I have a letter from the subject organization to the mother of a Royal Navy seaman and I'm having difficulty deciphering its contents. At the time the letter was written -- March 1944 -- the seaman I'm researching was deceased, having been killed by a German guard the previous July during an escape attempt from a work camp near Poznan, Poland. The letter states that the BPoWF had sent the mother 52 "subscriptions" of five pounds sterling each, totaling 260 pounds. I don't know much about this organization but it appears to have provided packets of books, cigarettes, etc. to British POWs, over and above the ones famously distributed by the Red Cross. According to the letterhead, the British Prisoners of War Books & Games Fund and the Forget-Me-Not League operated out of the same London address, Carrington House in Hertford Street. They were also known as the "British Prisoners of War Funds," both registered War Charities. In adverts found in British magazines, the BPoWF solicited donations, i.e."subscriptions," to underwrite their operations. Donors could direct BPoWF packages to specific individuals if they wished. The adverts stipulated that donations in kind would not be accepted due to censorship regulations (not sure why but that's what the ads state). My question is: why, in this particular case, were these "subscriptions" being sent to the next-of-kin of the POW? I wonder if this was an unusual occurrence, connected somehow with the unfortunate circumstances of the man's death? If the 52 subscriptions were issued on a weekly basis, they would have begun several months before his death in July 1943. In any event, weekly remittances do not sound plausible to me due to the amount of paperwork involved. But monthly instalments don't compute either, because he was captured in June 1940 which means approx. 36 months in captivity. Why then were there 52 separate remittances of 5 pounds each? (There was also one remittance of three pounds), making a total of 53 "subscriptions." Most puzzling to me is the letter's final paragraph: “As regards the remaining 4 names on the list sent to us by the leader of Stalag XXI D, the War Office reports that two have no balances from which the subscriptions can be paid; in the case of the other two the War Office states that they have not received written instructions from the men to pay the money over to us. We have notified the Camp Leader and the men concerned, and we will of course make further remittances if the War Office transfers the money to us.” My best guess is that at least two other POWs were voluntarily contributing a portion of their pay to the deceased man's next-of-kin. This might solve the puzzle of 52 remittances, due to there being multiple sources of contributions. If anyone can shed some light on these matters, I'd be most grateful. I'm a newbie w.r.t. both forum and topic, but perhaps the above will spark some discussion amongst others more knowledgeable than myself. Cheers, Jay
