RED CROSS

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 68, Issue 5941, 10 May 1944, Page 2

RED CROSS

PRISONER OF WAR ACTIVITIES The following data relative to New .Zealand Prisoner of War Activities is taken from the April Bulletin of the Waikato Centre of the New Zealand Red Cross Society: Some interesting data has been submitted covering New Zealand Prisoner of War food parcels. For some considerable time after the first New Zealand prisoners were taken, Canada, on our behalf, supplied the parcels. Arrangements were then made for New Zealand to supply her share to the common pool at Geneva, and a packing branch was formed in Wellington. There are 1000 voluntary members who work in rotation in this activity.

The total number of parcels dispatched to 31st March were 694,624; these parcels contained food items totalling 9,700,000; the length of wire used for binding the cases was 140 miles; the number of super feet of timber used for cases in which parcels were packed was 738,038. The store is splendily organised, and is worked on a chain and conveyUr system. These voluntary worker! pack on the average 800 parcels per hour.

The contents of parcels have all been worked out by dietitians and are balanced by food parcels from other parts of the Empire. Owing to the length of time in transit from New Zealand as compared with Britain certain items are not included in New Zealand parcels but are included in the British parcel. The parcels go into a common pool and a prisoner might receive a parcel from any Empire country. The men themselves also exchange or pool the food received.