RNYYY

[Michael Johnston]

I have a small number of pieces of correspondence from a young Buffs officer who became attached to Northern Rhodesia Regiment during WW2. During late 1943, he went on a Bombay bound troopship to Mombasa via Suez. In a letter to his wife, he lists his travelling address as RNYYY, APO 4815. Can anyone tell me more?

[Michael Dobbs]

Michael

You need to read my article "Numbered Army Post Office (APO) Addresses Used on British Forces Mail During WW2" which explains the use of (British) APO numbers in Journal No 274 (Winter 2007).  The Journal is available online at http://www.forcespostalhistorysociety.org.uk/journal_archive/journals-290---271/journal-274o.pdf

The only information I have on APO 4815 is as follows:
APO 4815 EFM telegraph service authorised in the Supplement to the Post Office Circular of 2 June 1943

The letters RNYYY are a draft code - it does not stand for anything, merely a series of code letters given to a draft of servicemen going to a particular location.  There are no lists of such codes or information as to how they were created.  It is likely to mean that a whole unit was not involved but a group of servicemen going to a particular location.

Drafts and individuals moving overseas were either given an APO number or 'Force' address.  However, under no circumstances was an APO number to be used in conjunction with a destination.  For this reason personnel returning overseas from leave were not allowed to use an APO address, whether or not it was appropriate to the destination concerned.

Forms of address utilising APO numbers were as follows:

(a) Units:
Army number (other ranks only), Rank, Name, Initials
Sqn, Bty, Coy or other Section of Unit
Full title or designation of unit
APO .....

(b) Drafts:
Army number (other ranks only), Rank, Name, Initials
Regiment or Corps
Draft index letters
APO ..... or Force address

(in the case of infantry drafts the only the regimental title and not the battalion was to be given; where the regiment for which the draft was intended was not the same as that from which it was drawn, the name of the intended regiment was to be given)

(c) Individuals:
as for drafts but no draft index

I hope you find the above helpful

Regards, Mike

[Michael Johnston]

Many thanks for your help, Mike.

I believe he was travelling on his own or with a small number of junior infantry officers alongside a draft of airmen en route to India in October 1943.

I am a new member so I hadn't seen your article. It sounds great so I will look it up in the archive as soon as possible.

Best regards,

Michael