SUPPLIES HELD UP

Grey River Argus, 24 November 1944, Page 5

SUPPLIES HELD UP

FOR 160,000 BRITISH WAR ' PRISONERS, (Rec. 9.10) LONDON, Nov. 23. Winter food prospects for the iB-ri-1 tish Empire’s one hundred and sixty thousand prisoners of . war in Europe are much brighter than a few weeks ago. The Allied Supreme Command has promised priority for an increasing number of goods wagons on the party-restored Marseilles-Switzerland railway, which is now being onerated to capacity, and is supplying the Allied armies that are attacking southwestern Germany. Unless the transport between Switzerland and Germany radically deteriorates, there is a good chance that war prisoners soon will return to the former satisfactory food standard of a Red Cross parcel weekly, or at least two parcels every three weeks. Even the latter would be a big improvement on the half rations on which most of the prisoners have been existing for the past three months. To supplement • the railway, a fleet of lorries have just begun a shuttle service between Marseilles and Switzerland with ur-gently-needed supplies. They also are rushing a few Christmas P ar " cels, which are expected, however, to reach' only a few of the camps in. the time. . A British Red Cross representative at Marseilles reports that bands or armed irregulars have been raiding Red Cross parcels trains in mountainous regions on the French-Swiss border. This piracy is at present more exasperating than it is. serious, but it contributes to general diinculties of the Pod Cross authorities. British Red Cross officials say that, judging by letters revived from Germany .recently, the morale or tne prisoners is as high as ever ’.n snite of the boid-np in' the ;..past few months of the food parcels, clotbjmedic.al supplies, books and other items.