Cigarettes, tobacco, sugar, spices, salt, warm underwear - and hope. Every available means of transport was pressed into service by the Army postal service, from aircraft through buses equipped as travelling post offices to the simple horse and cart. Needless to say, the postal fleet included Mercedes-Benz vans.

The arrival of the post was always an eagerly awaited occasion, with every soldier hoping for a letter or parcel from back home. After all, the post was often the only means of contact for months at a time between soldiers and their families.