PRISONERS OF WAR

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 4, Issue 187, 1 December 1941, Page 2

PRISONERS OF WAR

METHOD OF ADDRESS

USE OF ROMAN NUMERALS I't is essential for next-of-kin, when addressing letters or labels for tiuarterly parccls for prisoners of war, to write plainly the numbers oJ camps in Roman figures—not Stalag 18 A, for instance, but Stalag XVIII A. This advice has been received by the Prisoners of War Inquiry Office headquarters in Wellington from the International Red Cross. A considerable number of letters lias been received by the office from relatives who have had postcards from missing men not yet been officially advised as to their being prisoners. Consequently, there cannot t>e any known address. The next-of-kin are advised to have their parce.s made up, ready for dispatch and to iiwait the receipt of a permanent -amp address. There is ample evidence from England and the Red Cross, Geneva, it was stated to-day, to show the inadvisability of unlimited numbers of parcels being sent, particularly where there is no known camp address. Even in some of the camp addresses that have recently been received there has been advice from the British Red Cross that they might not be permanent camps, but only transit camps. It shou.d be quite obvious] to next-of-kin that in the piesent •-•onditions on the Continent parcels cannot be simply redirected, .is would normally be done by postal officials in peacetime. Information was received in New Zealand recently of men being moved from camps, both for officers and t.iher ranks. Next-of-kin sheu.d not be. worried regarding this, as it is quite likely to happen to a man njore than onoc, particularly because of the huge number of prisoners being taken to Germany in a short period. As camps are improved and made more permanent men will naturally be transferred to them, but urn Still likely to be removed from « permanent camp such as Oflag V.B. M. Brunei, a representative of the rnternational Red Cross at Geneva, ■.vas* allowed to visit the transit camp at Corinth on three occasions recently. He discussed with Ehe occupying authorities and the Greek Red Cross means of giving help in the way cJT food and medicine and also preparing lists of prisoners. Help was giv■on lo the wounded prisoners transferred to Kckinia, Greece.

A cablegram has been received from Colonel F. Waite, who is also ".eting on behalf of the Prisoners of War Department in Egypt, stating that in conjunction with the British Red Cross he had already dispatched sufficient supplementary food on the basis of 101b a week for every known prisoner in Greece at that time. Sufficient food was forwarded to last until the end of February, 1942. As there has recently been quite a large transfer of prisoners from Greece to camps in Germany next-of-kin should have no fear whatever that any men still left in Greece will be short of supplementary foods. Colonel Waite, in reply to a question sent froim headquarters in Wellington, said that he cquld not supply food to German camps from his position in the Middle East.