French Censorship WWI

[Chris Grimshaw]

Morning Team

Does anyone know where French Oval Censor OUVERT etc No 309 was applied.

Have examples on Bizerte to Lausane Switzertand

Chris

[Chris Grimshaw]

As a follow up does anyone have  a list or know of such about these Censor No's?

Chris

[Chris Grimshaw]

Afternoon Team

As a follow up and closure one this one,

Peter Gassmann very kindly supplied a copy of the relevant page from the following publication.

Bourguignat Jérôme, 2010. Le Contrôle postal et télégraphique français pendant la Première Guerre mondiale (1914 – 1921), Bibliothèque de l'Académie de philatélie.

This gives details of the various numbers and where used,  309 falls in a Block 301 to 350 allocated to Marseilles.

Many thanks Peter.

Chris

[Peter Harvey]

Chris,

This is not a publication I have seen. So either 50 cachets were issued to Marseilles for local use, which would be strange, or they were used with the Marseilles region, or they were further allocated from Marseilles

Any thoughts.

Peter

[Chris Grimshaw]

Hi Peter

The publication referred to records the following

Marseilles No's 301 to 350 issued,  However recorded numbers are 301 to 315 and 348 which is recorded for special use.

Total numbers recorded run to No 970. 

Issued in large blocks and not all apparently used.

Chris

[Peter Gassmann]

Some of these French censorship stations were very large operations. Marseille had 6 Officers and 130 censors in 1918. Several censors were working on one table (don't know how big), sharing one numbered censor handstamp ("Ouvert par l'autorité Militaire / nnn"). In some censor stations, each censor seems to have had a mark with his individual censor number or his initials, which can be frequently (but not always) found on controlled items as well (see attached example).

best wishes, Peter