PARCEL SCIENCE

Evening Post, Volume CXXXII, Issue 84, 6 October 1941, Page 9

PARCEL SCIENCE

WHAT SOLDIERS LIKE

THE CHRISTMAS MAIL

(N.Z.E.F, Official News Service.)

CAIRO, September 9.

To the soldier serving overseas there is something reminiscent of childhood Christmas mornings in receiving a parcel from home. The soldiei would not admit this, of course. He does not dan'ce with eagerness al|put anything, but nevertheless there is a thrill of anticipation in tearing away the many wrappings of a parcel. : Thousands of parcels arrive by every ship which reaches the Middle East from • New Zealand, and a large postal staff is kept busy sorting and delivering them. Almost every home in New Zealand has some soldier to whom to send parcels/The question naturally arises: What do soldiers want in parcels? Individual tastes will vary a great deal, but there are certain old favourites which never go amiss. If a Gallup Poll could beVheld it is almost certain that tobacco would prove the popular favourite. Most soldiers are smokers, and New Zealand brands are not always obtainable overseas. The New Zealand Forces Club in Cairo supplies a large demand, but it is cheaper to find a tin or two in a parcel. FOOD DEUCAPIES. Mothers always remember .the quickest way to a man's heart, and it is quite true that gifts of something to eat are welcomed by soldiers. Not that they are hungry; but there are certain delicacies which come from.nowhere but home. High on the list is shortbread. It keeps well, and being made with New Zealand butter surpasses anything that can be bought in Egypt. '. Cakes, if. packed in a sealed tin, will usually keep for a .few months and are always popular among the boys. The Army does not cater for. a \ sweet tooth, so that chocolate and confections are welcome. It is not ad- ! visable to send, chocolate during the Egyptian summer because it usually, arrives in-a fluid state. If packed in a tin, though, it can always be left to harden. Sweets which will not melt, such as toffee and barley sugar, are better. The old favourite of the last war—condensed milk—is still popular. It can be used in tea or just taken neat with a spoon—or without a spoon in many cases, Cocoa, coffee-milk or malted milk provide some good suppers in tents or huts, for there are few soldiers who cannot "raise" some hot water when it is needed. A pot of sandwich or meat paste or peanut butter, helps • out with dry I rations. The range-of. tinned foods is! large, but here the vote goes for those delicacies which are typically New j Zealand. Nuts travel well and are a1 sound suggestion. _ SOCKS AND HANDKERCHIEFS. | "Socks for Soldiers" still holds as! good as ever it did. The more one has the less darning one has to do. Hand- I kerchiefs are always being lost—it is easy to slip a few of these into a parcel. The Army looks after its men well in the matter of clothing, and as a soldier has to carry all he owns it is not well to overload him in this way. During the summer extra light underclothing is useful,-while in the winter mitts or a scarf are often needed. When one adds razor blades, tooth paste, a tooth brush occasionally, boot blacking, and soap, there is a long list to choose from. Care must be taken not to give a soldier something he cannot eat or cannot carry with him. There is one. soldier who is still wondering what to do with a large packet of porridge meal. Admittedly he is a Scotsman, but he hasna a pot, and furthermore porridge features frequently on the Army menu. Ordinary gifts of food do not help the soldier much. What he likes are the little delicacies, that are not on his everyday table and which serve to vary the camp food. Careful packing is essential in sending parcels overseas. Foodstuffs should always be in airtight tins, and if chocolate is being sent, it, too, should be packed in tins. Stout wrappings, preferably of cloth, should be tised, for in handling many thousands of parcels the postal authorities cannot treat every one as fragile. The more wrappings, the longer the suspense in getting the parcel open. The owner of a parcel is allowed the privilege of opening it. but his mates are just as interested as he to see what it contains. '