HEAVY POSTINGS OF MAIL

Southland Times, Issue 24164, 28 June 1940, Page 6

HEAVY POSTINGS OF MAIL

Letters From N.Z.' Troops

CAMPS IN ENGLAND WELL PROTECTED

(Official War Correspondent)

ALDERSHOT, June 26.

In the eight weeks since leaving New Zealand troops of the 2nd Echelon have written home 60,000 letters without receiving a reply. Mails were dispatched at Cape Town and the port of disembarkation and tomorrow the first mails will be leaving the camp. The heaviest postings by far were those from Cape Town, about 25,000 letters being posted. Some 18,000 letters posted at the port of arrival are now on their way to New Zealand, but the outgoing camp mail tomorrow is unlikely to reach one letter a head as many of the boys are on leave and others are not ready to record their impressions. In future camp mails will close every Tuesday and are expected to reach New Zealand in approximately six weeks. The postal unit, consisting of Lieutenant A. V. Knapp, two corporals and four men, all experienced postal officers, are among the most hard-working men in the camp and are also likely to be the most unpopular unless the inward mail comes soon. Meanwhile, soldiers who are receiving the cheap Empire rate cables from home are envied by their fellows. CHEAP POSTAGE The privilege of cheap postage for troops’ letters home, which was enjoyed aboard ship, is being continued here in the meantime. The concession does not apply to letters addressed to anywhere but New Zealand, nor to newspapers or parcels to any address. An exception has been made of parcels which the members of the 2nd Echelon brought for the members of the Ist Echelon, these being carried free to Egypt. The troops are not prohibited from using civilian pillar boxes, but if they do so they must pay the full postage on letters home. .Three hundred and thirty bags of parcel and newspaper mail for the Ist Echelon, mainly parcels sent from New Zealand with the 2nd Echelon, would normally have reached their destination by way of the Mediterranean, but because of Italy’s entry into the war they have had to be sent by another route.

On two successive nights New Zealanders in camp in the south of England have been awakened by air raid sirens and on the last night they also saw searchlights and heard bombs bursting in the distance. The troops had previously dug shelter trenches for themselves and had been instructed when and how to use them.

The New Zealand camps are excellently situated to give the maximum protection from air attack.