naval censor mark

[kbyfield]

[I have just come across in my collection the attached Air Mail Letter Card. It is supposed to be from Malta but has no Maltese indications nor a date The triangular purple  'PASSED BY NAVAL CENSOR' mark may help to establish where the Letter Card came from. Can any members help?  Keith Byfield 

[Nick Colley]

Hi, Keith, welcome to the Forum. Your item sounds intriguing. There are a number of triangular naval censor marks known, none of which are associated with Malta. Can you post a scan? That would help enormously in assisting you with this mark.

rgds
Nick Colley

[kbyfield]

I will try to post a scan. My laptop collapsed just as I was trying to include a scan to the original post. Here goes. Keith[img][/img]

[Nick Colley]

Thanks, Keith. Got it. It's one of the marks used by the Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean when they were based at Kilindini. There are several versions of these double triangle marks, all but two having two letters inside the inner triangle, in the upper apex. You seem to have one of the two marks without such letters. It's known to the RN WW2 collectors as N461. Having said that your copy appears to be a little larger than the 'usual' N461, but it seems to be the same style and setting. I'm not aware of any of these marks being known, or reported, from Malta.

You say there's no date - a pity. It looks as if it's fairly late in the war, ca.1944?

The boxed POSTAGE MONEY COLLECTED mark is new to me. Have any other Forum users seen that before?

OK?

chrs
N

[Ross Debenham]

I agree that it is the East African censor type. It would be interesting to see if there is a return address or date mentioned in the body of the correspondence. I believe that it was most probably mailed on board ship, as if it was mailed at a land establishment, it most probably would have been attached, although I have a series of covers from an officer on a HDML in Kilidini following the evacuation of non-essential forces from Ceylon with no stamps affixed. Obviously sender was willing to pay postage but stamps were not available.

[Frank Schofield]

Nick

The boxed POSTAGE / MONEY / COLLECTED cachet is listed in Goldup's book
on page 28 as his G5 -  Used in Mauritius

Frank Schofield

[kbyfield]

I only have the central part of the Air Mail Letter Card. However there is very small writing on the reverse. It is a man (almost certainly) writing to his two children. He talks of going 'up country' and has a boat without oars but instead uses poles for fishing. He comments on the strong tides. It seems to me to be a civilian writing home and using RN ships mail.  The only suggestion of an address is the words 'alla**?' on top left. Because I only have the central part of the letter the start and end of each written line is missing. I will send a scan if people would like one but I doubt it will be readable. I use a magnifying lens.
Thank you for the speedy and informative information. I am most grateful.  Keith