1925 Cachet Passed For Mail

[Peter Harvey]

I have received an enquiry from a non-member in the USA about the pictured censor cachet - 1925 Bournemouth postcard used within the UK with the cachet CENSORED and PASSED for Mailing WM A Frank CAP MAC S-2 Photograph. I have not seen this before, looks like a USA cachet to me, but does not seem to fit with a 1925 card ??

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

He has now sent two copies on 1910 cards - I am assuming a press censor - as these have come from the USA? Maybe posted home as old postcard in WW2?

[Nick Colley]

Well, a bit odd, eh ? On the other two cards you mention, to what does the year 1910 refer ? Postmark ? Year of manufacture ? Or something else ?
On the example you show, what does the picture depict ?

My first reaction was that this card was probably one of a batch pre-stamped with that censor mark, and hence originating from WW1, and the sender is using it some time later - 7 or more years later...... Whether he had it in his custody all that time, or the cards thus marked were being sold off cheaply after the war is anyone's guess.

However, your reference to 1910 confuses me.

Konfused of Kingston  :(

[Peter Harvey]

Hi Nick, thanks for the thoughts on this, rather strange as you say.

I have attached a scan of the other two cards, reverse only (forget the US WW1 card in the image this is unrelated but in the same scan). So I understand they are general seaside views. The cachet really does not look WW1 to me the WW1 cards that you see with Released for Publication etc are very simple in format, this looks WW2.

I still wonder if this is a US serviceman sending old cards back to the USA, picked up by the postal censor (military) and diverted.

Anyone else care to comment?

[Nick Colley]

Hmm, yes, I see what you mean.

To verify that theory (or otherwise), we'd need access to expert knowledge of the US censor regulations, WW2. Do you have any contact(s) with our US equivalent ? what are they called - the MPHS, is it ?

Or (just as tricky, really), access to equally expert knowledge of that mark - a body of people who have some sort of database (for want of a better word) of examples of that mark.

Probably worth putting it in our Journal as a query, do you think? That way you'd capture the membership who don't (or can't/won't) use the website.

Pensively yrs
N

[Peter Harvey]

Had this from Dann Mayo in the US today:

The markings look more WWII than WWI to me -- don't ask me why; just a gut feeling. 

My read on this is that somewhere you will find a USAEUR order that excepting officially generated (and thus pre-approved) pictorial matter any other images had to be sent through the intelligence section before it could be mailed back to the US.  S-2 is the designation of the Staff Intelligence Officer. 

So, somebody wants to send back the old picture postcards that he bought at the local fair and Capt. Franks, S-2 of whatever Army unit (if a combined services command, the Intelligence Officer  would be G-2), decides to enhance (or deface -- your call) it with his approval handstamp.

For what it's worth, I have not seen these, but this is not my area.

[Alan Baker]

All three cards were written by the same person (Flo) to addresses in Bristol. They bear stamps of the original time of posting. At neither time would it presumably have been necessary for them to have been censored by the US authorities, which tends to support the WWII idea.

Where does the US connection come in? Were they enclosed in an envelope for posting to the USA, which was then opened by the censor? They couldn't have been put through the post singly, or they would surely have gone back to Bristol and probably have incurred postage due charges.

Not sure if this helps