MAILS FOR SOLDIERS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 28 August 1940, Page 4

MAILS FOR SOLDIERS

ARRIVAL IN EGYPT. STATEMENT BY MINISTER. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. “With certain exceptions, all surface mails from New Zealand for the forces in Egypt have now reached their destination," said the Postmaster-General. Mr Webb, in an interview last evening. The Minister gave further details of individual dispatches.

Advice received by cablegram from Egypt indicated that letter and newspaper mails sent from New Zealand on May 31 and on June 6 and 14 were received at the base post office on August 12 and a mail dispatched on June 22 reached 'its destination on August 8. Mr Webb said. Parcel mail dispatches of May 23. 24, 27 and 31 and also that of June 6 were received on August 13. Outstanding surface mails, some of which had not yet reached their destination, were for the most part dispatched in May, the Minister continued. Two small mails early in May, comprising 19 bags of letters and newspapers and 98 bags of parcels, were believed to have been lost. The other outstanding mails, which were mostly sent during the second half of May and which totalled 695 bags of letters and newspapers and 334 bags of parcels, had been considerably delayed owing to the diversion of the ships conveying them. There was reason to believe, however, that a large proportion of the diverted mails recently reached their destination.

“Mails from the forces in Egypt are now reaching New Zealand with greater regularity," the Minister added. "A mail received on August 6 contained letters posted in Egypt between May 13 and June 13. The latest inward mail to be received reached New Zealand on August 20 and covered postings from June 10 to July 1."