GRATEFUL RECIPIENTS

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 193, 13 May 1944, Page 6

GRATEFUL RECIPIENTS

There is no room for any doubt that the most eagerly-awaited break in the routine of active service is the arrival of mails and gift parcels from home. It is the lot of New Zealand servicemen to have to fight their battles in theatres far distant from their homeland, under conditions of climate'very different from those to which they have been accustomed. Discomforts entirely new to them have to be endured. Snow and ice in Europe, sandstorms in the. North African desert, the prostrating humidity and insect pests of tropical islands, are experiences jvhich by contrast with the pleasant conditions of life in. their own country must naturally be conducive to feelings of nostalgia as thoughts turn to New Zealand. The solace and encouragement given by letters and parcels from their kinsfolk are possibly far greater than can be realized by the senders. That our servicemen on land, sea, and in the air force are duly grateful for the comforts these things bring to mind and body there is an abundance of evidefice in letters from overseas, and from men who have returned. It has been a splendid • thing for the morale of the- men. In numerous instances, particularly in enemy prisoner-of-war camps, the arrival, of comforts from New Zealand has meant a vital and timely reanimation of strength and spirits. , ~ .. That the flow of correspondence and gift parcels should be well maintained is a continuing wartime obligation and privilege, a standing item in the budget of every citizen throughout the Dominion. In honour as well as sentiment that obligation must be met, not, as Sir Tames Elliott has observed in announcing the commencement of this year’s fund-raising campaign, in casual sixpences, but by contributions betokening the sincerity of the public’s feeling of indebtedness to the fighting services. The sum required from the citizens of Wellington and the surrounding areas to meet the call for comforts overseas is 788,000. There should be no trouble at all about collecting this amount. The spirit of giving, after four years of war, still quickens spontaneously when the call is sounded. It is stimulated by the knqjyledge we now have, that the appreciation of the grateful recipients is in its sincerity something beyond measure.