PARCELS FOR SOLDIERS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 26 September 1940, Page 8

PARCELS FOR SOLDIERS

e PRECAUTIONS IN WRAPPING, s s POINTS TO REMEMBER. I With the approach of the Christmas •* season and the consequent heavy increase in postings of correspondence ’ and parcels for the New Zealand ExJ peditionary Forces overseas, the atten- ’ tion of the public is once again dirJ ected to the necessity for ensuring that parcels are strongly and securely pack- ■ ed and that a clear indication of the , number of the Echelon is included in : the address. 1 Advice received from the Base Post Office, Egypt, discloses that, on the ■ whole, parcels are being received in good condition, but unfortunately some people still think that an outer wrapping of flimsy brown paper and thin twine will ensure safe delivery. Such parcels, if they do not collapse altogether, arrive in a damaged condition, often with the address missing, and the net result is a waste of time and money by the sender and disappointment to the intended soldier recipient. To properly safeguard the contents, parcels should be wrapped in linen, calico, canvas or other strong material securely sewn up; while anything likely to become soft oi - sticky, such as chocolates, sweets and perishable articles generally, should be packed in tins with the lids securely soldered on. The name and address of the soldier should be printed in block letters on the actual wrapping, as labels are likely to become defaced or detached in transit. Furthermore, a slip should be placed inside the parcel showing in addition to the name of the sender, the name

and address of the addressee. Attention to this point will ensure that, even if thereover of a parcel is damaged, delivery will still be effected. In despatching newspapers overseas the public can assist the Post Office and '■ conserve valuable shipping space by : sending only such portions of the pap- ' ers as they consider will be of interest to the addressee. A practical way of forwarding papers is to make use of ' them in packing the contents of par- - cels. 1 An important point to remember in 1 making up parcels for the First Echelon in Egypt is not to include tobacco i or cigarettes. The forwarding of to- I bacco and cigarettes is.not prohibited, e but the addressees are called upon to i pay high rates of duty on these articles, I and for this reason it is better not to a include them. e Parcels for Egypt and England, de- s livery of which is desired at Christmas i time, should be posted approximately c two months before Christmas, that is r to say, not later than during the last e week in October. In existing circumstances the Post Office cannot guaran» h tee that parcels posted on a certain t date will be delivered on the due date, f so it is essential that parcels for delivery at Christmas be posted early.