PRISONERS OF WAR

Wairarapa Times-Age, 31 October 1942, Page 3

PRISONERS OF WAR

MANY NEW NOTIFICATIONS OFFICIAL ADVICE TO NEXT OF KIN. WITH REGARD TO PARCELS & LETTERS. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. Approximately 600 new notifications of prisoners of war were received last week by the Prisoners of War Office in Wellington, which advises next of kin that they will receive by post an official brochure giving all details in connection with prisoners, their mail and quarterly parcels. This will save their calling at the office. The camp address of a prisoner will be notified, when it becomes known, by the New Zealand Government.

The International Red Cross has advised this week that the Italians allow only khaki coloured shorts. Next of kin are advised that parcels should not be held pending the receipt of a camp address. There are special labels for London covering these cases. Next of kin whose relatives have been prisoners for more than nine months, and . have letters stating that a prisoner has not received a personal parcel from New Zealand, are requested to send full details to the Headquarters Office in Wellington. This should be done also by next ' of kin who have been advised that a prisoner has not received any mail from New Zealand. The special International Red Cross message forms, issued by the Prisoners of War Office, are enabling many next of kin to get urgent replies. A large batch of returned letter forms was received through Geneva from various camps, dated from the middle to the end of August. Statistics of losses, officially reported by camp leaders in respect to bulk consignments of Red Cross parcels show that in January the loss through pilfering of food parcels did not exceed one in every 1,250 parcels. The loss of tobacco was one in 270 parcels and of medical parcels one in 370. The heaviest pilfering was in clothing sent in bulk quantities. In this case it is 1.32 per cent for January and February. Prisoners officially notified now total 7,837 and there are three unofficial notifications. The Army total is 7,527 and that of the Air Force 220.