at the Wye Hotel and at 6-30 p.m. the party

    started for home, breaking the journey at the

    British Camp. . .

    t is proposed to hold a Reumon D m n e ~ -

    Dance at a central Birmingham hotel m

    January 1948, when it is hoped to muster

    about 100 Old Comrades, A.T.S. and friends.

    t is requested that anyone interested will

  • 8/9/2019 1947 Summer

    5/33

    ,J

    THE ROYAL ARMY

    PAY

    CORPS JUURNAL

    communicate

    with

    Archie W. Abbott, 95

    A ~ c e s t e r Road Moseley, Birmingham 13, who

    WIll gladly notIfy

    them of

    local O.C.A. activities.

    A.W.A.

    Old (;roeks' Re-union

    T

    HE

    first Re-uni.o.n_

    Dinner and

    Dance

    of

    the

    Central Registry

    of

    Central Clearing

    House Staff was held

    on

    26th April at

    " Chez Auguste,"

    Frith

    Street, London.

    In spite

    of

    the widely separated. parts of the

    country from which "Old Crocks"

    had

    to

    come, no less than 160 officers, military,

    A.T.S.

    and representatives

    of

    the civilian staff attended

    this grand re-union.

    From

    the four corners

    of

    the

    British Isles

    they

    came, each

    intent on

    recapturing,

    if

    only for one brief

    moment

    the wonderful C.C.H. comradeship

    of

    uld. '

    Many

    a scene

    in

    Ilfracombe's " Centralised

    Mess"

    was recalled. when the high-spirited

    crowd sat down at theIr long tables for dinner .

    any gloomily-held illusions

    of

    Army

    austeriti

    were . ~ a p p i l y dispelled, however, by the

    appetIsmg appearance

    of

    roast chicken f ruit

    salad

    and ice-cream The true "C.C.H.

    Spirit"

    was

    brought

    to

    the

    festivities

    by the

    presence

    of the

    " C.C.H. Cocktail," especially

    dedicated

    in the

    past to

    the

    C.C.H.

    by

    genial

    Mr. Denner

    of

    Ilfracombe's " Vic."

    The re-union was under the extremely

    popular chairmanship

    of Mr. M.

    G. Fordham,

    who followed his loyal toast with an admirable

    speech, r e m a r ~ i ~ g

    on the

    enthusiasm shown by

    all andemphaslSlngthegreatness of the occasion.

    He

    concluded

    by

    describing

    the

    untiring efforts

    of the

    Hon. Secretary

    and

    proposed a toast to

    him for making possible the 1947 re-union.

    In his reply the Hon. Secretary, Mr. H. I

    Warren, thanked

    the

    Chairman for his kind

    words

    of

    praise.

    He

    recalled

    the

    memorable

    Farewell

    Dinner at

    Ilfracombe

    in

    November

    1945, when the idea

    of

    the C.R.O.C.C.H.S.

    was born, and

    said:

    I ' l l

    wager

    that not

    many

    then

    dared to think

    that in

    less

    than

    18 months

    we should be holding a re-union. Even now I

    can hardly believe it's

    true

    "

    He went on to thank Lieut. A. H. Barnard

    for his co-operation with

    the

    News-Letters

    and

    for his constant inspiration,

    and

    expressed

    gratItude to the

    "on-the-spot"

    Committee

    who assisted

    in

    organising the re-union.

    A very able and humorous speech was then

    delivered by Lieut. A.

    H.

    Barnard who ex

    pressed delight at seeing " ll the old faces

    present.

    He

    reiterated

    the

    unanimous desire

    4 4

    for the continuation

    of

    the

    association and

    b r ~ u g h t ~ h e gathering to its feet to shout out in

    UnIson hIS toast

    of

    " Viva,

    C.R.O.C.C.H.S.

    I

    Tom Wightman followed with a s i n c ~ r e

    a p p r e c i a ~ i n

    of

    all efforts and proposed toasts

    to

    the

    VISItors to absent friends and to "

    The

    merrier we shall be "

    Numerous messages

    of

    goodwill

    and

    regret

    from absentees were read by Mr. L. K. Rundle

    ~ h o ca:-ried

    out

    with great dignity and a b i l i t ~

    hIS

    dutIes

    as

    Toastmaster.

    As .if the meI?ories recalled were n ot already

    suffic.Ient to s ~ I r the heart, dancing to Eddie

    PurkIss

    and

    hIS

    band

    followed the dinner and

    many Garrison

    Theatre

    highlights were

    brought to

    mind

    by a floor show

    under

    the

    title "Crocky Pie," featuring such old

    favountes as Jack Travers Eddie Purkiss and

    "Hi and

    Mo-the Cads

    of the

    . R . O . C . C . H . S . ~

    It

    was

    with

    great reluctance that "Old

    Crocks" finally departed after a rousing

    " Auld

    Lang

    Syne ; it was

    with the

    know

    ledge, however,

    that

    this re-union was

    but

    the

    first. of many.

    For

    one thing is

    certain-the

    f ~ e l m g s shared by all

    that

    night could never

    dIe.

    The

    spirit was truly one

    of "Viva,

    C.R.O.C.C.H.S. "

    1

    .

    Spring

    to

    attention

    smartly

    THE ROYAL ARMY

    PAY

    CORPS JOURNAL

    PAY SERVICES S.E.A.C.

    Ill

    Fourteenth rmy

    By Lieut.-Colonel

    H.

    W. W.

    POLLARD,

    O.B.E.

    B

    y the

    autumn of

    1944

    the

    war was going

    very well and

    the

    J ap was in retreat on

    all fronts in Burma. Everyone's mind

    began to turn

    to

    a war of movement, and plans

    were laid for

    the

    move

    of

    H.Q. Army to

    Imphal

    by the

    end

    of November, when an

    L. of

    C.

    Command would form in our rear and the

    H.Q.s could concentrate

    on

    fighting the enemy

    and shed itself of the vast administration

    problem of the

    L.

    of C. Area.

