Cover of the day 1 May REMDT 1969

[Michael Dobbs]

[b]Royal Engineers Mobile Display Team[/b]

Not everyone's cup of tea and highly philatelic, but a little different to WW1 and/or naval material!  As there appears to be a dearth of covers on display today I thought I would show a sheet as I am currently working on this topic.

The Royal Engineers Mobile Display Team (REMDT) was, as its name implied, a mobile recruiting display which toured the country to promote the Corps of Royal Engineers (RE).  The Display Team was formed each year, usually around March time, at the Central Engineer Park (CEP) at Long Marston, Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire.  From there it went on tour around the United Kingdom from the end of April / early May usually coinciding with a local show, festival, fete or carnival, etc before returning to Long Marston in September / October for disbandment for the winter.  For some of the larger shows the display team would sometimes combine with display teams from other regiments or corps of the Army for a combined recruiting campaign.

Attached to the display team was a Forces Post Office (FPO) detachment which performed the dual function of providing postal facilities for the personnel engaged on the tour and publicity for the Royal Engineers (Postal Section) (REPS).  It is not known exactly when the Royal Engineers Mobile Display Team (REMDT) was formed, but the earliest reference to when it was accompanied by a Forces Post Office (FPO) was 1962.  It could be that this was also when such an organisation was formed.  This used FPO datestamp 1007.  The last time the REMDT function is believed to have been in 1987.  Between 1977 and 1987 it used FPO datestamp 999 each year.

In notes and letters written in the mid-1960s by REPS personnel in the REMDT the designation given to the Forces Post Office which accompanied the Display Team is shown as NCO i/c HPD/2.  In later years the FPO received, for accounting purposes, the designation FPO S.301 - it is not known when this designation was introduced.

The attached scan shows three covers from the 1969 Tour which used FPO datestamp 172 - as well as the steel datestamp the Tour FPO also had a Blackwell rubber packet and parcel datestamps, but there are not so frequently found on covers.  I show this as I am about to mount up a further seven covers from the 1969 Tour recently obtained from the last FPHS auction!

Researching this and trying to compile a listing for each year is one of my many tasks and I am helped by being in receipt of a file full of correspondence and programmes from the late John Smith, whose name features on many such covers.  In addition listings did appear from time to time in our Newsletter/Journal.

Mike  :)

[Chris Grimshaw]

Hi Mike

Good article, :)

We have our differences as to Military Post History and "Modern material"but without your researches and work in 50 years time we'll be in the same position are we are with earlier Postal History, Not knowing or understanding the full picture,  Whilst such "Modern material" dos't appeal to all its an important part of our being as a Leading Forces Postal History Society and must be documented.

I like this article, would like to publish in the Summer  or Autumn Journal. I can run with the text but please re post or send illustrations as separate jpeg.

PS Have noticed that with Copy and Paste off the Forum Cannot  easily use text "Justified" which i prefer but have to resort to "Centralized" Text

Something I can work around.

Chris

PS Summer journal will  only carry one piece per member from the Forum. Will endeavor to cover as wide as possible.