Mr. Woodasked the Secretary of State for War whether, in view of the changed circumstances in North Africa, mail to the Eighth Army is still sorted at the Army Post Office, Cairo?
§ Mr. A. HendersonMail for the Eighth Army other than airgraphs is sorted in this country. The bags are then sent, not to Cairo, but direct to North Africa. Airgraphs are at present sent to Cairo for processing and thence by air to the Eighth Army.
Mr. Woodasked the Postmaster-General the average time airgraph and airmail letter cards take to reach troops of the First and Eighth Armies, respectively?
§ Captain CrookshankThe average time of transmission of the mails containing airgraphs and air letters to the base of the First Army is 3–4 days and to the base of the Eighth Army 4–5 days. These times exclude the interval between posting and the departure of the aircraft, the time, depending on the location of the addressee, required to effect delivery, and, in the case of airgraphs, the time required for processing at each end. Normally the opportunities for the despatch of airgraphs are more frequent than in the case of air letters.