    Plans were duly laid to

    hand

    over

    the

    Pay

    organisation within the

    L. of

    C. Area and to

    lay on a similar organisation in Burma

    as

    this

    was recovered from

    the

    enemy. At the same

    time plans had to be made to supply the Corps

    while the battle was being fought. D.P.I.C.

    also called for an appreciation

    of

    the problems

    involved in handing back Pay Services to

    India

    when the L. of C. command reverted to India.

    So there was little relaxation for anyone.

    A trip to H.Q. S.A.C.S.E.A. to see the

    Brigadier was made by the Force Paymaster in

    September to lay on

    the

    bodies and obtain

    approval for plans for Pay Services in Burma.

    A good time was had by all in Kandy with real

    civilisation again, running water "

    and

    plugs that

    pulled, to say nothing of apparently unlimited

    supplies of sherry (Spanish) and port (Oporto)

    and a reasonably cool climate.

    The

    problems in

    the future,

    as

    visualised, going to be quite

    different from those already experienced. H .Q.

    Army was expected to at last assume its real

    role of directing a battle of movement and the

    L. of

    C. in Burma proper, as cleared

    of

    the

    enemy, was to be handed over to

    L. of

    C.

    Districts or Areas. It was, therefore,

    planned:

    a)

    To

    attach an Area Cash Office to each

    Corps.

    b) To

    arrange for Staff Paymasters to be

    mobilised and available to move in

    in

    rear

    of

    Army to relieve the Force Paymaster

    of

    any

    responsibility for the L. of C. as the Areas or

    Sub-Areas were formed.

    c) That

    the Force Paymaster with attached

    Staff Paymaster

    as

    heretofore should be the

    central supply of currency in the absence of any

    Treasuries or Banks whatsoever in Burma.

    d)

    That

    the introduction of British Military

    Authority currency (overprinted

    Indian

    Rupee

    415

    Notes) should be deferred as long

    as

    possible

    and preferably until Rangoon was recaptured.

    e)

    That

    all arrangements for

    the

    shipment

    of currency

    of

    any kind by air be laid on by

    S.P. (Cash) to cover supplies for

    the

    Force

    Paymaster

    or

    where more convenient, direct to

    Staff Paymasters, Area Cash Officers or Field

    Cashiers.

    The

    Plan for Cash Services

    in

    Burma proper

    was to

    put:

    a) A Field Cashier at

    Tamu

    so soon as Army

    moved forward of the Burma Frontier. Tamu

    is

    just in

    Burma and was therefore an Army

    responsibility

    of L. of

    C. Command boundary

    was the frontier line.

    b)

    An

    Area Cash Office at Kalewa while

    the

    build

    up

    took place there, this

    unit

    to

    hand

    over

    to the Sub-Area Cashier and be available to

    move to build

    up

    centres forward

    of

    Kalewa as

    the advance made headway.

    c) A Staff Paymaster to Mandalay

    or

    such

    place as might be selected for District/Area

    H.Q. in the

    Northern

    half

    of

    Burma and one to

    Rangoon for District/Area H.Q. in

    the

    South.

    d) Area Cash Offices to be attached to Corps

    H.Q.

    to hold reserves

    of

    Cash for use

    of

    Div. Cashiers

    and

    later to be stationed as

    required at either Toungoo, Moulmein, Pauk

    or

    such other centres as seemed best at

    the

    time.

    e) Staff Paymasters to be equipped and

    accommodated to act

    as

    currency depots

    as

    it

    was not expected that any Burma Government

    Treasuries would be functioning for some time

    after any part of Burma had been cleared of the

    enemy. Cash Services

    had

    therefore to be

    prepared to provide all

    the

    currency likely to

    be needed.

    This

    plan was adhered to practically without

    change

    when

    the time came, as the layout as

    visualised of North and South Districts and

    Sub-Areas

    under

    Command with Field Cashiers

    on

    their Establishments, was in the end duly

    implemented. So soon

    as

    the Campaign was

    completed it was the intention to form a Burma

    Command H.Q. to which a Command Pay

    master Establishment would be posted, respon

    sible for the whole country. This duly came

    about. Careful planning for the future in this

    /

  • 8/9/2019 1947 Summer

    6/33

    THE ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL

    way paid handsome dividends in

    the

    end as

    all knew exactly what was required

    and

    could

    take preliminary steps beforehand.

    The

    only

    slight difficulty that was visualised was that

    before Burma Command formed the part of

    Burma not under Command of Army would be

    under command of

    A.L.F

    .S.E.A. which would

    make it difficult for the

    D.P.LC

    . to control his

    Paymasters' activities owing to the distances

    involved. The Force Paymaster was instructed

    to keep a watchful eye over the District Staff

    Pa

    ymasters which, of course, he did at the risk

    of treading on the corns of H.Q.s not under

    command of his own H.Q.s and much against

    the wish of his own "A" Branch. However,

    all worked out smoothly in the end.

    All this was,

    of

    course, for

    the future; it

    is

    now necessary to return to current affairs. At

    the

    end of November 1944 L. of C. Command

    formed at Comilla

    and

    took over

    command

    of

    202 and 404 Areas with their boundaries

    approximately on the Indo-Burma frontier.

    N.C.A.C. and 15th Corps in the Kaladan passed

    under direct Command of

    A.L.F.S.E.A. and

    Fourteenth Army was from

    then

    on concerned

    only with 4th and 33rd Corps debouching into

    Burma via Tamu and Kalewa with Rangoon

    and the destruction of the enemy as their

    objective.

    Army H.Q. moved to Imphal and took over

    the Camp built by 4 Corps, for the Siege.

    The situation was lovely and the climate (at

    2,500 feet odd) perfect, frost at nigh t

    and

    bright sunny days after the morning mist had

    cleared. In addition there was the feeling of

    Victory in the air and with the slog of the past

    year behind us, it was a very happy and keen

    H.Q. that sat down to Christmas dinner 1944.

    At about this time a ceremony unique in

    British Army history was laid on in Imphal

    when H.E. the Viceroy knighted the

    Army

    Commander and his three Corps Commanders

    and invested them with their K.C.B. and

    K.B.E.s respectively.

    In

    addition a

    number of

    decorations were conferred on British, Ghurka,

    Indian and Mrican officers and other ranks.

