From the News

Dated: December 1, 1917

THIRD ECHELON, G.H.Q. HAPPY BUT BUSY BAND

Keep Records of the Movements of Every Canadian Soldier.

A HIVE OF INDUSTRY

System So Detailed That Information Can Be Quickly Obtained.

By. A. McIntyre Hood.

Rouen, Nov. 2. --  There is one little band of Canadians in France who are just as happy and comfortable as though they were at home.  They are the lucky fellows who are at general headquarters, Rouen.  Happy indeed is the man who becomes attached to Canadian Section, 3rd Echelon, G.H.Q.  Their work is most important, for by it the army in the field keeps in touch with the home organization.

Let us have a peep into some of the various rooms of this building.  First we come to the central registry, where every letter reaching G.H.Q. is received, filed and handed out to the officer in charge of the department which it concerns.  It is a tremendously busy office, for the letters number some hundreds daily.

In a big hall we come upon a section known as infantry records.  Here we find the records of each battalion in France.  In this room is a document which shows every move made by each man from the time he lands in France at the base depot until he either returns to England or is killed or taken prisoner.  The system is wonderful.  Tracers are continuously going around asking for information about officers and men, and in a few seconds the location of any man in the Canadian infantry battalions can be given.

Outside are other buildings containing the artillery records, C.A.M.C. and C.A.S.C. records, machine gun company records, and the records for every other unit which is in France.

On the next floor above is an office through which pass the papers for all promotions and appointments in the Canadian army.  On the top floor is the effects office.

This is a most interesting room.  When a man is killed or wounded his belongings, if at all recognizable and obtainable are parcelled and sent here, where they are inventoried and sealed and sent to the man himself, or, in the case of a man who has been killed, to his next-of-kin.  All kinds of curios turn up at this office, and great care is taken to ensure that they reach the proper owners.

Perhaps the busiest, and, for the men themselves, the most important section is that which is officially known as "K.L.," but is popularly called the Postal Section.  First we come to the letter department.  Here we find a staff of five men working amidst stacks of letters.  These letters are for men who have become casualties.  Each battalion sends its casualties' mail to this office. Here it is sorted and sent into the records section, where each battalion orderly room sergeant has to readdress the letters to the owners.

In another building is the parcel section.  Here we find big racks, reaching to the roof, all filled with parcels.  These parcels also belong to men who have become casualties.   First they are sorted out and placed in lockers, according to the battalion they come down from.  Next a list is made for each battalion, giving the number, rank and name of each addressee.  A blank coumn is left, and in this coumn the orderly room sergeant of the unit puts the man's latest location.  The list is then returned to the parcel despatching staff, where the parcels are redirected.  If any package has become broken or battered, it is set aside and is rewrapped before being sent on.  A few may be too badly crushed to send at all, in which case the label is taken off, put in an envelope with a note of explanation and sent on to the addressee.

All newspapers sent to men who have become casualties also arrive here, but they are not redirected.  They are put in sacks and sent to the base stationary office as waste paper.