AIRMAIL LETTERS

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 287, 2 September 1942, Page 6

AIRMAIL LETTERS

Officer Prisoners-of-War Draw Pay

During recent weeks people in New . Zealand with officer prisoners-of-war incarcerated in Germany or Italy have received letters from them by airmail. But airmail correspondence costs money, and many have wondered how such officers, after months of imprisonment, have been able to pay the charges. The answer is probably to be found in the provisions for prisoners-of-war made in the Geneva Convention, which has been published in pamphlet form in this country. Chapter 7’: Pecuniary Resources of Prisoners-of-war (Article 23) says:— “Subject to any special arrangements made between the belligerent Powers . . . officers and persons of equivalent status who are prisoners-of-war shall receive from the detaining Power the same pay as officers of corresponding rank in the armed forces of that Power, provided, however, that such pay does, not exceed that to which they are entitled in the armed forces of the country in ,

whose service they have been. This pay shall be paid to them in full, once, a month, if possible, and no deduction therefrom shall be made for expenditure devolving upon the detaining Power, even if such expenditure is incurred on their behalf. An agreement between the belligerents shall prescribe the rate of exchange applicable to this payment; in default of such agreement, the rate of. exchange adopted shall be that in force at the commencement of hostilities. All advances made to prisoners-of-war by way of pay shall be reimbursed at the end of hostilities by the Power in whose service they were.”