494 
OFFICE WORK OF A GARRISON BATTERY. 
V 1899, No.” “Paid on 5th August, 1899, by cheque.” “Paid on 
7th August, 1899, by P.O. order to A. Davis from J. Clarke.” 
33. Here we part for a time with the Pay-Serjeant's department. He 
takes all finance, stores, clothing, necessaries, and barrack affairs. The 
Serjt.-Major takes all numerical and nominal returns not required for pay 
purposes, punishment and promotion returns, attestations, casualty returns, 
and defaulter books, and everything connected with arms and accoutrements; 
he therefore keeps the equipment ledger, mentioned for brevity's sake in 
par. 25. 
Attestations and 'Register Sheets. 
34. These are very important documents. They contain the whole 
history of a man's service; and if the Regulations ordered all the certificates 
and qualifications the men possess to be entered on these sheets, they would 
give a complete description of the men. It is also a pity that trades are not 
altered more. A man enters the service describing himself as a “ labourer 
twenty-one years afterwards he is discharged a trained servant, groom, or 
mechanic: he still figures as a “ labourer.” The manner in which entries 
are made will be described in par. 68. Every man is identified by his 
number, Christian name, surname, age at attestation, and date of attestation; 
so that frequent references to the attestations are necessary. 
Casualty Booh. 
35. The most important book in the battery, but not required to be 
kept by any regulation. As the original attestations, of which the battery 
has only copies, are kept at the Record Office, Woolwich, every transaction 
that necessitates an alteration or an entry in the attestation has to be 
reported as a “ casualty.” Joining a fresh brigade, losing or getting a 
good-conduct badge, forfeiting or recovering service, being wounded or 
getting a medal, being promoted or reduced, being imprisoned or tried, 
changing religion, altering the address of the next of kin, marrying, being 
put on or removed from the married roll, having or losing children, or 
baptising them, being discharged or dying, are all casualties. A return 
of all these casualties goes in, in duplicate, every month, and a copy should 
be carefully kept in a large book; and as every one sooner or later is 
mentioned in it, this book gradually contains a history of every man, 
woman, and child while with the battery, and is very useful. If it is 
treated as a common return, and filed in a guard book, it loses most of 
its practical value, getting confused with other returns, and is probably 
burnt after a few years, as the books get too full. The only addition to the 
regulations to be noted here is, that it is convenient when a man is dis¬ 
charged to enter in this book his address in the column of remarks. 
Rough Casualty Booh . 
36. A book in which all casualties are entered as they occur, in any 
order. Tor example : a man is posted; his name is probably spelt wrongly 
in the orders, but it goes down at once, to be corrected on arrival of his 
papers. Another man's attestation is called for, preparatory to discharge; 
