PRISONER-OF-WAR MAILS

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 15, 13 October 1942, Page 3

PRISONER-OF-WAR MAILS

Possibility Of Hold-Up

In a recent letter dated as late as August- 2 a hint is conveyed in a NeW Zealand prisoner-of-war’s letter, from Germany to his next-of-kin in Wellington that mails for the immediate future; may not be so promptly delivered as they have been in the past. The letter mentioned reads:

“In future you may not receive much mail from me, nor I from you. . Jerry has had another row with the English (word censored). He says that German prisoners in. Aussie are not getting their mail. You will probably be told all about it;&ll we ask here is for you to keep sending us a little mail. We live for it—now it is almost cut out.” This matter was referred to the chairman of the Prisoners-of-War Committee of the Joint Council of. St. John and the lied Cross, Mr. J. Abel, who said that a cable message had been received recently with respect to prisoners-of-war mails to the effect that the German authorities had informed the Home authorities that British prisoners’ inward and. outward mails would be. restricted because it was considered that the mail service for German ' prisoners’ correspondence was inadequate. Mr. Abel stated that immediate action had been taken to ensure all possible improvement in prisoner-of-war’s mail service, and the Swiss Government had been requested to press for the immediate removal of any limitation of prisoners’ correspondence. • .Mr. Abel stated that the alleged restriction did not apply to New Zealand alone, for the Australian Red Cross Society had recently inquired for- full details of the New Zealand prisoner-of-war inail service, which they averred was better than their own.