LETTERS & PARCELS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 24 July 1941, Page 6

LETTERS & PARCELS

ADDRESSED TO SOLDIERS NOW MISSING DISPOSAL IN MIDDLE EAST. STATEMENT EY MINISTER. (Bv Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. The Postmaster General (Mr Webb) has issued a statement regarding the disposal of mail matter addressed to members of the New Zealand Forces in the Middle East who have been reported. missing. ‘‘lt is clear from reports," stated the Minister, “that in view of transport difficulties, mails forwarded first of all to Greece and later to Crete were composed mainly of letters. This meant that large quantities of parcels as well as other correspondence for soldiers who have been reported missing had accumulated at the base post office in the Middle East. The question of disposing of this mail matter had been considered by Army, postal and other authorities and it had been decided that letters for missipg soldiers would be returned through the New Zealand Dead Letter Office to the senders. It would be appreciated that many of the letters would contain money orders and that a great majority of the letters would contravene the censorship restrictions in respect to correspondence for prisoners of war. “In these circumstances it was considered better to return the letters so that the senders could forward fresh ones, complying with the prisoners of war censorship requirements. In the case of parcels these are being opened and personal items or articles of unusual value would be returned to the senders. Foodstuffs, cigarettes, writing materials and other goods would bo. made up into standard gift parcels or delivered to hospitals or isolated desert camps. It is proposed to keep at the

base post office a record of all parcels opened and disposed of in this manner. Every endeavour would be made to comply with senders' requests for delivery to some other soldier of the parcels addressed to missing rhen.