South African cover from the Sudan

[Ross Debenham]

I include a scan of a cover with a very weak post mark on Indian stamps and dated 1 November 1941. Post mark is believed to be Indian Army Post Office 12 or 15, both used in the Sudan. The envelope was censored using SA.100 censor marker number 114. The cover is self censored by an officer with the rank of major. Now the problem is that in my reckoning the only South African forces in the Sudan the time were air force. The question is was there a rank of major in the air force? I think not. Were there any other South African forces in the Sudan at the time. If so who were they. I hope any member can assist me in the quest to find the origins of this cover. I personally believe the post office is 12 but the person who wrote on the back of the cover believes it is 15. Can you help.

[Chris Weddell]

Hello Ross,

                From the few notes I have on the South Africans in the Sudan, they arrived there in December 1940. They consisted mostly of South African Motorised Transport companies. They were there to provide transport for the 4th and 5th Indian Divisions. They had with them the South African Army Post Office APO U.M.P.K.2 which handled the South Africans troop mail until February 1942.

I hope this is of some help.

                                                    Chris.

[Nick Colley]

Folks, I have a copy of volume 4 of South African Forces World War 2, and this covers explicitly the SAAF in Egypt, Cyrenaica, Libya, Tunisia, Tripolitania and Madagascar 194-1943 (Sudan is noticeable by it's absence in that list, but it may be covered in another volume, perhaps). Anyway, the point is, having refreshed my memory of its content, it look like the SAAF did indeed use army-style ranks. See the table depicted in the attached.

It doesn't address your question directly about the SAAF presence (or otherwise) in the Sudan in 1941, but hopefully it is usefully informative to at least some of those who might read this ! :)

rgds
N

[Ross Debenham]

Thanks gentlemen for your most interesting replies. I had never heard of the SA Motorised Companies in the Sudan. It's also very interesting to hear that the SA air force used army style ranks.