BFPO To Close
All four co-conspirators on All Seeing Eye have a close association with the Forces; that’s what initially brought St Crispin and TheEye together on this blog. Our family members are in harms way and when given the chance, St Crispin is out there doing his bit for Queen and Country in person. And so this bit of news from Aquila Victrix via 13th Spitfire has gone down like the proverbial lead balloon.“By this time next year the government intends to bring an end to BFPO operations in Europe.
The British Forces Post Office provides mail and Post Office counter services to Forces personnel and their families whilst serving outside Great Britain.
Using the BFPO means that, when members of Britain’s Armed Forces are serving abroad, they have a postal address which is recognised as being part of their own country – even when they are serving on the frontline. This may sound a small thing but in its way it is a link with the people, something that helps bind together those serving abroad with everybody else back home. It is also a long-established tradition going back over two hundred years to the time of the Peninsular War.
The cutting of this service will be a significant blow to families with loved ones based in Germany, Belgium, Gibraltar and elsewhere on mainland Europe as they will no longer have the same postal rates that apply within the UK and they will no longer have the confidence that their mail will be handled in a safe and secure manner.
A petition has been set up on the No.10 website to get the government to reconsider its decision to remove British Forces Post Offices from mainland Europe. Add your name to the petition here.”
I too am disgusted about this and blogged on it. They’ve done such a good job for 200 years. Wonder what we can do to reverse this decision. The engineers aren’t complaining about the work and I can’t get any further MoD info as to the reason why. I suspect it’s money as always with them.
Can I be very forward and ask you if you would please add me to your blogroll if you want a wee bit of the Scottish stuff?
http://subrosa-blonde.blogspot.com/
You’re already on it, Subrosa! Between Rightwingnews and The Big Dollop. Added you about a month or so ago…and I enjoy popping over to your site too. Keep up the good work!
It’s certainly going to impact us hard here in Gibraltar. I’ve seen this news hit a few blogs now…what about a Platform piece wriiten for ConservativeHome and signed by a few bloggers calling on a Tory govt to commit to bringing it back? Email me allseeingeyeblog at hotmail dot com if you are interested in joining that.
Does anyone know if there is a campaign group actually spearheading the fight to save BFPO? I am reporter for a national newspaper and this issue needs to be made public quickly.
Alternatively, I could do with a chat with anyone who may be affected – tell the rest of the country why it’s wrong, and we might just force a U-turn.
MG
It is wrong to say that all BFPOs are closing. The proposals are that those BFPOs supporting British troops at Nato HQs will close. This is a relatively small number of BFPOs.