FPHS - Legacy Forum

General Category => Members Discussion Forum => Topic started by: Andrew Brooks on November 03, 2020, 11:19:02 AM

Title: OHMS WW2 unused envelopes
Post by: Andrew Brooks on November 03, 2020, 11:19:02 AM
Not my period of study and not a clue what the letters S.A.A.M., (S.O.R.S.) stand for. Any ideas? Only clue I have is that the person who owned them worked at Kew in WW2. Why put a manuscript 'Secret' in red? Was Room 9, Floor 4 important?
Andrew Brooks
Title: Re: OHMS WW2 unused envelopes
Post by: Michael Dobbs on November 03, 2020, 03:05:36 PM
Andy

I can help with S.A.A.M. but don't know as yet what S.O.R.S. stands for:

Department of the[b] Scientific Adviser, Air Ministry [/b](SAAM), later Department of the Chief Scientist (Royal Air Force) CS(RAF) relating to research and development work including operational research for the Air Ministry, later Ministry of Defence, Air Force Department.

Taken from The National Archives
[url=https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2131]https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2131[/url]

Mike  :)
Title: Re: OHMS WW2 unused envelopes
Post by: Michael Dobbs on November 03, 2020, 03:45:12 PM
Andy

Your "unused" envelopes - are they sealed or do they show signs of having been opened?
Looking at them the labels appear to have some form of stains on them, but not the envelopes.
I do wonder if someone had some pre-prepared address labels and simply stuck them onto unused envelopes?
The handwritten 'secret' in red would appear to indicate that it was for use on a letter whose contents were secret information.

Mike
Title: Re: OHMS WW2 unused envelopes
Post by: Andrew Brooks on November 04, 2020, 11:37:21 AM
Mike,
As far as I can remember the two envelopes are unsealed. I am sorry at the moment I cannot find the two covers that I only scanned the other day. They are part of a collection that I have been working on during the lockdown. It runs to 6 lever-arch files, well over one thousand mounted items and still not finished. I must have put it in the wrong file - but it will turn up soon. Cannot remember the rust stains
Andrew