LETTER-CARDS BY AIR

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 226, 21 June 1944, Page 4

LETTER-CARDS BY AIR

Communication With Armed Forces Overseas

The introduction as from June 26 of an airmail letter-card service for next-of-kin desiring to communicate with members of the armed forces (including Merchant Navy), serving in the United Kingdom, the Mediterranean area, the Middle East, India, Ceylon, and parts of Africa, was announced last evening by the Post-master-General, Mr. Webb. The postage is 6d., which must be affixed by the sender. Cards are available at all post offices at a cost of Id. each. The Minister said that only a limited weight of mail could be earned by the special air service. It was therefore necessary, in the meantime at least, to restrict the posting of airmail lettercards to one a week to any one addressee who, for the return sendee to New Zealand, was being restricted to the same, number. If the weight limit that had been allocated to New Zealand were exceeded, it would be necessary to send the excess mail by surface means. Enclosures such as photographs or newspaper cuttings could not be permitted. Coincident with the introduction of this service, the postage rate for lettercards addressed to Navy personnel serving overseas, formerly 3d. each, will be increased to 6d. each. The new service for cards addressed to Navy personnel will, however, provide for quicker transmission to the addressees, as previously surface transport was necessary over an important section of the route. The Minister, added that the airgraph service would be maintained, and members of the public were urged to make inreeasing use of it for communications to civilians and members of the forces overseas since it had the very great advantage of reducing the weight of letters to be carried. In speed of transmission, the airgraph service would be little inferior to the airmail letter-card service. Moreover, there was no limit to <th number of communications that could be handled by the airgraph service.