    The

    five Guards of Honour drawn from British,

    Ghurka, Indian and East African troops made

    a fine sight parading in

    the

    bright sunshine

    while the galaxy of V.LP.s caused the A.A. and

    Fighter boys some concern.

    The

    Maharajah

    of Manipur and his retinue in their bright robes

    and pugrees added a touch of colour to

    the

    prevailing green

    of

    the surrounding jungle and

    battledress of the Parade and spectators.

    416

    These

    festivities did not interfere

    with

    a lot

    of hard work on immediate problems and the

    imminent move forward of Army to Indainngyi.

    At this stage H.Q. 4 Corps was also at Imphal

    but were getting ready to move to a spot at the

    head of

    the

    Gangaw Valley preparatory to their

    dash to Pauk where the Irrawaddy was crossed

    and subsequent advance to Meiktila . H.Q.

    33 Corps were at Tamu and moved almost at '

    once to Kalewa. The Area Cash office to be

    attached to 33 Corps was called forward

    and joined his H.Q. at Kalewa.

    The

    Field

    Cashier for Tamu was called forward and,

    pending his arrival, a Cashier from

    Army

    carried

    out

    his duties.

    At the

    same time

    the

    Area Cash

    Office for 4 Corps was warned and joined his

    H.Q. in

    January reporting to Force Paymaster

    at Indainngyi

    n

    route The Area Cash Office

    for

    duty

    at Kalewa was also warne d

    and

    arrived

    later to fill in the gap that would have existed

    when 33 Corps moved to Schwebo and Army

    to Monywa. This office was in position by the

    end of January.

    The

    other important jobs done while in

    Imphal were the publication of Orders regard

    ing the handling of Booty, forbidding dealing

    in

    Currency, laying down rates of pay for labour

    in Burma. and arranging with C.A.S.(B.) for

    the control of the price of rice. It was at this

    stage that

    the

    decision to r ~ p u d i t e

    the

    Japanese

    occupational currency was taken. This decision

    has been much criticised from time to time

    but the writer is convinced it was the correct

    one. The country had

    been

    flooded with this

    worthless paper by the enemy and the problems

    that would have been created if any value had

    been put on it were very great. The peasants

    had only small amounts and could recover any

    purchasing power lost by its repudiation by

    doing a few days' work for the Army and the

    large holders were collaborators anyway and

    deserved no sympathy. Besides all this pre

    liminary arrangements were made for the

    mov

    ement and

    storage

    of

    British Military

    Authority Currency

    (Indian

    Rupee notes over

    printed) the issue of which it was expected

    would be deferred until the country was cleared.

    In

    actual fact we were finally instructed

    to

    change over on 1st May, 1945,

    and

    before the

    writer left Army for India its distribution

    to

    Area Cash Offices, etc., was well advanced.

    The

    issue finally went off without undue

    difficulty. Immediately after Christmas the

    move

    of

    Army to Indainngyi from Imphal took

    place by air and road.

    The

    writer travelled by

    THE

    ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS

    JOURNAL

    Jeep via Palel (the limit

    of

    the

    Ja

    p advance),

    The Saddle (scene of bitter fighting in the

    previous spring), Tamu (where the best l?art of

    two Jap divisions died of wounds, disease,

    starvation and exhaustion after their defeat

    before Imphal and Kohima). Tamu was still

    heavily mined and the

    cookhouse fire was

    blown

    up

    in the Transit Camp on our way

    through. Luckily no one was hurt and the

    evening meal was only slightly delayed. So to

    Indainngyi via the fantastic road cut through

    the jungle of the Kabaw valley (Kabaw is the

    Naga word for death "). This

    part

    of the

    world

    is

    normally practically uninhabited and

    the road was merely a clearing through the

    jungle and all channgs (river beds) were crossed

    by fords. Breakdowns

    and

    indifferent driving,

    dust or alternatively mud, made it quite a

    journey.

    At last the Camp prepared for H.Q.

    was

    reached, situated in a clearing cut from the

    elephant grass in the teak jungl e. Office

    accommodation consisted of 180 lb. tents and

    senior officers slept and worked in the same

    tent, while

    junior

    officers slept in 30 lb. tents

    pitched near their messes.

    The

    O.R.s lived in

    tents near their mess tents. s soon

    as

    we

    arrived it rained for 24 hours and all movement

    was forbidden for 48 hours in order that the

    roads" might not be completely destroyed.

    As soon as transport was allowed

    on the

    road

    again a visit was paid to 33 Corps Area Cash

    Office which was located at Kalewa at the time.

    The

    journey was only about 30 miles

    but

    conditions were such that a start at 8-30 a.m.

    only allowed arrival at about 4 p.m.

    and the

    return journey took five hours. However, the

    cash was duly delivered and "A" Branch at

    Corps contacted. The weather was pleasant

    and some interesting trips were made by plane

    to 33 Corps who moved at this time to Schwebo,

    by Cashiers from Army

    (

    elivering cash which

    was

    drawn from the Staff Paymaster at Imphal

    and flown in under escort of his Cashiers.

    Army's next move was to Monywa near

    the

    confluence of the Irrawaddy and Chindwin

    Rivers.

    The

    move was made towards the end

    of February and

    so

    again the opportunity was

    taken to destroy all unnecessary files. The

    office equipment was packed into a 15-cwt.

    truck, the cash (25 lakhs of assorted notes and

    coin) into a three tonner

    and

    tentage into

    another, and off we went .

    The

    writer travelled

    in the 15-cwt. truck with a S/Sgt. and driver

    and 10 lakhs of rupees for delivery to

    the

    Area

    Cash Office 33 Corps, who was to be met at

    417

    Yeu. Unfortunately it rained again, very

    un

    expectedly, and 24 hours were therefore spent

    by the roadside at Kalewa just beyond the

    crossing of the Chindwin by th e famous Bailey

    Bridge (365 yards long). An opportunity was

    taken to visit

    the

    Area Cash Office there who

    mercifully had some whisky and provided a

    welcome wash. Next evening the road reopened

    so the hill section between Kalewa, via

    Schwegyn to Yeu

    and the

    Schwebo plain was

    crossed at night. An exciting drive resulted

    along the road

    of

    the retreat in 1942 as

    evidenced by

    the

    rusting tanks

    and

    cars

    by the

    roadside. Yeu was reached next morning and

    the cash handed over to the Area Cash Office

    who

    had

    sensibly waited 24 hours at

    the

    cross

    roads for

    our

    arrival. So down a macadam road

    at last to Monywa and our new camp near the

    town. Here accommodation was again in tents

    but

    each Branch of the Staff lived in its own

    little camp.

