Something different!

My partner is a published writer and poet.  She asked me what was the smallest army unit, which is an essential component for a poem under construction.

I fear it may not be a simple answer?

Cheers
Tony

Attached is a scan of a cover salvaged from the wreck of the SS Kenilworth Castle on 4 June 1918 when she was in collision with a destroyer in the English Channel. Torpedoes in the destroyer exploded under the Kenilworth Castle which was badly damaged and beached in Plymouth Sound. The hold containing the mail was flooded, but covers from this incident are not rare.

The ship had departed Cape Town, South Africa on 2 May 1918, this cover bears a cancellation from Dundee, South Africa of 27 April 1918.  My query relates to the censor mark on the cover, and I would be grateful for any information concerning it.  I have two other covers from this wreck, neither of which have been censored.

Tony 

I do not have an example of the censor mark (Gould 4A9) from Armed Merchant Cruiser Orama in World War One.  If anyone could lend me an example for say 3 months I would be most grateful.  Happy to buy one of course.
Wondering why?  Am featuring ship in 80 an page exhibit for show in Essen in May.  Will acknowledge source if cover on loan.

Cheers
Tony Walker
walker369@btinternet.com

Attached a cover from Jamaica to the USA - it may well not be of military origin.

However if anyone can suggest why the envelope was opened by the express warrant of the Governor, I would be most interested.  Could it be because of the too brief address and they were looking for more info about the recipient?

On the reverse is a KINGSTON / FEB 29-16 / JAMAICA machine cancel.

Tony Walker[attach id=6559]3687 Jamaica to USA (2).jpg[/attach]

I am having difficulty sorting out the cover attached + letter from the Egerton correspondence

The envelope is addressed by Mark Egerton to his mother Lady Egerton and has an FPO dated 5 OC 15, but the number is not readable.  Checking FPO's used by the RND, there are only three which appear to have been in use in October 1915, namely NL1 and NL2 and DNL.  Additionally the censor no. on the cover is 2665, perhaps not clear on the copy but OK in the original.  On the information I have, this number has not been shown as used by the RND.

The letter was sent by Mark Egerton from Mudros (see last line of his address on letter)[attach id=6557]RND Hood Bn 4096.jpg[/attach] .  His father at the time was in charge down at Devonport, where the envelope is addressed to.  The letter contains just family matters.

Here I am diligently embarking on writing up my material, but being thwarted by a lack of information, so any help with the above will be most welcome

Tony

I have a cover - see attachments for which I'd be grateful for some feedback.  It is purported to have come from the Paddle Steamer Koningen Regentes which was intercepted by the German submarine UB-19 and escorted into Zeebrugge on 10 November 1918

Firstly the cover :

It shows two cachets :

PART OF MAIL CAPTURED / BY GERMANS AND DELAYED and
PORTVRIS / ??ANC DE PORT / Militaires estrangers / ? dans Pays-Bas

On arrival in England the cover was censored and resealed with tape, and a label mostly obscured by the OPENED BY / CENSOR. / P.W.103 label asking the recipient to 'Please return this letter to the Post Office as part of an official enquiry.'

I have carefully lifted part of the CENSOR label on the front of the cover to reveal the cancellation GRONINGEN 7 NOV 18, this ties in with what appears to be an offset cancellation on the reverse of the same date.

The information on the internet is confusing, particularly that the Koningen Regentes was a hospital ship, torpedoed and sunk on 6 June 1918.

I realise some of this is outside the likely scope of FPHS members, but I'd be grateful if someone could :

a) scan me a complete copy of the Post Office 'Please return....' label
b) Provide any info on the CENSOR label
c) In hope rather than expectation, clarification of the ship involved

[attach id=6551]4585 dutch ship held up by Germany (2).jpg[/attach] Cheers
Tony
walker369@btinternet.com

Help needed

I picked up a cover (see attachment) addressed to Captn. F H Jackson, 2 Comm? Rangers, 5th Brigade, 2nd Division, British Expeditionary Force.
Machine cancelled in Kensington 6 November 1914.
On the front in pencil it states Deceased and signed Charles Dysett?
Letter also enclosed

There are a lot of Fred Jacksons on CWGC, none of which seem to match up

Help appreciated

Tony

A Russian colleague had received these two photographs from a friend of his who was aware he had an English correspondent who may be able to provide information about the people/vehicles/whereabouts shown on the photographs, which he says (almost certainly correctly) are from the RNAS Armoured Car Division fighting in Russia in WWI under the command of Locker Lampson.

