Covers of the Day 3 May: Turks & Caicos Islands

[Michael Dobbs]

I appear to be the first again!

No apologies for yet more philatelic material - 15 Field Support Squadron RE carried out work in the South Caicos Island, part of the Turks and Caicos Islands, from 19 December 1969 to 1 April 1970.  This went under the name of Operation COSSACK and the unit used the postal address BFPO 602.  The postal detachment which accompanied the Squadron used the datestamp FIELD POST OFFICE 1042 - the attached cover addressed to that well known and respected collector John Daynes is dated 6 FE 70.

The other cover is a Royal Engineers commemorative cover which used a local Turks and Caicos Island postage stamp and was cancelled at Cockburn Harbour, Turks Islands on 31 MR 70.

Mike  :)

[Chris Grimshaw]

Hi Mike

Having been tasked with re decorating our lounge, cleared room today,  can I order 1000 of these or similar to use as wallpaper please ;)  :)  Would make  a good feature :)

No seriously as I've said before an important aspect of our hobby and studies which must be documented and recorded and indeed displayed which you undertake so admirably.

In years to come future students will say "why didn't they records these events"  plus dare I say it may attract the thematic element, once attracted we can maybe convert them to true believers. :)

Keep it up Mike

Chris

[Michael Dobbs]

Thanks Chris - for many exercises and operations (including the Falklands) in the post-WW2 period the only covers we are likely to come across are those philatelic items from collectors now long deceased - names such as Eugene Jagger, Guy Crouch, John Smith, Derek Burney, Harold Hare, John Daynes, Mike Knott, Frederick Patka and Alistair Kennedy all feature on covers.  For those who collect post-WW2 they will have at least one item bearing such a name in their collection.  It gets even worse today - with email and mobile phones and other electronic means (which replaced the e-bluey) there is very little if any genuine covers that come from forces involved in modern conflicts or exercises.  As can be seen from various articles in the Journal, it is all philatelic material.

Mike  :)

[Tony Walker]

I sold an £sd Machin stamp collection a couple of years ago, but kept the postal history material.  One item was in the same category as Mike's Turks and Caicos item shown above, addressed to a Mr M Knott of Totnes in Devon

It is a Forces Air Letter with a 4d and 1d Machin stamps affixed with a dr cds of 27 FEB 70 from FPO 1042.  However it is also philatelic as the air letter has not been opened.

Fortunately there is an excellent write up of Operation Cossack with the item

Tony

[Chris Grimshaw]

Post the details

Chris

[Tony Walker]

In response to overwhelming demand - ahem...  Here is the background to Operation COSSACK in the Turks and Caicos Islands in early 1970 and a scan of the airletter :

                                                    *********************
Five Hercules transport aircraft from Lyneham were used to fly 150 Engineers of 15 Field Support Squadron under Major Don Jordan to the South Caicos in the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean on January 25th - 27th 1970.  With the run down of the salt industry the islanders are turning to tourism and lobster fishing and the troops were there to practice a long move by air and to carry out engineer training by performing tasks of value to the civilian community

These tasks included the opening up of a passage through the reefs so that fishermen could sail their boats from the open sea to their villages, repairing the islands' electricity generating plant and running a training scheme to teach selected islanders to maintain and run it, constructing a water catchment from a disused airstrip, remaking and elevating a road that is constantly under water, and other tasks as they presented themselves, to assist the islanders.

To assist the engineer diving teams in blowing gaps in the reefs there were two teams of RAF scuba divers.  The scheme was known as Operation Cossack, and they returned to Britain on 27 March 1970.  A postal detachment also went to the Turks and Caicos Islands and used the datestamp FORCES POST OFFICE 1042.

                                                    ************************
Some more general information :

It was in 1960 that American investors built the first hotel on trovidencialis, the largest island in the Archilpelago in Caicos.  Tourism took off and 617,863 visitors were recorded in 2010 from 265 cruise ships.  The Islands are not densely populated, of a total of 31,458 inhabitants in 2012, 23,769 lived on Providenciales.  One third of the population is under 15 and just 4% 65 and over.

There are no postal deliveries on the islands and mail is collected from one of four post offices on each of the major islands.  There are no post boxes.  The post code is TKCA 1ZZ but is seldom used as it is not necessary, mail can be addressed simply as Mr Brown, name of island, Turks and Caicos.

I have been collecting T&CIls now for two or three years.  As far as I know there are no military (or civilian) censored mail from WWI, and no military censored mail from WWII.  However civilian censored mail is interesting from WWII, although scarce, with much of the mail escaping censorship.  That which was censored can be found censored in Jamaica, New York or in the UK.

Tony

[Chris Grimshaw]

Nice One Tony,

Some of the material we're seeing is like a virtual History lesson.  Something I've never seen before.

Chris

[Michael Dobbs]

Funny old world this digital thingy!  I thought that I had responded to Tony but cannot see it here and wondered it I had accidently posted it under another discussion but I don't appear to have done so.  Doing so many things at once, I wonder if I accidently deleted it!

Anyway Tony - FANTASTIC - Mike Knott always managed to provide good write-up notes for the covers he had.  This will add greatly to the small amount of information I already have on BFPO 602 at this particular time.

Mike  :) :)

[Tony Walker]

Don't worry Mike, self-isolation and distancing is not getting to you.  You DID reply, but it was by email direct!