Private Ronald Hopper

1. How can food be sent? Only by this Organisation, which aims at providing each prisoner and interned civilian in German or Italian hands with one food parcel per week.

2. What does a food parcel contain? Biscuits, cheese, chocolate, fish, fruit or puddings, jam or other preserves, margarine, 2 meats, milk, sugar, tea, vegetables, soap and a vitaminised food are sent in every parcel. Also selections from other commodities such as Bemax, cocoa, creamed rice, curry powder, custard, Marmite, meat paste, mustard, oatmeal, Ovaltine, pepper, sweets, etc., as space permits. The food is specially planned to supply what is lacking in the German camp rations.

3. What is the cost of the weekly parcel? Including tobacco and cigarettes (see paragraph 13) the price to the Red Cross and St. John is approximately 10s. 0d. This does not include the cost of conveyence by Red Cross ships from Lisbon to Marseilles and cost of insurance against losses due to enemy action.

4. If a donation cannot be given, will a Prisoner of War be sent a parcel? Yes, food parcels are sent for all Prisoners of War and interned civilians, and are paid for from the general funds of the Red Cross and St. John.

5. How are the parcels addressed? They are sent to the International Red Cross Committee at Geneva which forwards them to the camps for distribution by the British Camp Leader.

6. Why are parcels not addressed to individual Prisoners?
(a) Because prisoners may be moved from camp to camp.
(b) If part of a consignment of parcels is lost, the remainder can be divided between camps.
(c) To ensure that new prisoners may receive parcels before their names reach London.
(d) As the parcels sent in each consignment contain similar articles, there is no advantage gained by addressing each parcel to a Prisoner of War by name.