I'm confused by this envelope!

Pre-stamped and 'By Air Mail', and pre-addressed to Base Air Post Depot, Karachi, so how would it have been distributed for use by Air Mail within India but outwith Karachi?

Jim

I attach 2 scans of a WW2 cover, recently purchased, which I believe may have been from a navy ship, visiting Bombay. Can any member help me with the location of the a.200 censor marker and the POSTAGE FREE cachet on the front of the cover. Also, I believe the B post marker on the reverse of the cover may have been used in Bombay, as I have seen it before on covers from naval sources. Hope members can assist.

A comment only: I note the FPO cancellers on the 2/6 and the vignette are dated 2 DE, a day after the cds on the reg label. Strange.  I also see a faint Army Post Office cds just below the numeral 161.

Neil W

  - FPO 155: Proud has this in the Middle East (8 L of C from 3.6.41). I have a manuscript annotation (mine) in my copy that it was in Gaza from (1942) to (30/4/43). Your item is dated in December 1941, so I surmise there's a fair chance it may already have been in Gaza at that point.

    - 10d for the single air mail rate would therefore be correct I think, so your 2/6d rate would be correct for a triple rate item.

    - As regards the censor, well, it's the normal type of (army) censor for the ME at that time. I think ALK kept a register, and I think Mike Dobbs might have it, or know where it is. If ALK recorded it, he may have noted the unit, if it was on an item bearing the sender's details.

chrs
N

I can't answer your questions, but assuming the Seahorse is from the re-engraved set issued in 1934, this is not particularly late. The KGVI high values were not issued until 1939 (2s6d on 4th September) and may not have been available where the sender was located in 1941.

This assumes there was a good reason for applying the higher value stamp of course

Here is a registered cover from FPO 155 dated 1 Dec 1941. Can anyone please tell me where FPO 155 was at that time? And if possible where the triangular PASSED CENSOR 2889 was applied? Assuming it was from somewhere in the Middle East can anyone confirm the airmail postage was 10d single, so this was a treble rate cover?

We had a meeting back in June where members were encouraged to bring along and show any material relating to "India".  Unfortunately member Bill Downes was unable to come to the meeting but he did have a query - some years ago he acquired some covers sent to a Surgeon Major E Dixon in Madras 1872 to 1885.  He asks if anyone can advise him how to find out more details on Surgeon Major Dixon.  Scans of the covers attached.

Thanks, Mike

I have two identical minature (100 by 75mm) field service post cards both used as cigarette acknowledgement cards addressed to the Sudbury Cigarette Club (Canada) dated July and November 1944.  Both have the same printers imprint Form /A2042/7 by S & W Ltd. with a print run of 45,000M (45,000,000 !!!) and a date of 7/41. 

I only collect Canada WW2 material but these look like the cards used in WW1.  I have never seen these used for their apparent intended purpose in WW2. 

Were they printed in the UK or Canada - there is a Crown Copyright note in the bottom left. If they were printed in the UK how did they get to Canada.  They would have been sent to a Canadian serviceman.

Normally the specially printed full size acknowledgment cards were put in the parcel of cigarettes or tobacco when they were sent from Canada and are quite common



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The letters H.D. according to the references Post Office Circulars was 'Home Defence' when used for Army Post Office cancellers with (H.D.) and a number (or number a letter combination).

The Army Post Office did have a Home Depot which was located in London but cannot see where the number 26 would apply to this office. 

Kennedy & Crabb gives HD 26 as Brook Hill, Ipswich, Suffolk around May 1916.

Could the bags lead seals have been on incoming mail bags? Rather than for sealing outgoing bags. I assume it would be possible for the Army Post Office to have enough mail going to a single field post Office to seal it bag before sending to France especially if from the particular units home base (Location in U.K.) Which would still doing administrative tasks.

When looking through the Post Office Circulars recently did see refences to Lead seal in the WW1 period.  Unfortunely as did not appear to have any reference to Army Camps I past over it ,but when next go will see if can see find it again.


 

I have received the enquiry below from Belgium

I suspect that the letters HD do represent Home Depot (the only other potential alternative is Home Defence but I don't think that is appropriate for the BEF in France).

I am aware that in post-WW2 days the bag seals equated to FPO datestamp numbers, but I do not know the procedure in WW1.

Does anyone have any knowledge of FPO lead seals?

Thanks, Mike

[color=maroon]I got your website from someone at The Postal Museum.

I'm an archaeologist from Flanders and I work for the company RAAP. During a research in Vlamertinge, a borough of Ypres, we found some square lead seals. I did not find much about them on the internet, other than that they're lead seals from the General Post Office (they are called GPO bag seals).

During World War I there was a British depot and camp at the find location from 1917 onwards. Also, Vlamertinge is listed on a diagram of the mail routes as an army post office (POST47/1017). I therefore wondered if the seals could possibly be linked to this camp. On 2 of the bag seals it says "HD 26". At first I thought it the letters stood for Huddersfield but somebody from the Postal Museum pointed out that HD could also stand for "Home Depot". But I can't find anything about the number 26.

I was wondering if you have more knowledge about this? What could HD26 refer to? If you like I could send you a picture of the bag seals.

I would like to thank you for your answer on beforehand.[/color]