City aid not getting to troops (From Hampshire Chronicle)

City aid not getting to troops

11:10am Friday 28th August 2009 in News

THEIR simple aim is to give a few home comforts to British soldiers on the front line.

But volunteers in Winchester are being thwarted as their parcels are not reaching the troops.

Armed forces postal chiefs have now asked them to stop sending the boxes — because they are clogging up the existing postal system.

The Winchester group mailed nearly 80 packages of treats and toiletries to Afghanistan in mid-July. They were sent to the 4th Rifles, which has its HQ in the city.

Some of the regiment’s personnel helped to put the shipment together before heading to the front line.

They are now on duty there, but the parcels are absent.

It comes after the volunteers donated a bumper batch of 96 boxes earlier this month.

Now they are worried what will become of that shipment too.

The collection scheme is organised from the Bakers Arms pub off the High Street in Winchester, and backed by the Royal British Legion.

The legion’s membership secretary in Winchester, Brian Jones, said: “I’m extremely annoyed. The parcels are just not getting to the front line.

“We sent some in June which took a fortnight to arrive, which is reasonable, but it’s been more than a month since our July boxes were sent.”

He added that the legion posted a few extra parcels off their own back, which had also failed to arrive.

The former Royal Engineer added: “It’s brilliant to get something from home when you’re overseas. You’re really chuffed about it.

“But if a soldier can’t get a parcel, or even a letter from his mother through the post, then what are we coming to?”

The mother of one soldier, who asked not to be named, said: “I can keep in touch with my son by texts, but that’s it.

“Everyone has been brilliant in what they’ve done with the parcels.

“I wonder if the reason that they’re not getting out there is because they’re sent for free.”

Lieutenant Colonel Brett Duxbury, British Forces Post Office staff officer, said parcels often reached Afghanistan within four days.

The hard part was getting them to troops in advanced positions, he said, with some soldiers on lengthy exercises, and some convoys coming under fire.

He added that the number of “unsolicited goodwill” parcels was rising, which placed added strain on their service.

He said: “While we’re very appreciative of the parcels that people are sending, it does mean that the mail and parcels that families are sending to their loved ones in the operational theatre are being held up.”

He added that instead of sending boxes themselves, the Winchester group would be better off helping an existing armed forces charity, like the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association, the uk4u charity, and Support Our Soldiers.