British APO 1635 Feb 1942 Service Not Available

[Peter Harvey]

I would appreciate any thoughts on the attached.

Cover from Capetown to a Driver with the RAOC, c/o APO 1635. Left Capetown 14 11 42 reached India with to reverse Bombay datestamp 21 3 42 with the front showing the cachet SERVICE NOT NOW AVAILABLE.

The rear flap is missing with the return address. I would like to know about the 1635 address, I assume a convoy/ troop movement, but am not sure of the destination of 1635, I assume somewhere in the Far East?

Regards and a Happy Christmas to anyone that reads this.
Peter

[Ross Debenham]

Happy Christmas Peter. I think the secret to this cover is the addressee on the envelope. The unit was 125 Anti Tank Regiment which was being transported on a ship to Singapore which was sunk just off that island. They were captured to a man at the fall of Singapore. I suggest that this mail was stopped by postal authorities in Bombay where the DHC/9 censor stamp was applied after the fall of Singapore and returned to sender with the "Service no longer available" cachet applied of the face of the envelope.

[Peter Harvey]

Thank you Ross.

I went to list this on eBay and as you know I like to as accurately as possible describe the items I list for sale. Your prompt is great, I should have looked a little harder as I spent yesterday evening reading about the 125th (The Sunderland Regiment) their journey through Bombay left Bombay 25th Jan and arrived at Singapore 5th Feb, where their convoy was under immediate air attack, with the loss of many ships. They abandoned HMT Empress of Asia under heavy fire (she was eventually sunk) and made to land as they were literally in sight of Singapore. As you say, then captured after some offensive operations on the fall of Singapore. 

Once again thank you.

[Michael Dobbs]

Peter & Ross

Thank you for the helpful notes on APO 1635 - I have the following information on APO 1635 (POC = Post Office Circular):

APO 1635 EFM telegraph service authorised [POC 10 Dec 1941]
[not listed in POC 31 Dec 1941]

POC 31 Dec 1941: " ... Army Post Office number 1635 which was previously included in the list has now been deleted. ... "

EFM telegraph service authorised [listed in POC 14 Jan 1942]
EFM telegraph service ceased [POC 18 Feb 1942]

1st Bn The Cambridgeshire Regiment - 1942 Far East
B Coy, 5th Bn The Suffolk Regiment
18 Inf Div - sailed from Liverpool on ss Oreamdes 27/10/41 via Halifax (transferred to USS West Point), Trinidad, Capetown to Bombay; arrived 28-29/12/41.  Left 18/1/42 for Malaya aboard USS Wakefield and USS West Point; arrived 29/1/42 and captured at Singapore 17 days later.
(unfortunately I did not make a note where I got this information from)

Mike  :)