War Office M.I.6.C. cover

[jonsmith]

Dear all (this is my first time posting in the forum - so please be gentle!)

I've just come across this WW1(?) London cover with War Office & M.I.6.C. handstamps. I think MI6 was in existence at the time, so was wondering if that's what the handstamp relates to? I'm mainly a WW2 period collector, but also a bit of "magpie", so anything you could tell me about this cover would be much appreciated.

Thanks
Jonathan

[Chris Grimshaw]

Hello Jonathan

Welcome to the Forum.

A very interesting cover, Can you make the date out on the 'London Paid mark' ?  With this and the Oval War Office cachet would suggest it arrived in London in an Official Bag. 

Chris

[Richard Berry]

Hello Jonathan,

Welcome to the forum. I have a similar cover. It does relate to MI6. Not sure what the "c" at the end of the cachet relates to - it'd be too much I think to expect it to relate to Cumming the founder of that organisation who was better know as "C" (as indeed has any other head of MI6)!

Richard

[Graham Mark]

Hello friends
Duties of M.I.6: per the War Office List of 1918, p100,
Questions of Military policy connected with the economic and financial resources of the Enemy and their restriction.  Compilation and distribution of economic information concerning the Enemy, Allied and Neutral countries.  Traffic in arms.  General Black List policy questions.  Distribution of Foreign Office Trade and Treaty telegrams and Trade documents.
Duties of M.I.6 (C): Provision of Intelligence personnel.  Questions regarding Interpreters, Censors in the field, Intelligence Corps and Cipher officers. Records [of] Intelligence personnel.

I have another set of photocopy pages but undated, with slightly different statements of duties.  The senior officer in both lists was BrevLtCol AV Jenner DSO, RoO, who was GSO3 in the Dept of CIGS from 22Nov15 and GSO2 1Dec16.

Regards
Graham