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Considerable shipments of clothing, necessaries, and barrack stores to 8.C.0.F. in Japan were made during the year. No less than 536,355 receipt transactions were recorded for the year, with issue transactions totalling 665,953. At all depots serious shortages of personnel have prevented preservation work on much valuable equipment and there is no doubt that the deterioration as a result will be substantial, particularly where equipment is stored in the open. The Inspecting Ordnance Officers Group has been employed on the inspection and repair of ammunition and explosive stores and the disposal of unserviceable and unsafe stores, including the disposal of chemical-warfare weapons by dumping at sea. The latter project has been completed, but other activities are at present hampered by shortages of staff. Defence Services Provision Office A total of 43,883 packages containing stores to the value of £894,190 were shipped overseas during the year. These stores consisted of items manufactured locally against orders placed by the Eastern Group Supply Mission and articles accepted by War Office from surplus holdings of the Ordnance Services in New Zealand. Disposal of surplus stores valued at £3,750,000 held on behalf of His Majesty's Government in United Kingdom is now being negotiated through the "War Assets Realization Board. A reduction from 84,000 to 59,600 square feet has been effected in the storage space utilized by this branch. New Zealand Electrical and Mechanical Engineers The formation of N.Z.E.M.E. as a corps on Ist September, 1946, amalgamated mechanical transport, Ordnance, and armourers' workshops throughout New Zealand and co-ordinated electrical and mechanical engineering personnel into a single corps, in keeping with practice elsewhere in the British 0 omm on we alt h. The amalgamation was achieved smoothly and has resulted in unified control of workshop services, thus making the most efficient use of the limited technical man-power available. The inspection, repair, and maintenance of all wheeled and tracked vehicles, artillery equipments, small-arms, instruments, and, radar have been performed most creditably in face of a serious shortage of skilled personnel due to releases to civil occupations. A total of 243 vehicles were shipped to Japan, and a further 166 were prepared for shipment, but their despatch is now uncertain. During the year, vehicles declared surplus for disposal totalled 2,557, including 1,800 motor-cycles and 525 universal carriers. Fortifications and Works During the past year, 36 buildings have been converted to 40 houses or flats for married Army personnel at a cost of £7,060 for additional materials, this work being carried out by Constructional Companies, New Zealand Engineers. The number of camps has been reduced to those estimated to be required for the future.

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