    A day

    or

    two after arrival

    the

    Force Pay

    master was honoured by a visit from the P.LC.

    General Stanham accompanied by D.P.LC.

    H.Q. was still moving, messes had not been

    organised and Pay was represented

    by

    Force

    Paymaster and his S/Sgt. only. However, a

    visit was paid to the Area Cash Office at

    Schwebo

    and the

    rest of the personnel

    in

    their

    two three tonners were met on the road. They

    had had a hectic journey including the break

    down of the

    lorry carrying

    the

    cash The

    P.LC.'s departure caused quite a stir as he flew

    out to Kalemyo with

    the

    intention of there

    catching a plane to Calcutta. Unfortunately

    the

    R.A.F. had neglected to say that routes had

    changed and Kalemyo was closing down.

    Imagine the Force Paymaster's feelings when

    Major Burden turned up at about 3-30 p.m.

    with the news having thumbed a flight back to

    Monywa. All efforts were of no avail and the

    General and the Brigadier were stranded for

    24 hours while arrangements were made for

    them

    to

    be

    picked

    up

    at Kalemyo by a special

    plane.

    The

    signals that were sent about it

    put most of H.Q.s into the picture and Force

    Paymaster had to endure a lot of chaff. How

    ever the General wrote to say that they had

    enjoyed being stranded" and had taken the

    opportunity to see a slice of Burma

    so

    all was

    well.

    All this time the war had been progressing

    very well. The Irrawaddy was crossed

    north

    of Mandalay by

    19

    Indian Division and to the

    south west by 2 Division and 20 Indian Division

  • 8/9/2019 1947 Summer

    7/33

    THE

    ROYAL ARMY PAY

    CORPS JOURNAL

    while 4 Corps was across farther

    south

    at

    h a ~ k

    and

    advancing to Meiktila.

    During

    this

    f i g h ~ n g

    the

    28

    East

    African Brigade which, as

    an mdependent Brigade, had a Field Cashier

    a t t a c ~ e d was i n v o ~ in heavy fighting while

    covenng

    the

    crossmg

    of the

    Irrawaddy.

    The

    Field Cashier was badly wounded

    by

    a hand

    grenade when Brigade H.Q. itself was attacked.

    o f f i ~ e r from Area Cash Office 4 Corps was

    Immediately sent to take over his cash

    and

    look

    after

    the

    Brigade pending its withdrawal which

    took place shortly afterwards. The officer who

    was wounded made an excellent recovery.

    Towards the end

    of

    April

    the

    next move

    of

    Army to Meiktila n rout for Rangoon took

    place and the Force Paymaster who was due

    ~ o r

    early release was withdrawn ready for the

    Journey home. His relief arrived two davs before

    P

    d

    ay was ue to move forward

    and

    there-

    fore, on the day that the trucks were loaded

    again ready to move up, a very sorrowful

    officer emplaned for Calcutta.

    The

    foregoing may give some idea

    of

    the

    w?rk

    that

    was done by R.A.P.C. Units serving

    with.

    Fourteenth Army

    and convey an im

    pres.slOn

    of

    the conditions under which it was

    carned

    out. All ranks regarded it as

    an

    honour

    to be posted to units with the Army and

    all

    gave

    of their

    best. Some were, of course, more

    adaptable than others

    but

    the enthusiasm and

    g e n ~ r ~ l l y ~ n e bearing

    of

    all made it a pleasure

    to

    VISit

    Ulllts and an honour to command them.

    Any officer

    or man

    who served with

    an

    R.A.P.C.

    unit

    in L.

    of

    C. Command or with

    Fo.urteenth Army can look back with pride to

    a Job well done with one of the finest and

    hardest fighting Armies

    the

    Empire has ever

    put

    in the field.

    Their

    comrades who were not .

    lucky enough to be there can be assured that

    the.

    h i ~ h e s t

    traditions

    of

    the Corps were fully

    mamtamed.

    IV

    The inal Stages

    o

    By Lieut.-Colonel

    R.

    C.

    THOMPSON,

    O.B.E.

    N the 25

    th

    April, 1945,

    Lieut

    .-Colonel

    P o ~ l a r d the writer

    of

    he three preceding

    articles, was taken

    out of the Fourteenth

    Army for a thoroughly well-earned rest. As it

    happened,

    in

    spite

    of

    the good intentions which

    prompted

    this decision, it proved perhaps

    somewhat ironical, for

    in

    a

    matter

    of days afte;

    his relief h ~ d taken over, the Fourteenth Army

    crashed their way down to Rangoon, thereb y in

    ruth

    completing

    the

    total defeat

    of the

    Japanese

    Burma.

    Pollard, although he missed the kill had a

    magnificent run, and never once d id he lose the

    scent,

    so

    I hope his disappointment, which I

    know was great, was countered b y a conscience

    well satisfied.

    Be.fore carrying on the story, I should like,

    at thiS stage, to explain how we were organised.

    Shortly before

    the

    fall

    of

    Burma, Pay Services

    S.E.A.C. and India were joined

    up under

    com

    mand of Chief.Paymaster S.E.A.C./ lndia, who

    was located With Rear

    H.Q

    . S.A.C.S.E.A. in

    New

    Delhi; under him

    a

    D.P.I.C.

    with

    H.Q.

    A.L.F.S.E.A. at Barrackpore (near Calcutta) .

    a

    D.P.I.C.

    India at

    Meerut;

    C.P. Ceylon

    Colombo;

    C.P. Burma at

    Rangoon;

    Force

    Paymaster (S.P.I) with

    H.Q. Fourteenth

    Army;

    Force. :raymaster

    (S.P.I)

    34 Corps

    Poona

    and

    a Liaison Officer (S.P .

    I)

    with

    H.Q.

