16 Far East A ucust, 1945 Speed-up of AirMail Postcards 1 'HE Post Office recently announced that the end of the war in Europe had given the opportunity to speedup the transmission as far as Moscow of airmail postcards for prisoners of war and -civilian internees in the Far East. These postcards were formerly sent by air to Teheran, and from thereby surface route via Moscow an 1 the Trans-Siberian railway. Latterly they went by air to Stockholm and thence by surface route to Moscow with a saving of time of about one month. It should be borne in mind that, owing to the military situation in the Far East, the corresjxmdence is likely to be delayed after it reaches Japanese hands. Information received through the International Red Cross indicates that airmail postcards for prisoners of war and civilian internees in Hong Kong and Occupied China (including Shanghai) which were despatched from this»country in February of this year, reached Shanghai at the end of May. Communication between Shanghai and Hong Kong was stated to be uncertain, and it was not known when the cards for Hong Kong would be delivered. RED CROSS TELEGRAM SERVICE For the benefit of those readers who may not have been receiving Far East at the beginning of this year, or whose relatives may have been recently moved into camps, we repeat particulars of the scheme whereby next of kin of British prisoners of war and civilian internees, definitely known to be in Japanese bands, may despatch a io-word telegram to them once a year. *The scheme operates from the United Kingdom, India, America and the Dominions. Telegrams can be sent whether or not the camp address is known, but cannot be sent by the next c£ kin of missing personnel. To obtain the message form, next of kin Service prisoners of war, i.e., Royal Navy, Army and R.A .F., should apply to: —Red Cross Stand .John War O rganisation, 9, Park Place, St. James' Street,s London, S.W .i .Next of kin of civilian internees, members of Local Defence Volunteer Corps and 1 merchant seamen, should apply to: —Red Cross St.and Joun War O rganisation, Clarence H o use, St. James' s ,London, S.W .i .Questions* l*iease Relief for :-Interned Civilians DoB n.ationals who are not interned, bu .0 arc residing in territory held by the Japanese, receive any part of the relief supplies sent through the Red Cross to the internment camps? No. Japanese Red Cross %Does the Japanese Red Cross co-operate with the International Red Cross> The Japanese Red Cross have given evidence of their willingness to cooperate, but their efforts are circumscribed by the Japanese military %authorities.% I.R.C, Delegates on Their Way In the June issue of “Far East" mention was made of two I.R.C.C. delegates going to Japan. Are they the first delegates ever to be appointed there? And what will their special duties be? No. Other delegates have been operating in the Far East throughout the period of hostilities. The two who have now been scut will help to strengthen the l.K.C.C. delegation. Relief in Southern Areas Have any relief supplies been distributed to camps in the southern area? Yes, most of the camps have benefited to a certain degree. Communications, Geneva-Tokyo «What language is used by the I.R.C.C. and the Japanese Government when they correspond? ’Japanese and English. Checking Cable Addresses My wife sent a cubic to our son who is a prisoner in Japan, but she omitted to give his camp address. Will the cable be despatched, or will it be destroyed or returned? All cables are checked by us prior to despatch, and omissions or mistakes rectified so as to give all possible assurance of correct delivery. j # m X ::“FarE a s t”will not be published at regular monthly intervals, so please do not write to us if the next issue has not reached you by a certain date. It will arrive indue course. ?TO OUR READERS This journal is being sent to the next of kin of prisoners of war and civilian internees in the Far East theatre of war. W e are also sending the journal to all those who are registered, in the appropriate department of the Red Cross Stand John War Organisation, as next of kin of Missing. They must not however assume, because they receive the journal, that their relatives are prisoners of war.e t Delay in Cables ?Have all the ten-word message cables handed in early this year for despatch to Japan been transmitted or is there a bottle-neck delay m Geneva due to cables from all parts of the world having to pass through the hands of the I.R.C.C. there? The only bottleneck at Geneva has been the inability of the Japanese to accept cables at a steady and consistent rate. Whilst at onetime there were certain arrears these have now been cleared and cables are retransmitted to Tokyo almost at once. Sumatra Camps My brother is a British civilian internee at Palembang, Sumatra. Is there anything known about this camp? Are the internees receiving any mail, and when was the last mail received in this country there?from We know there are at least 600 British civilian internees in Sumatra. Apart from a few postcards delivered in July (seepage jj) ,only one batch of mall has been received in the United Kingdom, in December, 1943, an <^many of the cards had the address< r Palembang, Sumatra/' The Japanese reported the civilians as interned “Sumatra Camp." We do not know if mail has been received thereby the internees. No Red Cross cables have been received as yet, as the Japanese do not allow an I.R.C.C. delegate 10 the southern territories. We know practically nothing about this camp The postcards received December, 1943, were cheerful intone, but did not give much informati^p. Change of Address 1 have changed my address. Ij my husband sends me a cable, how will I know? All incoming cables are dealt with by the Red Cross. Provided, therefore, you have informed us of your new address, you can be certain that the message will be sent by us direct to you/ present home. Printed id threat Britain lur the Publishers, Thk Red Cross St.and John War Organ isation ,14, Gronveucr Cre#ccnt. London S W„ bj T itfc. CoRNW Aft, Pkkss Ltd Paris Garden Starofurd Street, London, S.C.1.