297.—(1) The following provisions shall, as on and from the operative date, have effect in relation to every existing reservist—

(a) he shall become and be a man of the Reserve Defence Force,

(b) he shall, subject to this Act, hold in the Reserve Defence Force,—

(i) if immediately before the operative date he held in the existing reserve force a non-commissioned military rank set out in column (2) of the Table to section 5 of the Act of 1947, the non-commissioned army rank set out in column (2) of the Third Schedule to this Act which is similar in name to such non-commissioned military rank,

(ii) if immediately before the operative date he held in the existing reserve force the non-commissioned naval rank of warrant officer, the non-commissioned naval rank of warrant officer,

(iii) if immediately before the operative date he held in the existing reserve force any grade of naval rating set out in column (4) of the Table to section 5 of the Act of 1947, the non-commissioned naval rank set out in column (3) of the Third Schedule to this Act which is similar in name to such grade of naval rating,

(c) if he re-engaged for a further period of reserve service under section 12 of the Act of 1946, he shall, for the purposes of Chapter II of Part IV of this Act, be deemed to have re-engaged for service under section 67 as on and from the date on which he re-engaged for service under the said section 12,

(d) he shall belong to the class of the Reserve Defence Force which corresponds to the class of the existing Reserve of Men to which he belongs immediately before the operative date,

(e) if he is an existing transferred reservist, Chapter II of Part IV of this Act shall apply in respect of him as if he had been enlisted under section 53 and for this purpose the following provisions shall have effect—

(i) he shall be deemed to have been enlisted under section 53 as a man of the Permanent Defence Force for service for a period equal to the period which is immediately before the operative date the term of his original enlistment within the meaning of the Act of 1923, and references in the said Chapter II to the term of his original enlistment shall be construed as references to the period for which he is so deemed to have enlisted under section 53,

(ii) his enlistment under section 53 shall be deemed to have been for a portion (equal to the portion of the term of his original enlistment, within the meaning of the Act of 1923, which was, under subsection (2) of section 145 of the Act of 1923, to be in army service) of the term of his original enlistment, within the meaning of this Act, in the Permanent Defence Force and for the residue of the said last-mentioned term in the Reserve Defence Force,

(iii) in case his conditions of service were varied under section 146 of the Act of 1923, his conditions of service shall be deemed to have been likewise varied under section 63,

(iv) the date of his attestation for the purposes of this Act shall be deemed to be—

(I) in case he did not re-enlist under section 3 or 4 of the Act of 1945, the date of his attestation under the Act of 1923,

(II) in case he re-enlisted under section 3 of the Act of 1945, the date which is, by virtue of subparagraph (iv) of paragraph (d) of section 3 of the Act of 1945, the date of his attestation for the purposes of Chapter V of Part II of the Act of 1923,

(III) in case he re-enlisted under section 4 of the Act of 1945, the date which is, by virtue of subparagraph (iv) of paragraph (d) of section 4 of the Act of 1945, the date of his attestation for the purposes of Chapter V of Part II of the Act of 1923,

(v) he shall be deemed to have been transferred to the Reserve Defence Force under section 70 as on and from the date on which he was transferred to the existing reserve force under section 157 of the Act of 1923,

(vi) his service in the existing permanent force shall, for the purposes of this Act, be treated as service in the Permanent Defence Force,

(vii) his service in the existing reserve force shall, for the purposes of this Act, be treated as service in the Reserve Defence Force,

(f) if he is an existing directly enlisted reservist, Chapter II of Part IV of this Act shall apply in respect of him as if he had enlisted under section 55 and for this purpose the following provisions shall have effect—

(i) he shall be deemed to have been enlisted under section 55 to serve as a man of the Reserve Defence Force for a period equal to the period which is immediately before the operative date the term of his original enlistment within the meaning of Chapter II of Part IV of the No. 2 Act of 1940, and references in Chapter II of Part IV of this Act to the term of his original enlistment shall be construed as references to the period for which he is so deemed to have been enlisted under section 55,

(ii) in case his term of original enlistment, within the meaning of Chapter II of Part IV of the No. 2 Act of 1940, was extended under section 26 of that Act, such extension shall be deemed to have been effected under section 66,

(iii) the date of his attestation for the purposes of this Act shall be deemed to be the date of his attestation for the purposes of Chapter II of Part IV of the No. 2 Act of 1940,

(iv) his service in the existing reserve force shall, for the purposes of this Act, be treated as service in the Reserve Defence Force,

(g) he shall be deemed to have been appointed under subsection (2) of section 60 to the service corps which corresponds to his existing 1923-Act corps.

(2) Section 72, in its application to an existing reservist, shall have effect as if for paragraph (b) of subsection (2) there were substituted the following paragraph—