FOOD PARCELS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 24 July 1943, Page 3

FOOD PARCELS

FOR PRISONERS OF WAR EMERGENCY ARRANGEMENTS ' IN EUROPE. ON ACCOUNT OF POSSIBLE DISORGANISATION. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. The Prisoners of War Inquiry Office has received information to the effect that nlans are in hand to establish a store "of at least ten weeks’ supply of food parcels at Geneva. This is being done on account of the possibility of disorganisation due to intensified warfare in the European zone. Should severe disorganisation occur, the stocks would be enough to ensure every prisoner receiving a parcel weekly for ten weeks, or fortnightly for 20 weeks. The office has also been advised to the effect that satisfactory arrangements have been 'made recently by the British Red Cross to ensure that a sufficient service of ships will be available to enable parcels to be forwarded to Geneva in sufficient numbers. Advice has also been received to the effect that the German authorities are definitely co-operating in making arrangements for Red Cross parcels to be freighted to British prisoners of war and these are included in the German ten per cent priority in transport and trucks must not wait more than six hours in any one place. Men who for disciplinary reasons are sent to prisons obtain their next-of-kin parcels, although it is stated that much depends on the individual officer in charge of the camp and the circumstances involved.

A cablegram states that an International Red Cross delegate visited Shinagawa, the principal camp in Tokio. at the end of April. He saw the distribution of mail which for the first time was handled by an officer and prisoners of war, who worked about six hours a day sorting some 200,000 letters, which were mostly British, and had accumulated since October last. The Japanese Information Bureau stated that over 4,000 letters were distributed in February to camps at Asaka, Zentauji, Taiwan, Shanghai, Hongkong and Java. The office is asking for copies of recent letters from C.C.P.G.38. C.C.P.G. 85 and C.C.P.G. 148