Tristan da Cunha

[Ross Debenham]

Thought some members might be interested in seeing this one. It is a OHMS letter from the RNVR chaplain at HMS Atlantic Isle. Censored using Type N.109 censor marker by Doctor H S A Corfield, the garrison commander at the time. I have also added a scan of the enclosed correspondence.

[Robert Hurst]

Ross,

Thank you for posting the Tristan item, mail to or from the island in the war years and just after is rare.

At the risk of telling you something you already know: Rev David I. Luard and Surgeon Lt. Cdr. H.S. Corfield arrived on Tristan on 1st July 1944, brought by the British Cargo vessel [i]Empire Friendship[/i] to relieve personnel already on the island. The military presence on Tristan (including Lt. Cdr. Corfield) eventually departed around 11 May 1946 on [i]HMSAS Transvaal[/i].

Your cover and accompanying letter appear to be dated in late October 1945. This would seem to suggest that the original enquiry, to which your letter replies, arrived on [i]RMS Darro[/i] a British fast freighter making passage from Cape Town to Montevideo that call at Tristan with mail on 11 October 1945.

When the letter was taken off Tristan is another matter. According to information in a series of monographs by the late Robin Taylor, the whaling factory ship [i]Norhval[/i] with accompanying nine whale catchers called at Tristan on 24 December 1945, and [i]Good Hope Castle[/i] called early in 1946 (exact date not stated). Though Robin does not mention mail being collected in respect of either of these vessels, it does not mean that mail was not picked up. On 4 February 1946 [i]Empire Merganser[/i] travelling from Bombay to Montevideo called at Tristan bringing supplies and mail (Rev. Luard left on this vessel). Any back stamp on the envelope might help narrow down which vessel carried the correspondence.

I hope the above is of interest/help.

Best wishes

Robert

[Ross Debenham]

Thank you Robert, I always knew the mails to a from the island were hit and miss. Of course there would still be a U Boat threat at the end of the war. You would have thought it may have improved, but apparently not. From philatelic evidence I believe that the Post Office Maritime Mail was applied somewhere in South Africa.

[Chris Grimshaw]

Hi Ross

Can you re-post jpeg 2 again please, complete scan if possible.

Chris

[Ross Debenham]

Chris, here is a better scan, as requested. I believe the Maritime Mail marker is from South Africa because it is also on a cover I have from HMS Kongoni in South Africa.

[Chris Grimshaw]

Thanks Ross

Can you also send me a complete scan of the letter,  thinking about using this in a future journal to bring to a wider audience as unfortunately only a minority see the forum.

Looking at Spring 2021.  Winter 2020 almost completed and full. Have space for Feedback and new Queries only now.

Chris

[Ross Debenham]

Hi Chris, as requested a copy of the letter.

[Chris Grimshaw]

Thanks Ross

This is great.

Chris

[Alan Baker]

The first Tristan stamps were overprints of the current issue of St Helena in 1952.

SG Pt I comments on wartime mail that covers are generally struck with the tombstone naval censor mark and postmarked "Maritime Mail" or have S African postal markings