Post_Office_1954-1955 — Page 20

Comparative figures for the past six years are as follows:

Year

1949/50

1950/51

1951/52

1952/53

A W

1953/54

1954/55

Number of Items Handled

1,835,053

2,293,079

2,141,066

2,162,206

2,174,004

2,241,799

FORCES MAIL

47. Mail for Naval, Army, and Air Force Units, continued to be handled by the Fleet Mail Officer, and the British Army Post Office. Close liaison was maintained between them and the Hong Kong Post Office.

48. Mail for foreign visiting war ships was dealt with under arrangements with their respective postal administrations. This involved the handling of an appreciable amount of mail in view of the continued use of Hong Kong as a rest and recreation centre.

CHRISTMAS POSTINGS

49. Planning for Christmas was put in hand as early as July, and the volume of postings for Christmas 1954 which created further records justified this early preparation--a total of approximately 2,400,000 items being posted as compared with 2,100,000 in the preceeding year. A parcel inquiry section which was placed in the main counter hall of the Victoria Post Office proved extremely popular and gave valuable assistance to the public in preparing their parcels for posting.

50. During the peak pressure period, 6,303 bags of mail were received from abroad, and 4,598.293 kilos of air mail was despatched in a two week period. The pressure necessitated

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