PRISONERS OF WAR

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20621, 24 November 1941, Page 7

PRISONERS OF WAR

MISSING N.Z. SOLDIERS NEXT-OF-KIN PARCELS DISPATCH ARRANGED (Per Pros;! Association.) WELLINGTON, this clay. The arrival of a large overseas mail this week again shows that many missing New Zealand soldiers are actually prisoners of war, although they have not yet been officially notified as such. Relatives have received letters in the past week from such men, and in the prisoners and their own interests are urged to send the details immediately to the headquarters of the Prisoners of War Inquiry Office, Wellington. This will enable the office to save much time in connection with the quarterly next-ol'-kin parcels.

The High Commissioner’s office in London has requested that it be advised of the names of all men in respect of whom special next-of-kin parcels are to be forwarded from New Zealand. The information is necessary to ensure that every man receives a parcel from some source.

It is also officially learned from London that the sending of one next-of-kin parcel to each New Zealand prisoner whose address is known has been almost completed. In a certain number of cases in which the next-of-kin are resident in the United Kingdom the British Red Cross will accept for transmission to New Zealand prisoners those parcels forwarded from the New Zealand packing centre in London, but this is on the understanding that the parcels will be sent only in cases where next-of-kin parcels are not being forwarded direct from New Zealand. To ensure thal every prisoner as soon as he is officially notified shall receive a parcel as early as possible, one is being sent through the New Zealand packing centre in every case irrespective of where the next-of-kin may reside. Official sources state that the war organisation of the British Red Cross has asked the International Red Cross to distribute to camps holding British and Empire prisoners reserves of clothing held at Geneva, and also has requested the German authorities to re-issue winter clothing which as a matter of procedure has been taken into store Turing fhe summer.

The Postmaster-General, the Hon. P. C. Webb, staled to-day, that, judging by the sales over the first four days of its issue, the special air mail letter card for corresponding with prisoners of war was going to prove a popular, means of communication.

As these letter cards are disoatched by air throughout the entire journey from New Zealand to Portugal, and perhaps from Portugal to Germany, they receive the quickest transit available for postal communications.

Urging the necessity for clear writing, Mr. Webb pointed out that apart from assisting the enemy censors, this would mean that the sooner the letters were "censored the sooner they would reach the addressees.