"SPITFIREHENE" cachet used Gold Coast 1943

[Michael Dobbs]

I have received the following enquiry - does anyone know about it?

[color=maroon]Does anyone at the society have any awareness of a "SPITFIREHENE" cachet used in the Gold Coast 1943, during the period 249 Squadron was posted there. It appears on an official envelope postmarked Accra 7th May 1943.[/color]

Thanks, Mike

[Nick Colley]

A scan would be good to have in order to confirm the sequence of letters?

chrs
N

[Michael Dobbs]

Nick

In have now received a scan of the cover - attached.  Along with the following comment from the person making the enquiry:

[color=maroon]It does have the look of a cachet seen during WW2 indicating it was to be hand carried by RAF air crew only, due to the important, urgent or secret contents, and I suspect that is the significance of this cachet. It certainly has the look of a cover between high officials that could have been deemed important and secret.[/color]

My only comment is that it is strange wording and if the envelope carried 'secret' or 'urgent' correspondence it would surely have a similarly worded cachet applied.

Mike

[Nick Colley]

Hmm, that's fairly unambiguous, isn't it? Sadly the word means nothing to me, and I concur with your notion that if the contents were indeed urgent, secret or in some way important, it would be endorsed as such, and, come to think of it, NOT gone through the mail system, but by messenger or courier. It's local mail, I think?

chrs
N

[Michael Dobbs]

Thanks for your response Nick - it looks a genuine cover, but I wonder why this strange cachet?

Nothing comes up when I Google SPITFIREHENE - very strenge indeed, unless someone else out there knows the answer!

Mike

[Ross Debenham]

Very interesting cover, indeed. A bit of a mystery. I would say that it is civilian mail, and no censorship would have needed to be applied as the mail was internal. I wonder if it had something to do with the Spitfire Funds set up in the former colonies to purchase Spitfires for the RAF. In the back of my mind I seem to remember that there was one of these funds in the Gold Coast. Could be totally wrong, but you never know.

[Peter Harvey]

Hi All,

Interesting and agree with the earlier comments. I would agree with Ross, some further investigation into the Gold Coast purchased aircraft might help, all of the 'Spitfire Fund' aircraft were given names, see the attached as example The Hendon Endeavour.

[Michael Dobbs]

Ross and Peter

Many thanks for your responses - all very helpful information to help me formulate a response.

Mike  :)

[Michael Dobbs]

With regards to "Spitfire Fund" I have done some research as follows:

In the Gold Coast a local 'Spitfire Fund' was inaugurated in June 1940, total contributions to which had reached the sum of £100,000 by June 1942. The title 'Gold Coast' was conferred upon a Fighter unit of the R.A.F. and later upon Bomber Squadron No. 218 (a pre-war formation) which was 'adopted' by the Governor and peoples of the Gold Coast in October 1941.

From Cambridge University Library: Royal Commonwealth Society Library -
[url=https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/PH-Y-30448-M/1]https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/PH-Y-30448-M/1[/url]

I have found the following website which lists all the names given to Spitfires purchased through the Spitfire Fund initiative - it does state that the list is incomplete.  However, there is no aircraft listed named "SPITFIREHENE".  However there is one listed for the Gold Coast as: P8194 GOLDCOAST I
[url=https://fyldebbmfund.wordpress.com/gifts-of-war-presentation-spitfires/]https://fyldebbmfund.wordpress.com/gifts-of-war-presentation-spitfires/[/url]

After a great deal of research I have found an example of a cover from the Gold Coast  - attached.  This does not show any reference to "SPITFIREHENE".

Taken from STEVE DREWETT and our auction name EMPIRE STAMP AUCTIONS
https://www.stevedrewett.com/index.php?s=73

Are we barking up the wrong tree with Spitfire Fund or not I wonder - still a mystery!

[Michael Dobbs]

Further to the information listed below, I received the following additional information:

[color=maroon]It was within the same collection and is an official cover with the endorsement label "ON ASANTEHENE'S SERVICE". I googled Asantethene and it said "the absolute Monarch of Ashanti". Note the HENE to the end of that title. The same lettering found on the Spitefire cover - viz SPITFIREHENE. There is a signature above that cachet, and I'd suspect that that person is the Absolute Head of what ever Spitefire meant in 1943 in West Africa. [/color]

The cover in question is from 1950, some 7 years after the 1943 SPITFIREHENE cachet was used.  The use of the letters "HENE" in both may or may not have some significance - or simply coincidental.  Any further views?

Thanks, Mike

[Alan Baker]

A googlycheck tells me that the word "hene" means chief in local languages.

As this cover seems to be internal within Accra, does the cachet mean "Spitfire Chief"?