§ Mr. Ness Edwardsasked the Postmaster General whether he is aware of the failure of parcels and letters to reach the soldiers serving in the Middle East; and whether he has any statement to make thereon?
§ Mr. W. S. MorrisonYes, Sir, I am fully aware of these delays which, generally speaking, are due partly to the interruption of the normal routes to the Army Base Post Office concerned, and partly to the distance units are often stationed from that base under conditions of active warfare. The matter is one which receives constant examination with the other Departments concerned, and every means of transport is used. In order to ameliorate the position, a special postcard service with transmission by air all the way to the base, at a charge of 3d., was begun on 2nd April last, and up to the 4th of October approximately three million of these cards had been received 1519W at the base. The time for transmission from this country to the base for most of these cards has varied from 7 to 18 days: but a relatively small number have taken somewhat longer. In addition, an airgraph service to His Majesty's Forces in the Middle East was introduced on 15th August last, and up to 7th October nearly 1,000,000 airgraph letters had arrived at the base, the time of transmission for all but a very small number varying from 8 to 14 days. As the hon. Member is doubtless aware, the Assistant Postmaster-General and the Director of Army Postal Services are at present in the Middle East investigating conditions on the spot.