The photo with four men shows an armoured Rolls Royce car - could be anywhere.  It's a long shot, but can anyone put a name to any of the men?

The second photo shows a Model T Ford armoured car which the Division received later in the campaign (early 1917) with its higher ground clearance - more practical in the rough terrain the cars often had to operate in.  The Rolls Royce's and Lancasters were much lower to the ground.  He says these are Russian soldiers - but where? 

Photos too large for the Forum - will try and attach later.  Be patient!

It is unlikely the Model T Ford cars arrived in Russia before 1917 - they probably came with a reinforcement party which arrived in Kursk during 1917 when the main force were engaged on the Galician Front.  It was later this year that the Central Powers pushed north forcing the Armoured cars to set up an overwintering base at Kursk, well into Russia.  It was from here in January 1918 that the remaining 'care and maintenance' men left for England, leaving what vehicles they had behind.  This photo MAY show Russians with one of these 'captured' cars, as Russia had by then agreed the terms of the Treaty of Brest-Litvosk to cease any military action against Germany and her allies.  Although possibly it was earlier when the cars were still fighting on the Galician Front, but I have no record of Russian soldiers actively manning the armoured cars, but maybe this photograph was posed?

Any observations welcomed

Tony

I have a wreck cover from HMT Kingstonian, torpedoed on 11 April 1918.  She was sailing from Alexandria to Marseilles with a substantial amount of mail from Egypt and Palestine.  Much was salvaged in various degrees of damage

I have been trying to pin down the APO single ring cancel (see attachment) via Kennedy and Crabb - not my usual reference source.  The cancel is ARMY POST OFFICE / C / 23 MR / 18 / SZ11.

The nearest I can get is type SB on p48.  In the detailed list on p151 which gives an EKD of JY 19 from Mustapha (Alexandria) which ties in to this mail.  However the date on my cover is 23 MR 18 some 16 months earlier. 

I rather think it's me that has it wrong somewhere along the way - happy to be enlightened

Cheers
Tony

I recently acquired a telegram (in 3 pages) sent from the RNAS Armoured Car Division when they were fighting with the Russians in WWI, in the far southeast corner of Russia on the Turkey and Persia borders.

I'm having difficulty attaching a scan, but essentially the telegram is from the Armoured Cars at their forward base at Kars just inside the Russian border with Turkey, and transmitted on 28th September 1916

It is addressed in freehand to :

Commanding Officer, 48 Victoria? Street, London, and asks

Ask police to investigate contents and particulars of parcel belonging to Petty Officer Frost of this force at present under arrest for stealing stop.  Parcel in in custody of Courtlander? Art jeweller 55 and 56 Glorce? Street, Richmond and we have documentary evidence to that effect stop. Wire in detail contents parcel as believed to contain stolen property belonging to this force end.  Number 237. Armoured cars

No Glorce Street in Richmond, and no jeweller of that name I could find.

Any chance of anyone being able to add more info to this. I imagine the Armoured Cars would not wish such an incident to be widely discussed.  I can find no mention of a PO Frost in my reference books.

I may be able to attach a photocopy, but it's a large file so you may have to make do with the text above

Cheers
Tony

I have a cover which I cannot work out.

You will see from the scan this envelope is addressed to HQ Northern Ireland at Lisburn

The packet-like cancel top right on the label has been cancelled 26 NOV 74 from Forces Post Office 177.  The double r[attach id=6330]British Army in NI for Troubles (1).jpg[/attach] ing blue oval cachet, which you might think is a receiving mark is however dated 25 NOV 74 from the Ulster Defence Regt 10th Belfast Bn.

Any offers of an explanation?

