Cover of the day, 4th April

[Michael Dobbs]

My cover of the day is a more modern philatelic cover with a British Forces Postal Service commemorative handstamp in this case No 1974 for the 1974 Royal Tournament.  I'm in the process of compiling a list of such postmarks - from 1968 onwards to the present day.  They were covered from time to time in early issues of the Newsletter (now Journal) but have rarely appeared in later issues.  I've been given greater impetus to deal with this listing as part of my "downsizing" in relation to holding paper, I'm disposing of some early issues of the British Postmark Society Journal (1982-1996) (it is their intention to digitise their Journals in due course).  In addition I've recently discovered that Alistair kept a card index of these postmarks and my listing will assist in disposing of some 110+ such cards!

I used to collect these covers and have a suitcase full in the attic!  In addition I have a small number of publications which list these, including some early editions of the BPS Special Event Postmarks of the UK although later editions are now available to download from the BPS website free of charge.

This particular cover also supports another interest I have - FPOs used in the UK, of which the Royal Tournament forms one chapter in this compilation of information (others include Ex Surprise Packet, Coronation Camps, TA Training Camps, RE Mobile Displays, etc).

Mike  ;)

[Chris Weddell]

My cover of the day is from the French Naval base at Diego Suarez, Madagascar.

The cover is dated for the inter-war period of 1937 and was posted by a medic at the base hospital to a Dr in France. The cover is tied with a good strike of the Marine Madagascar Le Vaguemestre (military postmaster) cachet.

[Michael Dobbs]

A good cover Chris - plenty of information (front and back).

Mike  :)

[Peter Harvey]

Here is my cover of the day, a namesake and philatelist, a cover from the stamp dealer A.W. Harvey of High Holborn.

Actually, whilst this has the A.W. Harvey stamp Dealer cachet to the rear, which I assume was applied by the sender, it is addressed to Private A.W. Harvey serving with the 2nd Battalion the Norfolk Regiment with the Mesopotamia Expeditionary Force in 1918. At this time the Norfolks had moved from Palestine to Iraq serving alongside the 14th Indian Division. To reverse the IFPO datestamp FPO No53 recorded by Proud in the Diyala area.

To the front annotated in crayon C/ D.A.D.O.S (and signed?), any thoughts on this Deputy Assistant Director.................... help appreciated.

Regards Peter

[Michael Dobbs]

Peter - a very nice cover, especially with your namesake as sender and recipient!

DADOS = Deputy Assistant Director Ordnance Services

Mike  :)

[Howard Weinert]

A cover sent from the American Embassy in Vologda by Eugene Prince to his future wife in Chicago. The envelope is stationery of the Office of the Military Attaché, American Embassy, Petrograd. The enclosed letter, written in Vologda on 14 April 1918, was sent via diplomatic pouch and postmarked in Washington in August. Fearing that the Germans would occupy Petrograd, the American Embassy left the city on 27 February 1918 and moved to Vologda. Prince [1890-1981] was born in St. Petersburg to an American father and a Russian mother. In 1917 he was appointed Captain with the American Military Mission, and Asst. Military Attaché at the American Embassy in Petrograd, and then in Vologda and Arkhangelsk. He returned to the USA in 1919. In his letter, Prince says, "This is the first opportunity I have of sending a letter to America for over four months, and for the same period I have not had any letters from the States. The Embassy moved from Petrograd to Vologda, which is about 300 miles east of Petrograd, and I have been spending the time in these two cities and in Moscow. When we left Petrograd we had fairly good hopes of going straight on to Vladivostok and then to Japan and the States, but now I am certain it will be quite some time before we get home. The situation here is getting all the time more and more complicated. As usual I am in the thick of most everything, and also occasionally start something off on my own account. When I see you again I shall be able to tell you a lot of interesting incidents, of which now I have to be silent. I just had a lovely three weeks in Moscow. The streets are clean and dry and the sun shining. I had a great time going to the ballet. Vologda, where we are now, is a dirty small town. It is continuously raining and the mud on the streets is so deep, it is impossible to walk." Prince was in charge of identifying promising routes of Allied occupation and getting copies of German and Bolshevik battle plans. He worked to sabotage property taken over by the Germans. The photo shows the American Embassy staff in Arkhangelsk, Fall 1918 - Prince is second from left in front row and Ambassador Francis is front and center.

[Nick Guy]

I had been thinking  about making this a cover of the day but as some of you would have seen it at the joint EASC/FPHS meeting last year I was vacillating.  Since it follows on from Chris's item, here goes!

The eight week campaign opened by Operation Stream Line Jane completed the occupation of the whole of Madagascar by British forces and the installed an administration loyal to the Free French Government following the surrender of the Vichy forces and led to French PoWs being held in Kenya.  This is an example of mail from them.  Colin Spong records 23 items known to him, all but two addressed to family members of Chef de Bataillon Martin, in an article in BEA: Bulletin of the East Africa Study Circle no 82, Jan 2006.  This cover, written by Martin at Camp 358, Makindu on 29 November 1942 and backstamped at Majunga and Tananarive, Madagascar on the 15th and 16th December, is an addition to that listing.

Nick Guy