2nd British Farmers Hospital

[Chris Grimshaw]

Team

A further item from my 'put to one side pile'  Invoice tells me purchased in 2012.

Scans show a PPC from I think Serbia,  posted on Active Service, I cannot understand the date on the cancel.  Also shows Oval Cachet 2nd British Farmers Hospital.  S.R.F.

Message reads in part " Notice the bad roads, Just imagine me traveling over these stones in an Ox waggon.  The only motors here are our Red X cars."

Two line cachet in purple which I cannot read.  Serbian Censorship I suspect.

Cancel is possibly Posharevats c.d.s.  Based on other material seen early to mid 1915  Hospital was based here.

Comments and help welcomed.

Chris

[Nick Colley]

Yes, that postmark  (the upper arc, anyway)looks very much like a Cyrillic version of Posharevats – or Pojarevatz as the writer spells it. To me the date looks like 24th May 1915. Wikipedia tells me that the regions comprising the former Kingdoms of Serbia and Montenegro adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1919, so that would be a Julian date. The equivalent Gregorian date is, if my arithmetic is correct, 6th June.

Any use?
chrs
N

[Nick Colley]

It's been a dull and dreary day, so I've had a go at the datestamp in Photoshop - attached. I still think it looks like 24th May 1915.

[Chris Grimshaw]

Thanks Nick

Appreciated.  24 May 1915 looks spot on. Somewhere I have some literature on the Serbian censorship markings,  Time to go hunting.

Chris

Chris

[Chris Grimshaw]

Found a little more on the Serbian Relief Fund etc

Attached scan shows a cutting from the 'Straits Times' Ceylon mentions the six Hospitals which were captured in 1915 .

Writer of the PPC signs himself as 'son'  Card is addressed to Mr & Mrs Catton.  Search of the Medal cards so far throws nothing up.

Chris 

[Chris Grimshaw]

Team

Hopefully an ID of the Serbian Censor Hand-stamp

Scan shows page 133 of the London Philatelist Vol 86 Sept _ Oct 1977 No 1017-18

Whilst the article concentrates on Censorship from the arrival in Corfu on Jan / Feb 1916 it does illustrate some earlier markings.  Figure 3 , Two line unboxed appers to be the same as on the card.

Comments welcomed please.

Chris