Could the 'T' represent a territorial? or possibly a Tradesman?

Chris

The reverse of card

Something a little different from recent Dardanelles material acquired

A 1915 Christmas card from the Union Jack Club, Reverse is strengthened with a cut down PostCard. During manufacture[attach id=6619]UJC No 1 001 (2).jpg[/attach][attach id=6619]UJC No 1 001 (2).jpg[/attach]  ?

Chris

Afternoon Team

Shown is a cover which the late Phil Schriber had sent me a few months ago.

Received from HM Ships  with a Oval RAF CENSOR 26 Endorsed 'Rec 5/6/42' with a censor signature.

Plain reverse.  Anyone add anything?

Chris 

Afternoon Team, Friends and what currently appears to be a diminishing team of 'posters'

I show an original Post Office notice dated 11/15 detailing Letters and Parcels for the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. One sheet double sided packed with useful information.

I was fortunate lately to obtain 50 plus Gallipoli related items from a well known internet site and snapped them up.

Cheers  Chris

Hello Bob

Link below will lead to a 72 page report from 1917 coverings visits to these camps. 

https://www.archive.org/stream/reportsonbritish00inteuoft#page/n3/mode/2up

Chris

Afternoon Team

A friend showed me the attached and subsequently sent a scan of the form.

Cancelled Army Signals S M A - 1 1 IX

63rd Squadron RAF spent their life in Mesopotamia, shown below is all I can find about them.

"No. 63 Squadron was formed on 31 August 1916 at Stirling, Scotland as a squadron of the Royal Flying Corps. The squadron was intended to operate as a day-bomber unit over the Western Front in France, and was therefore equipped with de Havilland DH4 aircraft; however at the last minute the squadron was re-tasked to operate against the Turkish army in Mesopotamia (Iraq) and was re-equipped with R.E.8's for its new mission, when the squadron arrived in the Middle East in August 1917. No. 63 Squadron remained in Mesopotamia for the rest of the war, and it was disbanded on 29 February 1920.[4]"

Can anyone supply any information about the Army Signals cancel?

Chris

 

Hello Colin

Not seen this before.  Probably the best place for information will be the series of books published by David Tett two or three years ago. I series of six I believe covering POW's and Internees held by the Japs.

Chris

Hello Robert

The query first, unfortunately so far we haven't been able to ascertain if the Indian Units on the Western Front participated in the Security swaps.  Based on Alan's reporting of the same censor which spreads over two Security swaps I'm leaning towards the view they didn't take part.  Further material required here from the Western Front from mid June 1916 when the swap system started.

The IFPO 406 cover with censor 7/467 is a cracker.  First example I've see or record of this censor.  Nothing shown for 7/467 by FD or J Slingsby.  Note in John's publication, 'Postal History of the Army of the Black Sea 1918-23' he lists some of the type censor numbers which were identified, However there were other numbers present in his collection he'd not listed, his view 'which I disagreed with him on' to no avail was he'd only list what was identified.

I also did a lot of work with the late Ed KLempka on the Southern Russia campaign, I'm sure he also had no example of this censor.

I attach a spreadsheet I put together a few years ago showing what censors we should find based on John Slingsby's Order of Battle.  As shown not all unit censors are identified.

Chris

Hello Tony

You might like a group photo which includes Egerton.

Source : 'The Hood Battalion' by Leonard Sellers.

Chris

Hello Peter

With two different numbered unit censor hand-stamps perhaps that where the answer lies.

Does anyone have details of the units using these particular numbers?

Chris

Hello Tony

Where did you find this little gem?  Certainly looks like FPO N.L 1

I have a number of covers with contents from this correspondence will see where he was around this time.

Would appreciate a copy of the letter please. He was quite 'Bitter and twisted' by this time as he'd lost his position in the 'pecking order' for promotions due to being wounded early in the campaign.

Chris

Now to look at the sealing labels.

"Graham Mark" same publication as previous post,

Pages 182/3 Special Labels

The OPENED BY CENSOR. P.W. 103 is listed as Type 15. One of three similar labels , Types 14 to 16

"These labels first appeared in mid 1916 and continued in use until the end of censorship in 1919." The 'numbering on these P.W. labels is recorded as between 4 and 1643. These P W labels were used on POW and Internees mails.

"The PW branch was wound down in late 1918, and early 1919, some PW censors moved to other duties so their labels, with PW deleted, continued in use during 1919. A small number of items have been recorded in 1919 with the PW Number not deleted. These were on internee mail and items from North Russia."

In light of the earlier statement that mails were released in 1919 it's not possible I feel to determine when this item was released. It could be the earlier 1916 /17 releases or the 1919 final release. Graham Mark may have records of the number in question.

The GPO label under the Censor label is interesting, One would expect that handling by the Post Office was the final stage after the censorship. It looks like there may be some sort of cancel or ink marking on the face of the label just to the left of the P.W. 103.

There may be a printing code on this GPO label but it would mean removal of the censor label to see. 

The addressee.

If as I think likely, its Internee related mail there may be a clue in the addressee, One for our Family History researchers here.  Alan??? 

Chris

Having 'located' my copy of British Censorship of Civil Mails During WWI 1914-19 by Graham Mark, I can now add a little more to the story.

On page 82 Graham writes, " Koningen Regenteswas stopped on 10 Nov 1916 and some 500 sacks of mail were removed by the Germans. Some of these mails were returned by Germany to Netherlands and more was released in January 1917 (The Times 21 Nov 1916 & 24 Jan 1917) but some were held until the end of the war. Mail released and forwarded to Britain was censored on arrival. "

On page 83 Graham writes, "Examples of mail censored in Netherlands can be found. These originate from, or were destined to areas under military control, close to the Belgium or German frontiers."

GRONINGEN from where this cover originated is close to the German border with the German state of Lower Saxony to the East. 

He also illustrates a cover with the PART OF A MAIL CAPTURED BY GERMANS AND DELAYED. cachet. 

On page 82 Graham also writes, " The Times, 14 March 1919 (while censorship was still in operation) reported that mails captured by the Germans were then being delivered in this country."

Chris

Hello Tony

You quote 6 November as date seized, uboatnet gives 10 November, whats your reference for the 6th Nov please?

One clarification, uboatnet shows the UK destination port as Gravesend for the 1916 sailing not Boston which was the departure port for the 1918 sailing. See my original post. Note  Vlissingen (known as Flushing is 350 Km from GRONINGEN which is located at the north end of Holland.

Secondly if we're correct that the cancel and offset back mark is GRONINGEN 7 Nov 1916 this appears to show that the cover was opened and resealed with what looks like a blank label by the Dutch authorities. It was then cancelled by the Dutch PO. This ties in with the subsequent departure timescale of sailing. I.e. mails for the UK from Holland were sent from Vlissingen, Does this apply to all mails?

There is no sign of any postage being removed its possible there may be some sort of endorsement underneath the original blank label.  We could be looking at internee mail here.

Chris

Chris