[Routine Order] SQUADRON ROUTINE ORDER NO. 70/44 Continued. Page 2. 59 — Orders & Appendices

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SQUADRON ROUTINE ORDER NO. 70/44 Continued. Page 2. 59
(IV). The entry in the soldier's paybook is his authority to claim from
the Accountant, U.L.C. Section, G.P.O., delivery of certificates to the
value of the stoppage.
(V). It is pointed out that LUMP SUM INVESTMENTS by soldiers should in
each instance constitute a multiple of 15/- as round sum investments
invariably result in small amounts being left over after the Certificates
are issued, causing accounting difficulties and extra work not justified
by the amounts involved.
PAY INSTRUCTIONS RE STOP ORDERS FOR INVESTMENT UNION LOAN CERTIFICATES.
ANNEXURE "B".
* Investment may be by means of (i) a lump sum payment and/or (ii) a fixed
daily amount and the request by the soldier should take the form of a
stop order (or stop orders) worded as under. Stop orders to be prepared
in duplicate and may be hand written or typed.
STOP ORDER.
I hereby request the Chief Paymaster, U.D.F. to deduct the sum of .......
from Military Pay standing to my credit and to pay the sum to the Post-
master-General for investment in Union Loan Certificates in my favour, it
being understood that the certificates issued will be held by the Post-
master-General for delivery to me upon my application therefore in due
course.
Name of Soldier ...............................................
(in Block Letters)
Regimental Number .............................................
Unit ..........................................................
Signature of Soldier ........................................
Home Address ................................................
.............................................................
Date ............. 194...
Certified that the soldier's paybook reflects his account as being in
credit sufficient to cover the above stated lump sum which has been duly
entered in the cash payments section of the Soldier's Paybook.
Signed
(O.C. or Adjutant) ........................... (Rank)
Date ......................... 194...
(B) FIXED DAILY AMOUNT FORM U.L.C. "B" STOP ORDER.
I hereby request the Chief Paymaster, U.D.F. to deduct the sum of ....
per day from my Military emoluments with effect from .............. and to
pay the monthly equivalent thereof to the Postmaster-General at the end
of each month for investment in Union Loan Certificates in my favour, it
being understood that the certificates issued will be held by the Post-
master-General for delivery to me upon my application therefore in due course.
Name of Soldier ...............................................
(in Block Letters)
Regimental Number .............................................
Unit ..........................................................
Signature of Soldier ........................................
Home Address ................................................
Date ......................... 194...
Certified that the Net Daily Rate of Pay for Issue has been reduced by
the above stated sum in the Soldier's Paybook.
Signed
(O.C. or Adjutant) ........................... (Rank).
Date ......................... 194...
* Where it is desired to invest a lump sum and also a fixed amount
monthly thereafter, two separate stop orders (Viz "A" and "B") must be
submitted.
Continued/

Transcriber's Notes

Transcriber's Historical & Tactical Notes:
* The Bureaucracy of Saving (Para IV & V):
* Accounting Hurdles: Para V reveals the administrative burden of managing war savings. The demand for "LUMP SUM INVESTMENTS" to be in multiples of 15/- (fifteen shillings) highlights a pre-computer era where manually processing "small amounts" was seen as "extra work not justified.".
* The Paybook: For the individual airman, the "Soldier's Paybook" (U.D.F. Form 64) was their most vital document. It served as their primary identification, record of medical inoculations, and, as noted here, the legal "authority to claim" their savings from the G.P.O. [General Post Office] in Pretoria.
* Financial Instruments of Total War:
* Stop Orders: These templates illustrate the mechanics of military finance. A "Stop Order" was essentially a direct debit from a soldier's "Military Pay standing to my credit.". This ensured the government received funds immediately, while the soldier’s physical certificates were held in trust by the Postmaster-General.
* Patriotism vs. Practicality: While the previous page (File 59) emphasized the patriotic duty of saving, this page focuses on the logistical reality: providing a way for men fighting in Italy to build a "nest egg" for their return to "civil life" in the Union.
* Squadron Context (Conversion to Marauders):
* Operational Lull: This order was issued on July 24, 1944. At this exact moment, 21 Squadron, S.A.A.F. was non-operational. Having retired their Martin Baltimores on July 18th, the crews were entirely focused on the "stand-down" and conversion to the Martin B-26 Marauder (as seen in the OPREP notes in File 55).
* Administrative Focus: Periods of transition between aircraft marks were often used by the O.C. [Officer Commanding] Lt. Col. Jandrell and the Adjutant to catch up on significant administrative tasks—like this mass push for Union Loan Certificates—to ensure the men's affairs were in order before the unit returned to the high-attrition environment of front-line bombing sorties.
* Geographic Connections:
* Pretoria (Modern South Africa): The Accountant, U.L.C. [Union Loan Certificate] Section, G.P.O., Pretoria was the central processing hub for all South African overseas personnel. Despite being thousands of miles from the front lines, Pretoria remained the administrative heart of the S.A.A.F. operations in Italy.
* Abbreviations Expanded:
* U.L.C.: Union Loan Certificate.
* G.P.O.: General Post Office (Pretoria).
* U.D.F.: Union Defence Force (South African military).
* O.C.: Officer Commanding.
* 15/-: Fifteen Shillings (Pre-decimal currency).
* Viz: "Namely" (Latin videlicet).
* S.A.A.F.: South African Air Force.

61
Verification:
Target File Verification: The document is dated 24th July, 1944. in the header section. It is a page of "SQUADRON ROUTINE ORDERS" (Appendix "DD") labeled 60 in the top right corner.