Cheers
Tony

I recently acquired a group of covers salvaged from the SS Kingstonian when she was torpedoed by UB-68 on 11 April 1918 in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Sardinia.  They are all from the same correspondence, addressed to Mrs George Young in Edinburgh but re-directed to 13 Sheffield Road in Chesterfield.  The sender was Mr George Young, presumably husband of Mrs Young.

I attach tracings of the cancellations from those covers  where they are readable.  I have checked in Kennedy and Crabb and have more or less identified the cancels, although they are not specifically listed/illustrated as far as I can make out.  It's not a publication I am familiar with as I seldom use it.  One cover (no. 2 on my tracings) has a PBC octagonal army censor no. 906.

The ship was sailing from Alexandria to Marseilles with around 40 troops on board, plus stores and equipment from the 60th Div. London Regiment who returned to France a month later.  The Kingstonian appears to have carried a substantial amount of mail as there are many salvaged covers in circulation and many different cachets.  Only one life was lost on the Kingstonian and nine from the tug Dalkeith which had come to her rescue when the captain beached her at the nearby Carloforte Bay.  These lives were lost when UB-48 torpedoed both ships on 29 April 1918 in the bay.

I would appreciate any further details about the cancellations and their minor variations and their place of origin.  Also somewhat optimistically perhaps, anything about George Young.

Hoggarth and Quinn in their book Maritime Disaster mail do not fully agree between themselves as to some details of mails lost, but do reckon this wreck is probably the most controversial of all the First World War casualties.  Both ships were a total write off.

Cheers
Tony

Nick Colley and I both have censored items from a correspondence between a ships Master H Hillender and a Mr Oasley of Purley in Surrey in WWI.  My two cards are dated in 1916 and 1918.

My two PPCs (of Greece) have the cachet ON ACTIVE SERVICE plus a separate MFA B6120 cachet, plus the distinctive Censored by master, all in a grey-blue colour.  The censor marks on each card have also been signed H Hillender, the sender of the postcards and presumably the master or captain of MFA B6120, a Merchant Fleet Auxiliary.  The censor mark is now listed in Vol 2 of Gould as 3B38

An H Hillender appears to be listed under the Crews List 1863 - 1920 on Ancestry, but I cannot get further than that.

Can anyone dig a bit deeper?

Cheers
Tony

I have a philatelic friend living in foreign parts who is studying the role of naval chaplains on board ship during WWI.  He is particularly interested in those serving in the British Navy.  Scans of covers with the identifiable censor marks (for instance) on them would be of great interest to him.

Primarily from Michael Gould's two handbooks I have identified the following, those with an asterisk alongside I have examples of their signature/initials on WWI covers and have scanned them to my friend.  I would be delighted to receive scans of any others on this list, and indeed chaplains not noted above

HMS Prince George              W.H.M.      Rev. WH Maundrell
HMS Conqueror                  WKKA        Rev.  WK Knight-Adkin
HMHS St. Marg. of Scotland THLJ          THL Jellicoe
HMHS St. Marg. of Scotland JD McC      James McCarthy ****
HMS Black Prince                                Rev WF Webber
HMS Princess Margaret                        FW Hicks
HMHS Magic                                        RF Ashley-Spencer
HMHS China                                        Chaplain R.N. / Censor
HMS Blake                          CTFF        Rev. CTF Fields ****
HMHS's (3 known)              JMMcC      James D McCarthy (see above)
HMS Crescent                      CHP          Charles H Payton ****
HMS Warspite & HMS Mars                  Re. Walter Carey
HMS Warspite                                    Antony Pollen (RC)
HMS Ajax                                          Montagu Heinsselin
HMS Aboukir                                      Edward Glenhall Robson kia
HMS Hogue                                        Wilfred Ellis - survived
HMHS Rohilla                                      Basil Gwydir kia (RC)
HMS Good Hope                                  Arthur Pitt
HMHS Soudan (?)                                AHG Creed ****

I would imagine most of the Hospital Ships would have carried a Chaplain on board?  Maybe much of their mail was not censored or censored by someone lse as the Chaplain was busy with the passengers.  I'm sure there are several more names which can be added to this list, but whether any can be identified as censors on WWI mail is the question

Comments welcome.

