MAIL FOR TROOPS

New Zealand Herald, Volume 78, Issue 24143, 9 December 1941, Page 10

MAIL FOR TROOPS

iWORK IN BRITAIN ! LETTERS AND PARCELS VAST QUANTITY DEALT WITH (0.C.) LONDON, Nov. 10 The staff in the postal section at Now Zealand House, in the Strarid, has been increased to six times its pre-war strength in order to handle mail for New Zealanders serving with the forces in Great Britain. Mail is one of the most important aspects of the private lives of these New Zealanders in the forces. Their sole link with home, it is looked forward to eagerly. The greater proportion of their letters, newspapers and parcels go first to New Zealand House, and are redirected from there. To-day the volume of mail handled at New Zealand House is greater than at any other time in its history, for in the last war a special post office was formed at Mount Pleasant. In recent weeks the inflow lias been so great that rooms have been cleared for dumping mail sacks of newspapers until they can be dealt with. Changes oi Address New Zealanders are changing their address from time to time. Some are posted to different R.A.F. stations, others to new naval depots. A track and record have to be kept of all of them. The exception is the forestry unit, which receives mail direct and not through New Zealand House. Hundreds of thousands of letters have been dealt with this year, and no fewer than 32,000 parcels were received from January 1 until November 1. All of them have been sent on with a minimum of delay. Newspapers have also been handled by the thousand. The mails arrive in "rushes" with every convoy. Recently, when an exceptionally large convoy reached England, they poured into New Zealand House every day for a week. Every convoy from New Zealand brings at least 8000 to 10,000 letters. Men Posted Missing A special section deals with mail for New Zealanders who are posted as missing. Some of them are reported later as prisoners of war; their letters are forwarded immediately and their parcels are sent on by the New Zealand packing centre. Where death is confirmed, the parcels are sent to hospitals where New Zealanders are convalescent. The sorting and redirecting of mail go on all day and for part of the night, for the section of the staff which is on fire-watching duty nightly spend their watches, when there is no alert; readdressing parcels. People in New Zealand may be assured that mail to their relatives is handled efficiently in London. Delays are sometimes inevitable, but as a whole the service is very good.