    S.A.C.S.E.A.

    at

    Kandy, Ceylon.

    418

    On

    the setting up

    of

    this organisation, the

    first major,

    in

    fact lightning operation, was the

    transfer

    by

    air

    of

    all the soldiers' accounts ,

    from Meerut

    to

    the Regimental Paymasters

    at

    home. t was foreseen that release would start

    on the

    fall

    of

    Germany, and in consequence it

    had been imperative to plan for the accounts

    to get home in advance

    of

    those arriving for

    demobilisation. I have chosen to adopt the

    term, lightning operation, because it is no

    exaggeration to say that it was carried out with

    rema.:kable dexterity

    and

    rapidity; so much

    so,

    that ItS

    successful completion was

    the

    cause of

    some embarrassment to certain individuals in

    India whose normal activities were seldom

    subject

    to

    violent disturbances. Howev er after

    the

    initial storm had blown over, I am giad to

    say that there were no heart burnings, and

    everybody

    said"

    good show.

    Having managed to get

    the

    accounts home

    so successfully, it was naturally incumbe nt upon

    us to ensure that by

    so

    doing, the notification

    of

    balances would not be delayed. We, there

    fore laid

    on

    a special Air Mail bag service to

    get all Acquittance Rolls, etc., from Burma,

    Ceylon and India to

    Meerut-Meerut

    to

    Delhi, and Delhi to the

    U.K. t

    worked like

    clockwork, and what is more, we shot the

    whole bag

    of

    tricks on to F9 to distribute out

    to Regimental Paymasters, and they played

    THE

    ROYAL

    ARMY

    PAY

    CORPS JOURNAL

    their part with spirit.

    Later

    on, as the opera

    tions progressed, so

    the

    Air

    Mail

    bag service

    was extended, and we employed it for our

    ordinary everyday mail to F9, to Ceylon, to

    Burma, etc., which proved a tremendou s saving

    of

    time

    The

    story must now

    go on

    as the occupation

    of Burma was only

    the

    first operational phase

    successfully accomplished.

    There

    still re

    mained the occupation

    of

    Malaya, Siam,

    French

    Indo China, Hong Kong, Borneo, Celebes and

    the

    Dutch

    East Indies. While the Burma

    campaign was on, we had been busy storing

    thousands

    of

    Malayan Dollars

    in

    Bombay

    and

    Madras, and a supply of Dutch Guilders in

    Madras and Calcutta. -All frightfully secret

    of

    course, so to cover

    up our

    ulterior motives, we

    established a R.A.P.C. Information Bureau at

    Bombay, Madras and Calcutta.

    The

    chaps

    selected for this task, apart from - being

    responsible for storing secret currency ready

    for instant dispatch by sea

    or

    air, incidentally

    functioned as Information Bureaux ( )

    and

    played an invaluable part by acting as contact

    men

    and

    general Pay Service Agents.

    Not

    only

    could they tell anybody who chose to drop in,

    what pay he should be getting and how

    to

    get

    it,

    but

    they could always lay

    on

    transport

    and

    accommodation for any visiting Paymaster, and

    book onward passages by air, sea or

    land

    highly useful people in fact .

    The

    greatest combined operation ever was

    now being planned,

    the

    occu pation of Malaya.

    Just to make things a trifle difficult for us, the

    operation Forces were mounted

    both

    in India

    and Burma, using Bombay, Madras, Calcutta,

    Rangoon and other subsidiary ports,

    and

    although H.Q.s Fourteenth Army were with

    drawn from Burma to Secunderabad,

    the

    actual

    detailed planning for the operation was done

    by a special Force H.Q.s based

    on

    Poona and

    Bombay. Fortunately the high level planners

    came and did their work

    in

    Delhi, so with

    the

    aid of our Force Paymasters Fourteenth Army

    and Operation Force, we were able to keep

    fully aware

    of

    what was doing. Working in

    close co-operation with D.P.I.C. H.Q. Allied

    Land

    Forces, who was by now located

    in

    Kandy, Ceylon, and who

    put

    in the bids for

    Pay Establishments and currency loads re-

    9uired, we laid

    on

    all the bodies and equipment

    In Meerut, ready to move

    out

    to positions as

    and when called for.

    t is now August 1945, and we heard

    of

    a

    secret weapon to be used against Japan, such

    419

    a weapon that the possible result of its use,

    would be the total surrender of

    the

    Japanese.

    However, we could not plan on presumptions,

    so the forming

    up

    and training of personnel

    selected for

    the

    operational Units continued,

    and in the closest secret we flew Malayan

    currency to Rangoon and prepared countless

    bo xes

    of

    Malayan currency to place on board

    every ship taking part, to be accounted for

    on

    special Imprest Accounts: I may say, this was

    merely a precaution to ensure that all troops

    landed in Malaya in possession of Malayan

    currency, and no other.

    As we all know so well,

    the

    Atom Bombs

    were dropped,

    and

    Japan totally surrendered

    on 15th August, 1945. Well, we did know it

    was coming for certain a few days in advance,

    we knew it was too late to stop the landing

    operations

    on

    Malaya (known as Zipper), we

    were also warned that parties were to be flown

    into Siam, French Indo China

    and Dutch

    East

    Indies

    to

    take over British and Allied Prisoners

    of

    War, and a party

    of

    Commandos would

    set

    off for Penang from Bombay. Undoubte dly a

    salvo

    of

    fast balls, and certainly things did start

    to work pretty fast. A

    number of

    telephone

    calls whizzed from Delhi to Kandy, to Bombay,

    Madras

    and

    Calcutta,

    but

    with first rate

    co-operation

    on

    the part

    of

    Movements,

    G.H.Q.

    India, those bodies not already in

    position were moved with their equipment and

    cash, either by air

    or

    train.

    The

    first to go off post haste by air from

    Delhi, was the advanced party for the Command

    Pay Office, Malaya. Misfortune befell

    them

    when they got caught amidst the melee

    at

    Calcutta. However, the I

    C P

    and half his

    staff got away in

    the

    nick

    of

    time, arriving

    in

    Rangoon only a day before their convoy

    set

    sail for Singapore.

