Censor cachet on Indian Armed Forces Letter

[John Cranmer]

This is a bit outside my collecting area. 

Is there any information about where is censor cachet on this Indian Armed Forces Air Letter was used.  The postmark on the cover is dated the 25th of February 1944 - The only part of the cancellation I can read is BASE POST OFFICE. 

[Michael Dobbs]

John

I've looked through the late Alistair Kennedy's censorship ledger and there is no reference to censor 5422 - he has only recorded 5423 in 1945.  There is a very large gap in the 54xx series.

As regards the postal marking - according to Virk's "Indian Army Post Offices - Locations and Movements 1939-47" it looks to be his Type 221 (INDIAN SECTION BASE POST OFFICE No ??).  However, he does not list type numbers individually for each unit and so it could be any number used between 6 and 32.  It could be No 8 which he lists as Shaibah, Iraq 22.3.43 - 5.4.45 (unit location, not the postal marking as he doesn't list each one indiviually).

To be certain can you please scan just the postmark so that I can get a larger and clearer view which I can then play around with.

Mike

[Nick Colley]

Hi, John,

It does indeed look like no.8, which was at Shaibah (just outside Basrah), as Mike says.

Attached is something along the lines of what Mike asked for.

chrs
N

[Michael Dobbs]

Thanks for that Nick - I would agree that it is No 8.

Mike

[Peter Harvey]

For Information, after John showed this during our August Zoom meeting, I also forwarded the attached from the FPHS 1986 Wartime Postal Stationary publication.

Regards Peter

[Marc Parren]

As for the CS-C2-54xx I can report that 5412 (04 jy 43) and 5433 (10 jy 43) where used at Malta by units involved in Operation Husky to invade Italy at Sicily