CHRISTMAS GREETINGS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 19 November 1943, Page 3

CHRISTMAS GREETINGS

CABLES TO SOLDIERS. RESTRICTIVE MEASURES ANNOUNCED. (Special Australian Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, This Day. All cheap rate Christmas greetings telegrams to members of the forces overseas must be lodged before December 5 to ensure delivery before Christmas,, said the Postmaster-General, Mr Webb, last night. He explained that during the period December 6-25 inclusive the cheap fate cablegram service to members of the armed forces overseas would be subject to the following alterations: (a) To all places other than the Middle East, South Pacific islands and the United States of America, service to be suspended; (b) to the Middle East —service to be continued except that messages containing seasonal greetings will not be accepted; (c) to the South Pacific islands —full service to be continued; (d) to the United States of America —service restricted to six special texts of a seasonal greetings nature. The Minister explained that, even with the reduction that would be brought about by the restrictive measures, no guarantee could be given that messages for the Middle East lodged after December 5 would be delivered before Christmas. In December, for communicating on non-urgent matters with the troops in the Middle East the airgraph service should be used in preference to the telegraph. During the period of suspension of the soldiers’ cheap rate service the GLT service would still be available. This extended to all parts of the Empire, but did not include Egypt.