    Not much

    time to organise

    the show,

    but

    the deficiency in Staff was made

    up

    by C.P. Burma,

    and

    planning allowed for a

    good stock

    of

    Malayan,

    Indian

    and Sterling

    currency to be available at Rangoon, so all was

    well. About this time

    the

    currency for

    Hong

    Kong arriv

    ed

    by air from

    U.K.

    at Karachi,

    and owing to some mischance, instead

    of

    going

    to its prearranged store in India, got into a

    plane and fetched

    up in

    Colombo. However,

    the irregularity turned out for the best, as I

    will relate later on.

    No sooner had we got off the party for

    Singapore, when D.P.I.C. A.L.F.S.E.A. rang

    up

    from Kandy to say that a Staff Paymaster

    and

    Field Cashier were required to embark at

  • 8/9/2019 1947 Summer

    8/33

    THE ROYAL

    ARMY

    PAY

    CORPS

    JOURNAL

    Bombay, to go to Penang with

    the

    Commando

    Force.

    That wasn't

    too difficult, because

    it

    only needed a

    matter of

    hours to bring

    the

    staff

    and equipment

    required from

    Meerut

    to

    Delhi

    by

    car

    and put them on the

    train for

    Bombay, and the officer selected for Staff

    Paymaster happened already to

    be in

    Bombay,

    helping with the loading

    of

    Malayan currency.

    They got abaard in time with their equipment

    and cash, but no vehicles. The party was held

    up

    n

    route

    at Trincomalee

    when the

    original

    plan was cancelled, and they were switched to

    take over Hong Kong.

    Time

    allowed the Staff

    Paymaster to visit D.P.I.C. A.L.F.S.E.A. to

    obtain detailed briefing, and to move the Hong

    Kong currency from Colombo, obviously a

    piece

    of

    superb planning I).

    Following

    in

    quick succession, Staff Pay

    masters and Cashiers were flown from Delhi via

    Rangoon, for Bangkok

    and

    Saigon, and from

    Delhi via Colombo for Batavia.

    The

    urgency

    called for to get these Pay Offices was at

    Priority 1 level, as they were required to

    go

    in

    on

    D

    Day in

    every case.

    The

    immediate

    task was to release British

    and

    Allied Prisoners

    of

    War, all

    of

    whom, apart from food

    and

    medical attention, would require pocket money

    and

    cash to

    spend

    on arrival at clearing stations,

    and

    later

    at

    bases in India. All

    our

    chaps got

    to

    their

    respective destinations according to

    plan, and they undo u btedly accomplished a

    grand job

    of

    work.

    We had

    some trouble

    in

    Malaya

    and

    India, because

    the War

    Office made

    rather severe restrictions

    on

    advances payable

    to the released Prisoners

    of

    War, but

    then

    the

    whole scheme for evacuation was laid on with

    great rapidity and, naturally, everything could

    not work exactly to plan.

    For

    instance, it was

    the

    intention to evacuate all the fits direct to

    U.K. by air or sea, and retain only the unfits in

    hospital

    in

    India. In actual fact there were some

    delays

    in

    Malaya

    and

    India,

    in

    the evacuation

    of the

    fits,

    and in

    consequence, advances were

    demanded, and paid, considerably in excess of

    the

    originally authorised rates. However,

    in

    addition to getting

    our

    Pay Staff to all collecting

    centres with the cash, we succeeded in getting

    them to all base stations in India where we

    fortunately took

    on

    the job, organised it

    and

    laid it on.

    In the meantime the landing operation for

    the occupation

    of

    Malaya went ahead

    as

    arranged, but owing to the take out of the special

    convoy required for Singapore and ships being

    switched for evacuation of Prisoners

    of

    War,

    420

    there was some desperate loading and reloading

    of

    .currency consignments, equipment and

    vehIcles to

    be

    dealt with

    at

    Bombay and Madras.

    Ne

    vertheless,.

    the

    Force Paymaster, with the

    greater proportIOn

    of

    his Pay staff, got in by

    the 15th September, with ample currency

    which arrived at Singapore and Kuala Lumpur:

    pretty well to plan. Perhaps

    our

    greatest mis

    fortune, other

    than

    the difficulties which arose

    at Saigon (explained in a previous article)

    arose Batavia. The Staff Paymaster w e n ~

    over dIrect from Colombo

    in

    a British cruiser

    With. a good stock

    of

    Rupees, Sterling and

    speCIally produced Dutch Guilders.

    On

    arrival he was able to get rid of his Sterling

    and Indian

    currency for use

    by

    released

    Prisoners

    of

    War, but found

    that

    the Dutch

    Guilders were not accepted by the local' in

    habitants (the Indonesians).

    The Dutch

    civil

    a u t h o r i ~ i e s were unabl.e to come to any agree

    ment

    wIth. he Indones.Ians, and

    in

    consequence,

    for a consIderable penod there was literally

    no

    currency for issue to the occupying troops. To

    quote

    the

    words

    of

    the Staff Paymaster himself

    I' i

    can t even allord to get a hair

    cut.

    Later on, when there were Pay Offices at

    Madan and

    Padang

    in

    Sumatra

    in

    addition

    to

    Batavia, the only solution was to issue the

    Japanese occupational Guilders free gratis to

    troops for local use. A most undesirable state

    of

    affairs, but one

    that

    survived for a consider

    time,

    in

    fact until the supply of J ap

    GUIlders ran out.

    ter the general rush was over, we

    put

    in a

    Force Paymaster to go with the British/ Indian

    contingent for Japan, a cash office to cater for

    the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and cash

    offices to take over Borneo and the Celebesfrom

    the Australians.

    On paper, I suppose all these movements of

    Pay Offices do not appe ar particularly exciting.

