§ Mr. Bossomasked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that in spite of the number of daily papers received by the N.A.A.F.I. only a few succeed in reaching the forward battle areas; and could he do anything to improve this situation.
§ Sir J. GriggMy information does not confirm the first part of my hon. Friend's Question. Newspapers are as a rule flown daily to the B.L.A. in large quantities. They are distributed to all units by the Army Welfare Services, not by N.A.A.F.I. When the weather is bad, planes often cannot fly, so that on occasion no papers can be sent. I understand that when less than the usual number arrive overseas preference is given to units in the forward areas. It is not possible to fly newspapers to Italy and Burma. In those theatres large quantities of newspapers are produced locally for the troops every day. As in the case of the B.L.A. the distribution of these papers is sometimes delayed by the weather and operational moves.