Axeing Blueys will destroy our troops’ morale

Morale is a simple six-letter word but it’s so powerful. However, as you revealed last week, some desk-bound ‘warriors’ at the Ministry of Defence have decided to stop frontline troops from receiving their precious E-Blueys, which are huge morale-boosters.

It beggars belief that the Government is prepared to send £12billion overseas in foreign aid while withdrawing this service to save £1million a year.

Obviously the people who have decided to axe the Blueys have never served away from home, so they haven’t the faintest idea just how important they are.

I was a marine engineer from 1965 to 1970 and I know just how important mail from home is. Back then, the only way of keeping in touch with loved ones was by the written word and, after a long voyage, I would wait impatiently at our destination for news that correspondence from home had finally arrived.

The beauty of letters is that they can be read over and over again, giving you the feeling of being connected with home. Philip Roe, York How sad to deprive our troops of their E-Blueys. Messages from loved ones that can be carried around as talismans have always been a great source of comfort and help to keep up morale.

They sustained my parents and my grandparents during two world wars, and I cannot believe that the brave men and women who continue to put their lives on the line for the rest of us deserve less. Defence chiefs and MPs should think again. Maggie Cobbett, Ripon, North Yorkshire Social media messages can never replicate the beauty of an E-Bluey. To be able to retreat into your own space to read something that you can actually feel and that’s not on an electronic screen can be a profound experience. Emily Hill, London The saving of £1 million a year by axeing the E-Blueys service really is small fry.

It is simply disgraceful that a mandarin sitting behind a desk at the Ministry of Defence can decide that this morale-boosting lifeline to loved ones is worthless and should be scrapped.

I’m starting an e-petition on the Government website to save the service. Rolf Kitching, Gosport, Hampshire