6000 STILL ABROAD

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 21978, 23 March 1946, Page 5

6000 STILL ABROAD

N.Z. SERVICEPERSONNEL BRITAIN AND GERMANY ARMY POST OFFICE WORK (Special Correspondent.) [GO a.m.) LONDON. March 22. Though the majority have returned home, a surprisingly large number of New Zealand servicemen and women are remaining in Britain and the Continent. The New Zealand Army base post office in the Strand still has on its cards nearly 6000 names of men and women who are receiving mail regularly. Some are still serving, including about 400 members of the R.N.Z.A.F. attached to .the R.A.F.. many of whom are in Germany, others are waiting to return home, and others again are studying. Several nurses are also taking courses. There are also many New Zealanders with UNRRA. Closure This Year Likely For this reason it is not anticipated that the army base post office, which has done excellent work since it was established some time after war broke out. will be closed down before .the end of the year. It has handled tons of mail, the peak being reached last summer when prisoners of war were flooding back to England. So great was the volume to be handled then that some 50 former prisoners volunteered to sort and re-direct the mail, and the staff at the post office rose to 101. The peak month was last June when about 4,000,000 letters and 50,000 parcels passed through the post office. There were received, in fact, 572 bags of letters and 2185 bags of parcels, packets and newspapers. The total of cables passirig to and from New Zealand for that month was 12,407, while approximately 150,000 air letter cards were received.

Last month only 247 bags of letters arrived at the post office and 137 bags of- parcels. These reached a peak of 13,655 last July. The latest issue this month totalled only 3263 parcels.. The post office, which is directed by Major H. S. Harbutt, of Dunedin, v/ith Lieutenant J. A. Smith, of Wellington, as adjutant, are both former post office officials. It now has a staff of 36. This will be reduced next month to 27.