SODDEN AIR MAIL

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIX, 1 February 1936, Page 8

SODDEN AIR MAIL

SORTING IN SYDNEY SEQUEL TO TRAGIC CRASH SYDNEY, 20th January. It is the boast of Australian postal officials that few letters handled by them are not delivered, whatever the difficulties may be. They have received some decided posers from time to time, but the greatest test of their ingenuity, organisation and patience was the arrival of the sodden Australian and New Zealand air mail salvaged from the Mediterranean Sea. after the City of Khartoum bad been wrecked.

The task at first seemed impossible, but 95 per cent, of the letters and packets were sorted and delivered, many of them being forwarded to New Zealand. The letters and packets were enclosed in special envelopes and wrappers and readdressed. No doubt these covers will have a collector’s value, while the letters in many cases may be nothing more than souvenirs foy the recipients owing to the difficulty in deciphering them.

LETTER’S HAZARDOUS JOURNEY

One letter above all others has • had •a hazardous journey. It was received by Mr E. W, C. .Hughes, a Sydney business man. It travelled twice youn.d the world and sank to the bottom o| the sea when the mail machine clashedMr Hughes left London on 21st September, and the letter, posted to. reach him on his arrival at Montreal, just missed delivery. A similar fate befell it at Ne\y York.

Thence it found its way to. a wrong address in Sydney on 18th' No.yeiuber; and was redirected back to. the original sender in London. Once more on. "its way, tho letter, this time aboard the ill-fated air-liner, wept with the. rest of the mail to the bottom of the. Mediterranean. Although' still sodden, ‘ and the original envelope torn 'by "its. long journeying, the contents were easily decipherable. ‘‘lt will be treasured as a memento of a very-tragic occurrence,” said Mr Hughes. ‘ In the majority of cases, the letters were detached from the envelopes partially ; m others wholly. The registered mail fared better, as it was enclosed in a bag within a bag. ’Typewritten addresses and correspondence were more readily decipherable. The legibility was surprising in the circumstances. CHEQUES AND BANK NHTES Magnifying gladsses and cellophane aids were necessary to decipher manual addresses in a great number of instances, but the general post ogee, stall spared no pains in this respect'. Correspondence m large handwriting, well spaced, survived the immersion much better than “cramped hands,” and the long letter fared worse than the brief note—the “in haste, with lciyc and kisses” type. The ink in bulky correspondence ran to the centre of the volume, as did the water. The “10paper” fared badly Photographs were indistinguishable, almost without exception.

Among the enclosures were cheque* lor large sums, and several bank notes. Jn cases where letters enclosing banknotes were not registered they were officially reg,stored and a surcharge made by the department. The mail came from all parts of the United Kingdom and Europe.