Cover of the day 15th April 2020

[Peter Harvey]

So here is my cover of the day, from Indian troops in Iraq, prior to Dunsterforce in the Caucasus. I am a little sketchy on the history, but I have researched a little and hopefully you might correct me?

A 1917 cover from Baqubah in Iraq, headed On Active Services with a faint PASSED D CENSOR cachet that is typically seen with such mail and the large cachet ASSTT DIRECTOR MEDICAL SERVICES I.E.FORCE "D" with typed Censored Major I.M.S. Now, I try my best with signatures, this would be an Indian name and I have struggled, but signed as censored.

To reverse shows the Indian FPO No 47 datestamp 11 AP 17 which Proud puts at Baqubah, which is 33 miles from Baghdad in Iraq.

There are many reasons for military historians to know the name Baqubah, it was in recent years thought to be the headquarters of ISIS and in 2007 based on American intelligence was considered to be the headquarters of Al Queda, it was attacked in a major offensive led by the U.S. with Iraqi troops.

However, back in in 1917 it was a strategic point and served as a way station between Baghdad and Khorasan on the medieval Khorasan Road. It formed part of southern Iran (Persia) to be under the military control of the British (Dunsterforce) when the Russians (with Russian Officers and mainly Assyrian troops) held the North to prevent Germans pushing south through Asia towards India.

There was a large Dunsterforce tented encampment at Baqubah, with mainly Indian troops, commanded by British Officers with the medical officers from the I.M.S. The camp stayed here until the British and Russians withdrew, allowing internal fighting in the region and the Assyrians to be persecuted, with the camp being used for Assyrian refugees fleeing the mountains. Its history after the withdrawal of the British was to become one of the largest refugee camps in Iraq.

Comments and corrections welcome.

[Nick Colley]

The recent postings featuring covers with interesting contents prompted me to exhume a small correspondence from a pilot with 10 Squadron at the Battle of Loos in September 1915. I've had it many years - from before the internet was invented. In the low expectation of finding any background about this pilot, I asked Mr Google if he knew his name, and I was presented with a thread on the Great War Forum about this chap. I now know far more than I need about him - more than enough for an article in the Journal, but I'm not promising anything any time soon.

To keep things simple, I'll confine myself to the first letter, dated 14th September, but some brief background first. 10 Squadron was flying BE aircraft on artillery observation, tactical reconnaissance and light bombing duties. It was based at Choques, 6 miles WNW of the village of Loos. Al the covers are postmarked FPO H1 of 1 Corps, and censored CM3/1983. They are all addressed to his mother in SW London. Given the details of his flights that he puts in his letters, I can hardly imagine what the poor lady must have felt when she read them. For example, in the letter shown here:

'...... I was up for three hours without a stop, during which time I blew up a railway, and, I hope, a Bosch battery by directing four heavy 60 lb guns on them. The railway was a great touch. They gradually crept up to it with their shots and then about the 6th shell burst plumb between the rails. When the smoke cleared away I could see a great cavern broader than the track.....

          ........... Turnell had the devil of a scrap in the air with a Hun yesterday, and his machine was riddled with bullets and both he and his observer were hit, but only very slightly, he in the leg, and the observer in the hand..... My engine gave up the ghost yesterday, and I subsided gracefully into a potato crop, but it is all right now.'

So there you are. A rubbish cover, but excellent contents  8)

Oh, I see the scan of the cover and the scan of part of the letter aggregate > 1 Mb. I'll do two posts.

chrs
N

[Nick Colley]

And the start of the letter.

chrs
N

[Peter Harvey]

[u][b]Where are you all on holidays or something.
[/b][/u]
As there are not many responses today I thought I would post another cover of the day:

1918 (typical Westrn Front cover) cancelled with the datestamp Army Post Office S7 20 NO 18 with violet censor cachet - used from the Stationary APO at Marseille in France.

To reverse the Indian FPO No 48 (same date) headed with the senders address 'Indian Base Depot Marseille, cover is addressed to:

Captain W Lummis MC
2nd Battn Suffolk Regt
BEF

William Lummis was born in Coddenham in June 1886 and his military career started in 1904 when he joined the 11th Hussars, he editted the regimental journal and met survivors of the Charge of the Light Brigade at a regimental reunion. From that date he started a life time of research into the Light Brigade.

At the outbreak of WW1 he was the youngest Regimental Quatermaster Sergeant in the British Army, he served initially on the Western Front taking part in the retreat from Mons also seeing action at Flanders. In 1916 he was commisioned and transferred to the Suffolks (the second battalion were descimated after the Battle of Le Cateau) and was awarded the Military Cross for bravery during the Battle for the Somme.

Captain Lummis remained in the Army after WW1 seeing service in India until he retired. At which time he was ordained a Deacon with the Church of England. He continued to research and publish a formal history of the Charge of the Light Brigade.

[Chris Grimshaw]

Morning Team

A recent write up attached.  RND at Stavros early 1916

Details of location taken from his Service Record which I downloaded.

Probably sent home via Naval Bag in bulk.

Chris