    But perhaps if the reader will study a map of

    South-East Asia and consider the effect of a

    very sudden surrender

    of

    the enemy in so vast

    an area

    of

    land and sea, he will realise the

    astonishing and rapid re-shuffle

    of

    plans that

    took place. On the whole, things went pretty

    well throughout the campaign, which was no

    doubt

    due to the fact

    that

    all Headquarter

    Staffs without exception, kept t he Pay Services

    fully

    in

    the picture. It was possible, therefore,

    to plan ahead, so

    in

    spite

    of

    the enormous

    distances involved by movements, we always

    succeeded in laying on the bodies with the

    Concluded on page 431)

    /

    THE

    ROYAL

    ARMY

    PAY CORPS

    JOURNAL

    dewish Terrorists attack the

    Syrian

    Orphanage in erusalem

    T

    HE 12th March, 1947, will long be

    remembered as the blackest day in the

    history of the

    90 Battalion, Royal Army

    Pay Corps, for it was

    in

    the early hours of

    that

    day that personnel peacefully sleeping in their

    quarters in the Syrian Orphanage were the

    victims

    of

    a cowardly attack by Jewish

    Terrorists. It will be

    of

    interest not only to

    those who were the victims of this cowardly

    outrage

    but

    to the many thousands of R .A.P.C.

    personnel whose billet has at one time

    or

    another been in the Syrian Orphanage during

    the war years to place on record some details

    of what took place during this dastardly attack.

    The terrorists who had for some time been

    carrying out an extensive programme

    of murder

    and destruction throughout Palestine selected

    the Camp at the Syrian Orphanage which

    houses the 90 Battalion Royal Army Pay Corps

    (and whose members work side by side with

    Jews during office hours)

    as

    the object for a

    hit and

    run

    attack.

    The

    Jews approached the Western perimeter

    wall

    under

    cover

    of

    darkness behind

    A

    Block

    (for the information

    of

    those who know

    Schneller well)

    just

    before dawn and proceeded

    to blast through the twelve-foot wall.

    This

    initial explosion rocked every building in the

    vast Orphanage. Through the breach thus

    made in the wall, the attackers, supported

    by

    small arms fire from nearby vantage points,

    entered the grounds and placed one sack

    (approximate weight, 50 lb.)

    of

    gelignite

    with

    a minute fuse

    in the

    passage way

    at

    the rear

    of

    the building

    in

    which some 80

    N.C.O

    .s and

    men of

    the Corps were sleeping. During the

    period

    of

    this assault a diversionary attack was

    made on the Main Guard with small arms fire

    and

    by

    grenades thrown

    on

    to the road.

    The shattering explosion

    of

    the gelignite,

    the

    blast

    of

    which threw many

    of

    the boys from

    their beds was followed by the sickening sound

    of

    falling masonry as a large part of the interior

    of

    the building collapsed burying the occupants

    These photographs show some of the damage caused in the attack.

    42

  • 8/9/2019 1947 Summer

    9/33

    THE ROYAL ARMY

    PAY

    CORPS

    JOURNAL

    ---_.-

    Ph

    o

    to

    C.

    J. Ra

    wiillgs

    Gid

    ea Park.

    A

    Block,

    Syrian Orphanage, Jerusalem.

    This building was formerly the Blind Children's School.

    beneath

    the dust and

    debris.

    Many

    were

    injured

    and

    one

    man

    succumbed to his injuries

    almost immediately.

    It is perhaps some little consolation that only

    one of the charges intended for the building

    exploded.

    Two

    further sacks

    of

    the same

    weight containing gelignite were afterwards

    found abandoned at the back

    of

    the building,

    neither detonated

    nor

    placed in position. It is

    probable

    that the

    reason for these charges

    being abandoned was

    the

    timely intervention

    of

    Pte. Manning, later: one

    of the

    seriously

    injured, who in accordance with his normal

    practice had his

    Sten

    Gun

    at

    the ready

    by

    his

    bed and

    who, after being awakened by

    the

    first explosion

    rushed

    to

    the

    window

    and

    fired

    at the Jews through the gap in the wall.

    In the grey light of morning, almost before

    the clouds

    of dust

    from

    the

    explosion

    had

    settled, rescue squads were at work, many

    forgetting their own personal injuries, in an

    effort to release those

    of their

    comrades who

    were

    trapped

    by

    the

    falling debris

    and

    attending

    to those who were injured. The scene by this

    time resembled a battle-field with its stream

    of stretcher and walking casualties making for

    the M.I.

    Room where after

    treatment the

    seriously injured were rushed to hospital.

    Our

    thanks go out to the Medical Officer, Captain

    \

    422

    Donnelly, R.A.M.C., and his small staff who

    worked heroically during this period.

    It was a strange feeling to be standing some

    time later, looking at the ruins

    of

    A Block

    while several soldiers searched among the

    debris for a trace

    of

    their lost possessions and

    others swathed in bandages

    and

    covered from

    head to foot in dust and grime stood by.

    It

    was all the more strange

    when

    one recalled

    how peaceful

    the

    Jews

    in

    Palestine

    had

    become

    at a time when the German hordes were at

    El Alamein and the British Soldier was all that

    stood between Palestine

    and

    slavery.

    All

    the Unit

    personnel showed the utmost

    courage and fortitude at this time and their

    thoughts and questions were only of those of

    their

    comrades whom they knew to be

    hurt

    more

    than

    themselves. It speaks well for the

    discipline and training

    of

    these British soldiers

    of the R.A.P.C. who despite their feelings of

    anger and disgust at

    the

    outrage did suffer the

    Jewish Clerks to continue working beside them

    in

    the office, not knowing to what extent some

    of them

    might have been involved in

    the

    plan

    ning

    and

    perpetration

    of

    this dastardly outrage

    against the soldiers who protect and pay them.

    We all deeply regret

    the

    loss

    of

    Pte. Harold

    Edward France who was killed in this cowardly

    outrage.

    He

    was not unlike any

    of

    those

    THE

    ROYAL

    ARMY

    PAY

    CORPS JOURNAL

    soldiers who gave their lives for freedom and

    set free the Jews from Concentration Camps in

    Europe, and yet he now lies dead, murdered

    by J leaving a widow and two children. A

    more likeable fellow could not have been fou nd

    anywhere in the Camp. I

    don't

    think he would

    ever have harmed anyone intentionally, yet he

    paid the supreme sacrifice for something

    in

    which he had neither part nor interest.

    To

    Mrs. France and family we all extend our

    sincere heartfelt sympathy in their great

    bereavement.

    The

    following were

    plosions

    *14768521 Cpl.

    *14942753 Pte.

