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The loss to patriotic funds by enemy action in this action alone was : Cash, £445 ; goods, £742 ; whilst over £1,000 in cash was, in addition, captured by the Germans when our 6th Brigade Headquarters were taken prisoners. The Board provided an ice-cream plant for use in the Middle East, and this plant commenced operations on Bth July, 1942, at Maadi Camp, for the provision of ice-cream for patients in New Zealand hospitals in the Cairo area, and for sale at the New Zealand Forces Club, Cairo, the Y.M.C.A., Lowry, and Church Army huts, unit canteens, and officers' and sergeants' messes in that area. VI. New Zealand Forces in Fiji During the year the New Zealand Forces in Fiji were considerably expanded, and as those Forces were spread over a considerable area the buildings erected during the previous year in two main camps were not at the service of the majority of the troops. To meet this situation the Board arranged for the erection of Native types of huts, known as bures, in forty-six localities, and also provided vehicles to allow the Y.M.C.A. personnel to contact the various units, and to service these bures. The facilities of the club at Lautoka were extended, and an officers' club in the same area was subsidized. A picture unit was also established at two different localities. These preparations were only just completed when the situation again altered considerably, the majority of our Army personnel being relieved of duty in Fiji, and moved elsewhere. One of the difficulties experienced during this period was the shipping of comforts overseas. At critical times shipping-space for comforts must, of necessity, give way to shipping-space for more urgent military supplies, and by the time the comforts can be shipped the situation has sometimes changed considerably. This has applied, and will possibly continue to apply, to the whole of the Pacific area, where we are dependent on shipping-space. This difficulty is unfortunately not realized by the servicemen, and complaints are made regarding the non-arrival of comforts which, for security reasons, cannot be replied to at the time of the complaints. VII. New Zealand Fobces in the United Kingdom The New Zealand Forestry Unit, together with New-Zealanders attached to the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force, were supplied with comforts and amenities by the Board through the New Zealand War Services Association, which has rendered valuable service in this connection. The New Zealand Forces Club in London has continued to give good service to New Zealand personnel serving in that area. Supplies of tinned foodstuffs, such as meats, honey, condensed milk, and oysters, were forwarded by the Board for the club. The Board wishes to express its appreciation of the work done on its behalf by Mr. T. Jordan, High Commissioner, his capable staff, and by the voluntary workers. VIII. New Zealand Fobces in Canada' The Board has been under extreme difficulty in regard to the type of comforts to send to Canada the majority of our men there being purely transient, under training, and they are stationed at numerous localities. In three cases New-Zealanders stationed at different places, of their own accord, forwarded the gift parcels and gift cigarettes direct to Great Britain for distribution among New Zealand personnel stationed there. Other stations advised that they were so well looked after by the people of Canada that no comforts from New Zealand, other than woollens, were required. In view of this action, the Board decided to send to the Anzac Club at Halifax gift parcels and cigarettes, together with typical New Zealand foodstuffs, so that all drafts departing to Great Britain could be supplied for the voyage. The Anzac Club has continued to give good service to New-Zealanders stationed in that Dominion, and to Mr. K. M. Gresham, of the New Zealand Y.M.C.A., the Board expresses its appreciation of the work he has performed. IX. Unaddbessed Gift Pabcels An activity much appreciated by servicemen overseas is the distribution of quarterly gift parcels, of which approximately 247,000 were despatched during the year. The contents of these parcels are varied, but the following shows the contents of an average parcel:— 1 cake or 1 tin biscuits. 1 tin fruit. 1 tin condensed milk or coffee and milk. 1 tin fruit-salts. 1 tin sweets (barley-sugar, &c.). 1 tin tongues. 3 packets chewing-gum. 1 tin jam. 1 tin asparagus, or similar. 1 writing-pad. 1 handkerchief. 1 packet razor blades. In addition, 12,116 patriotic gift parcels were placed on board merchant ships for distribution to overseas Merchant Navy men. These parcels are packed by voluntary patriotic workers in all parts of New Zealand, and the work of ordering the goods, assembling, packing, and despatching is considerable. Hundreds of letters of appreciation have been received from recipients in all parts of the world. The difficulty of supplying the quarterly parcels to the troops may be gathered from the following extract from Lieutenant-Colonel Waite's report: — " It must be difficult for people in New Zealand to realize what it means to deliver in wartime and through territory subject to enemy action about 80,000 parcels, and the same number of rations of cigarettes and tobacco. Any list of locations made up one week is quite altered by the time the transport arrangements are complete. The isolated units in places as far apart as Cyprus, Trans-Jordania, and the Red Sea must go through the Army Post-office. The Air Force parcels go through the R.A.F. Post-office. Parcels went to most places by motor-truck —to others by air and by boat. " The gift-parcels scheme is probably the best welfare work of its kind done in any of the Armies. The men are very grateful for them. Do not let the people of New Zealand get the impression that the gift-parcel and gift-tobacco schemes are unappreciated."

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