MAILS FOR FORCES OVERSEAS

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 97, 20 January 1944, Page 4

MAILS FOR FORCES OVERSEAS

No cabled reports of the activities of the New Zealand units overseas, however detailed, could ever equal in interest to individuals and families the receipt of a letter from a member of the fighting forces. What the division, or brigade or battalion may have done has a general interest, but there is a personal value in the letter that no other information could ever possess. And in the same way nothing ever approaches in interest, to the sailor, soldier or airman, a letter from home. Recently,’ in the course of an interview, Brigadier Inglisstressed what he termed “the important effect on morale of the regular arrival of mails from home.” He said that the airgraph service was working satisfactorily, and that letters sent in this way usually reached the troops in Italy within about three weeks of dispatch, but added that, as they were limited in size, “they could not take the place of newsy letters from home.” And, apparently, it may be a matter of •months for a letter posted in the usual way to reach men serving in Italy. This is a matter that should have the immediate attention of the authorities. Brigadier Inglis urged that the airmail service to the Middle East, interrupted when Japan came into the war, should be re-established as soon as possible. Just what the delay means can be illustrated by the fact that, in th? ordinary course of events, the letters written at Chr,istmas-time may not reach the forward units till some time in March, or possibly early in April, and to the men waiting for them that must seem an interminable time. The gap in the airmail route lies between Australia and India, and it would, be of service if the .ministerial delegation now at Canberra could enlist the assistance of the Federal authorities in. finding some way by which the carriage of the mails could be expedited. They would appreciate the position and the desires of the Dominion in this respect.

The thing has only to be stated for its importance to be quite clear. If letters from the meh overseas are awaited with such interest then the keenness of those far from their homes and their home land can be understood. And Brigadier Inglis, with the experience of some years of active campaigning, has said that letters from home have an important effect on the morale of the forces, so that their delivery in the shortest possible time becomes a matter of real military importance. That in itself would justify energetic steps to provide regular and quick means of communication, and it will be generally felt that this is a service which the Dominion-owes to everyone serving overseas. The brigadier was careful to say that the period of three months to which he referred was “for a time,” but what is wanted is some official assurance that that time has ended and that for the future delivery will be effected more rapidly. The stream of mail for thejnen in the Services is continuous, but cannot the flow be quickened? That, would make the men and women overseas feel in spirit nearer to their own land and to their own people.'