SOLDIERS' CORRESPONDENCE

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2830, 22 July 1916, Page 11

SOLDIERS' CORRESPONDENCE

. DIFFICULTIES IN DELIVERY. A considerable quantity of correspondence is sent to most New Zealand soldiers. Notwithstanding the special arrangements made to effect delivery, such correspondence, owing to the exigencies of the military service, aud frequent movements of individual (oldiers, is more, liable than ' ordinary correspondence to fyil in reaching tho addressees. To ensure return of articles undelivered, it ,is of the jiitmost importance that, correspondents of soldiers should address them by their full military description, and should also place their own names and addresses in full on the covers, ay iuside all letters and other postal packets. Correspondence of New. Zealand soldiers, if undelivered any cause, is sent to this Dominion for disposal. Owing to the bulk of such undelivered correspondence a special Army Correspondence Branch of the Dead Letter Office has been established to deal with it. The following particulars are furnished by the Postmaster-General of the large volume of articles handled in this branch for tho first six months of this year:— Tho number ol' unclaimed soldiers' letters and other articles, excluding parcols, returned to the senders was G7.015,' and to Postal Administrations of other countries for return by them, 3927.

Tho number of articles redirected to the addressees was 9102. ,

The total number .of-articles for soldiers excluding parcels, which was dealt with was 82,546.' N '

One thousand five hundred and eightyfour cards relating to the disposal of parcels wero received from the New Zealand Base Army Post Office, in Egypt, and the senders, or, when possible, the addressees, advised. • - Two hundred, and /nine registered articles wero dealt with, -18 of which it was possible to redirect to the addressees.

About 3000 orders for the redirection of correspondence were recorded. Fow newspapers are returned to the Deminion. Those which are returned and which cannot be redirected or feturned to liio senders are, if of sufficient interest. sent to Reinforcement Camps. For the period, May 29 to June 30, 1188 parcels -were also handled in this special branch of tho Dead Letter Office. Action was taken in . tho case of 10SG of these to redirect to the soldiers or to roturn to tho* senders. The remaining 102 could not, for various reasons, be returned; 00 of them' were without' addresses—a- result of the conditions of transport, etc. <