Czechoslovak Field Post WW2

[Andrew Brooks]

I have a few covers sent to Arthur Beer an astronomer who had escaped from Germany to London in 1934. I know nothing about WW2 post and censor marks and have not been able to find out a simple fact. Where were these covers posted from in GB?

[Michael Dobbs]

Andrew

[b]1st Czechoslovakian Independent Armoured Brigade Group[/b]

[u]Datestamps issued[/u]:

C.S.P.P. / Czechoslovak Field Post issued 1.9.43
(thought that three datestamps were issued)
(No British FPO datestamps issued)

[u]Field Post Office designation[/u]:

FPO BCZ.1

[u]Deployment[/u]:

It appears that the Brigade, upon landing in Normandy, moved up to Falaise and joined First Canadian Army.  There it stayed until it received orders on 5 October 1944 to move up to Dunkirk and take over from 154th (Highland) Infantry Brigade as DUNKIRK FORCE.  This it did on the nights of 7/8 October 1944 and as from 090000A hours on 9 October 1944 command of DUNKIRK FORCE passed to Brigade HQ.  Thus the Brigade became responsible for the containment of the German garrison in Dunkirk.

Czech Brigade Operation Order No 5 dated 20 January 1945 stated that the enemy garrison at Dunkirk consisted mainly of coastal units (Festung and Stamm Abteilungen) navy and air force ground personnel, units of 226th Infantry Division and remnants of various other infantry and artillery units which had retreated to Dunkirk during the battle of France. 

Following the unconditional surrender of Germany itself, on 8 May 1945 staff officers from the Czech Brigade and 22 Liaison HQ entered Dunkirk under a flag of truce and demanded the unconditional surrender of the garrison.

I am aware that following the surrender of Germany the Brigade moved to Czechoslovakia and came under US control and was allocated US APO 655 as their address, thus replacing BLA (British Liberation Army).  However, I cannot find my notes on this at the present time - but see reference (e) which is an excellent book on the Czech Indep Armd Bde Gp.

[u]Censor markings[/u]:

11696 - Army shield censor (FPHS Type A600) - was allocated to:
Company of Heavy Workshops [Czechoslovak Armoured Brigade Workshop]

[u]Reference works[/u]:

(a) Czechoslovak Philatelic Society of Great Britain, Monograph No 1
(Czechoslovak Army and Air Force in Exile 1939-45 - Postal and Other Philatelic Activities) by W.A. Page FRPSL (August 1981)

(b) Supplement to the above (1982)

(c) Czechoslovak Philatelic Society of Great Britain, Monograph No 5
(Czechoslovak Army in France) by Roy E. Reader (1987)

(d) Billig's Handbook on Postmarks: Volume 11: Postal Markings of the Allied Forces in Great Britain 1940-46 by Norman Hill (date unknown - poss c.1950s?)

(e) Czechoslovak Philatelic Society of Great Britain, Monograph No 27
The Czechoslovak Independent Armoured Brigade in France and their Return Home, 1944-1945 - A Historical and Philatelic Study (2014)

Your two Army censored covers are clearly from the Dunkirk area, but I don't know about the RAF censored cover - it is recorded* as being in the UK on an undated 2½d postage paid cover (might this be the actual cover that is recorded?).

* "Censorship in the Royal Air Force 1918 to 1956" by Dr N Colley and W Garrard, 2nd Edition edited by N Colley and I Muchall (produced electronically 2015)


Mike  :)

[Andrew Brooks]

Hi Mike,
Many thanks for excellent information. The only other information I can add to the RAF cover is that on the reverse in manuscript is written '788286 LAC Beer J. RAF'
Andrew

[Nick Colley]

Andrew, sometimes the addressees are at least as interesting, if not more so, than the postmarks.

There is an entry for Arthur Beer on Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Beer

chrs
N