Second World War NEXT OF KIN PARCELS

Second World War NEXT OF KIN PARCELS

The Joint War Organisation began an organised service for the sending of next-of-kin parcels from 1 October 1940. Once every three months the next-of-kin of a prisoner of war could send him a parcel, which could also contain gifts from other relations or friends. It could weigh up to 10lbs, including packing. The parcels were first delivered to the Red Cross, where they were examined by Government Censors and then repacked and sent to the prisoner. The parcel could be accepted by any post office. Upon the opening of the next-of-kin Parcels Centre, at 14 Finsbury Circus, there were 15,000 parcels held by the postal authorities waiting for attention. By the end of December 1940 41,000 parcels had been dispatched. For security reasons, strict censorship of each parcel was necessary. Many articles were also prohibited by the German authorities and had to be removed for the protection of the prisoners. In January 1942, a Next-of-Kind Parcels Centre, organised in the same way as the Centre in London, was opened in Glasgow to handle the parcels sent by next-of-kin living in Scotland. Throughout the duration of enemy air attacks in 1940-42, the flow of parcels continued. The average number of parcels dispatched daily rose from 500 to 1000. The peak of deliveries to the Centre was reached in the first quarter of 1943, when they averaged over 1 300 a day. The staff at the time numbered 95 clerical workers and 163 examiners, packers and porters. For security reasons staff had to be carefully selected which made recruitment more difficult. The Centre was only allowed to employ married women with families, or women with a physical disability. The employment of men as porters was restricted to those over sixty or those who were unfit to serve. Another Centre opened at a factory in Norwood on 7 June 1944. Despite bombing in the area, by the end of June the new Centre was dispatching two hundred parcels a day. From the time that the Next-of-Kind Parcels Centre opened in October 1940 to the 16 February 1945, when dispatches to camps in Eastern Europe were discontinued, the output was 1,011,109 parcels. Output over the war years was: > > 1940-41 149,032 > > 1941-42 192,294 > > 1942-43 315,096 > > 1943-44 266,616 > > 1944-45 88,071 2 of 5

In addition, 112,569 parcels were handled by the Glasgow Centre. At the beginning of 1944, 157 local packing centres of the Joint County Committees and the Central Hospital Service Supply in England and Wales were in operation. They dispatched parcels to the central packing centres. Articles that could be sent: > > Attaché cases > > Blankets > > Boots, laces > > Tins of Brilliantine > > Brushes > > Button cleaning outfits > > Solid chocolate in slabs (no filling) > > Cigarette filter tips and cigarette rolling machine but not cigarettes or cigarette papers. > > Clothing, including pyjamas (striped not plain colours), underwear, shirts (not khaki), any footwear, knitted and comforts, or uniform, including a uniform overcoat > > Coloured silks and cottons, plain linen or canvas for embroidering without any printed pattern or design > > Dentifrice (powder or solid, but not in tubes) > > Frames with talc or unbreakable glass > > Gum boots > > Housewife containing usual items and mending materials > > Kit bags (without locks or metal eye holes) > > Knitting needles and wool > > Pencils > > Pipes and tobacco pouch > > Safety razors and blades > > Safety tin openers > > Shaving soap but not in tubes > > Shoe leather and nails for mending, metal studs for toes and heels, not rubber soles > > Shoe polish (solid not liquid and not in tubes) > > Sleeping bags (not padded) > > Small musical instruments > > Soap of all kinds > > Towels, face cloths and sponges For civilians only complete suits, coloured trousers, including grey flannels, sports coats or blazers, mackintoshes or any kind of overcoat could be sent. 3 of 5

Articles which could not be sent: > > Food except solid chocolate * > > Written communications (all letters had to be sent separately) > > Printed matter, including books and music *** > > Pictorial illustrations and photographs > > Money, stamps, stationery and playing cards > > Articles in tubes, tins and other receptacles which could not be easily opened for inspection > > Candles, spirits or solidified spirit for cooking stoves, matches or any inflammable material > > Watches, scissors (except small nail scissors), knives and tools > > Pen nibs and fountain pens > > Tobacco, cigarettes *** > > Padded sleeping bags or cushions > > Photographic apparatus, field glasses, sextants, compasses, > > Electric torches and other instruments that could be used for naval and military purposes > > Medical comforts ** > > Haversacks > > Complete suits, coloured or grey flannels, corduroy trousers, black, khaki or coloured shirts, civilian ties, sports coats or blazers, mackintoshes or any kind of civilian overcoat > > Badges of Regiments formed since 3 September 1939 > > Sleeping suits other than pyjamas > > Gum boots, Wellingtons and galoshes > > Nail files > > Soap flakes and powder > > Toilet paper > > Glass mirrors *Food was not allowed as the War Organisation was itself supplying a regular service of food parcels. Other reasons were keeping qualities, difficulty in packing with other articles and suitability for prisoners needs. **Medical comforts were also adequately supplied by the Invalid Comforts Section of the War Organisation. ***Books and music, tobacco and cigarettes were also provided by the War Organisation. 4 of 5

In addition: The Red Cross also sent ½ lb. plain chocolate in every parcel as a gift, provided the parcel did not weigh more than 9½ lbs. The following articles could also be sent direct from shops by relatives and friends: Books, music, musical instruments, packs of cards, games, sports equipment, vegetable and flower seeds, tobacco and cigarettes. When supplies became scarcer and some became rationed, the packing centres also became stores from which next-of-kin could select articles for their parcels. They were supplied by the Stores Department of the War Organisation, which reached a considerable turnover. For example in 1943-44, quantities for a selection of the goods were: razors, 13,100; razor blades, 1,158,000; sticks of shaving soap, 225,880; shaving brushes, 58,000; combs, 130,750; toothbrushes, 163,300; nailbrushes, 69,000; face cloths, 60,000. Sources > > 777/30: Joint War Organisation pamphlet: P1 Revised 1/11/41: Next of kin parcels for prisoners of war > > P.G. Cambray; G.G.B Briggs, Red Cross and St. John : The official record of the humanitarian services of the War Organisation of the British Red Cross Society and Order of Saint John of Jerusalem 1939-1947 (London, 1949) p. 178-200 5 of 5