Tony
walker369@btinternet.com
 

It would perhaps have been less perfunctory to have indicated the posts about Ukraine would be blocked and deleted in say 24 hours.  That would have given people time to at least print off what had been posted.  It will be interesting to see how posts dealing with the postal history  of the conflict which I assume will appear in due course, are handled by the Moderator.

Maybe it's taking me time to get over two years of being ordered about by the government.....

I have a letter from Noel Lucas Shadwell dated Feb 9 1915.  I have a number noted : 30687, but this is not on the letter or envelope so presumably added later

The envelope has the red square boxed PASSED BY / crown  / No.1 / CENSOR,
with a  dr cds  FIELD POST OFFICE / A / 10 FE / 15 / T.8 postal cancellation

The letter in faded smudged pencil looks to have 3rd Brigade F.T.A.?, 8th Division under his name.  It is addressed to Miss Frances Stubbs, Laurel Cottage, Guestling, nr. Hastings

In my researches and writing up of the RNAS Armoured Car Campaign in Russia there is a Lt. Lucas Shadwell (RNVR) who acquitted himself extremely bravely and was awarded I believe the DSC.  It must surely be the same man?

Recruiting for the Armoured Car squadrons took place later in 1915, so he could well have volunteered to join them from the 3rd Brigade?  I would be very pleased if someone could tell me what he did and where he was, up to joining the Armoured cars.

When the men returned from Russia towards the end of the war they were granted extended leave.  The armoured cars were transferred to army control and went to the far east to Dunsterforce.  Many men followed that course, others stayed in the UK and joined other units.  Did Shadwell go to Dunsterforce?

Cheers
Tony

I have this cover- see attachment, which gives up a great deal of information which I note below, and will I'm sure be corrected by the Army brigade if needs be

The censor mark is CEN CAR SOR (the AR are small and fit in to the curve of the C).  It is an RNAS censor mark

The APO is K&C type D1 issued 27.3.17 and No S 41 French Corps Troops.  date 18 July(I reckon) 1918

The rectangular censor is type CM6 No 5079, this number having been used in France, Belgium and Italy  at this time - I don't understand how, but it looks to be either France or Belgium

The censor has been identified as Lt. Charles S Walker RMA of the Siege Guns

Lastly a red EXAMINED BY BASE CENSOR - are they always red?  Any significance?

Michael Gould in his Vol 2 suggests this is 'probably the Carnac Battery' on the Belgian coast.  With all the Army stuff on the cover, would anyone confirm this?

I'm trying to keep you all busy in this cold weather

Cheers
Tony

Hi everyone

We are putting together our meetings programme here at Newcastle Philatelic Society, for the 2022 -2023 year (September to May).

It is a general society, and enquiries were made to me about inviting an 'out of town speaker' for a military topic - not too detailed, and broad enough to appeal to most interests.  I know we are north of Watford which will deter some of you who have not ventured north of that frontier town, but we are on the East Coast mainline, and the meeting place is 50m from the station, as is the hotel.

Any offers?

We meet on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the month at 6.45.  Can show a max of 100 sheets each half, but fewer sheets of postal history maybe

Cheers
Tony

Has anyone come across the cachet NAVAL AGENT / JAMAICA?

I have this cachet around the inside of an oval frame with the date 28.9.18 added in pen across the centre.  The envelope is O.H.M.S. and has no other markings and is addressed to Messers D Henderson & Co., Kingston. 

There is a  machine cancel on the reverse of KIINGSTON / SEP 28 - 18 / JAMAICA which probably should have gone on the other side.

The Forum is uncharacteristically quiet just now - everyone got hangovers?

I have a couple of WW1 naval PPC's with the mark M.F.A. B6120 plus a censor mark :
Censored by master (not in Gould).

One card shows a picture in Greece, the other of Alexandria. Both cards addressed to a J N Osaley? at Plough Lane in Purley, Surry.

I cannot find anything on the internet to tell me about this MFA.  I'm sure it's there somewhere - can anyone help please

Cheers
Tony