Due to the poor health of most POWs, Allied policy was to rapidly transport liberated POWs to the UK, usually by air. Few prisoners were freed until April 1945, however. By this time, the 1st AIF Reception Group had handled 209 Australians released during two POW exchanges, as well as small numbers of soldiers who arrived via Italy, Switzerland and the Soviet Union. From 4 April, the AIF Reception Group generally received 30 released POWs per day. This rose to about 100 per day from 20 April, and then gradually increased. After the German surrender on 8 May large numbers of released POWs arrived. The AIF Reception Group handled over 1,000 during the week ending 15 May. The number of released POWs arriving in the UK decreased over the remainder of May, and the last arrived in June. Overall, the AIF Reception Group handled 5,668 released POWs.