    *14955099 Pte.

    *14840531 Pte.

    *14953417 Pte.

    *14104787 Pte.

    wounded by the

    J. R. Whitham

    C. J. Crowther

    F. Sydes

    P. Manning

    A. Parr

    H. E. Buttivant

    ex-

    M.

    W. Mallett (late A.P.O., Manchester) has

    joined an Engineering firm in Ashton-under

    Lyne and is training to take charge of their

    Advertising Department.

    * * *

    C. E. Hale would be interested to hear from

    any who served with him in Radcliffe from

    1943-1946.

    He

    has recently been elected an

    Associate of the Chartered Institute of Sec

    retaries. His address IS 14 Lime Grove,

    Prestwich, Manchester.

    * * *

    F.

    J. Astill, 2 Square Street, Leamington

    Spa, Warwicks., would be pleased to hear from

    ex-Cpl. E. Taylor

    of

    Barrow (late A.P.O.,

    Manchester)

    and

    also from any other old

    colleagues at Leicester, Manchester or Kidder

    minster.

    The whereabouts of Pte. P. J. Trendell, who

    transferred to the Corps from R.A.S.C. in

    France in early 1940 are sought by J. L. West,

    3 Trafalgar Road, Pendleton, Salford

    6,

    Lancs.

    On

    the evacuation

    of

    France

    both

    were

    posted to Ilfracombe, Mr. West being sub

    sequently posted to Leeds when he lost trace

    of

    Trendell. Can anyone help ?

    Charles E. Harris of 120 Clare .Road,

    Tankerton,

    Kent

    (late of B.C.H.) has now

    423

    *14062240 Pte.

    A.

    Bedding

    14

    842516 Pte. J.

    A.

    Kilshaw

    14903885 Pte. R. Smith

    2615355 SjSgt. Durose

    7675

    091

    Sgt. Shooler

    14959226 Pte. Ingleby

    14861380 Pte. Devey

    14026977 Pte. Moon

    14650942 Pte. Cheeseman

    14047264 Pte. Bassett

    1

    48

    25293 Sgt. Watters

    14945849

    Pte. Wardrope

    14945845 L jCpl. Chadwick

    7672161 Sgt. Russell

    14844041 LjCpl. Alder

    14076188 Pte. Barnes

    7669242 SjSgt. Brigden

    14072079 Pte. Russell

    Admitted

    t

    Hospital

    returned to his Auctioneers' practice at Whit-

    stable and would like to hear from R. Lewis

    and any other late colleagues.

    Ex-Captain V.

    T. Edmonds

    (Micrograms

    Section, R.P.O., Jerusalem) who has become

    a partner in the firm of Wrigley, Cregan,

    Todd

    Co.,

    lO

    and 12 Copthall Avenue, London,

    E.C.2, is desirous

    of

    renewing old contacts.

    Early in 1946 he married Miss Hazel Linden

    (ex-A.T.S., Knightsbridge)

    and

    is now

    the

    father

    of

    a baby daughter, Gillian.

    Major

    H.

    Walker, late Chief Cashier, Army

    Pay Office, Manchester, was recently married

    to Miss Dickie (ex-S jSgt., A.T.S., A.P.O.,

    Manchester) and is living at Rhos-on-Sea.

    * * *

    Mr.

    A.

    E. J. Bidgood, late of A.P.O.,

    Manchester

    (Group

    9, Ashton-under-Lyne),

    Meerut and

    S.E.A.C., is now employed at the

    Registry of Seamen and Shipping, Llandaff.

    .

    Ex-Captain Geoff. Taylor, who served with

    2 and 8 C.P.O. in North Africa and Italy is

    now mine

    host

    at Ripon Lodge Hotel,

    The

    Ridge, St. Helens, Hastings, and would

    welcome late colleagues at this address.

  • 8/9/2019 1947 Summer

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    THE ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL

    ~ r p s

    ews

    Extracts from "The London

    Gazette"

    The

    King has been pleased to grant un

    restricted permission for the wearing of the

    following decorations which have

    been

    con

    ferred on

    the

    under-mentioned personnel in

    recognition of distinguished services in the

    cause of the Allies

    :

    DECORATIONS CONFERRED

    BY

    THE

    PRESIDENT OF

    THE

    UNITED STATES

    OF

    AMERICA

    Legion of Merit Degree of Legionnaire.

    Captain (temporary) P. B. Ford.

    Bronze

    Star Medal.

    Brigadier (temporary)

    1.

    P. Brickman, C.B.E.

    The

    King has been graciously pleased, on the

    occasion of the Celebration of His Majesty's

    Birthday, to give orders for

    the

    following

    appointments to the Most Excellent Order of

    the

    British Empire :

    To

    be Officers (Mil. Div.)

    Lieut.-Col. F. G. Norton, M.C., D.C.M.

    To

    be Members (Mil

    Div.)

    Major F. H. V. Purcell.

    Major A. Wood.

    PROMOTIONS

    To be Captain.

    Lieut. and

    Paymaster-

    (WjS Capt.) E. W.

    Brading-9th

    Feb. 1947.

    (WjS Capt.) S. F. E. Leibe-ls t Mar., 1947.

    C. H.

    Share-

    Sth Mar., 1947.

    A.

    Borthwick-Clarke-9th Mar., 1947.

    (WjS Capt.) B. H. P.

    Hiscott-l0th

    Mar.,

    1947.

    (WjS Capt.) P. A.

    Stevens-25th

    Mar., 1947.

    E. N. Pinkham-ll

    h

    April, 1947.

    (WjS Capt.) K. W.

    Chaundy-24th

    April,

    1947.

    W. Hazlewood-12th May, 1947.

    E. A. C. Keyworth-25th May, 1947.

    L. J.

    Gee-29th

    May, 1947.

    To

    be

    Major (Asst.

    Paymaster).

    Capt. (Asst. Paymaster)-

    B. H.

    Clark-9th

    May, 1947.

    F. E. Gear, M .B.E.-15th April, 1947.

    424

    o

    ffieers

    Short

    Service

    Commissions.

    T ~ e

    undermentioned from Emergency Com

    mISSIOns to be Paymaster with rank

    of