Aden 1940 - Wireless Intelligence Screen - Censor R9/99

[Neil Williams]

Folks,

I may or may not have posted concerning this cover before. If I have, I have a new question, and I may get a new answer to the old question!

See the attachments. the FPO cds is FPO 171 dated 9 DE 40, according to Proud, first assigned to 5 LoC FPO in Egypt AFTER this date. The enclosed letter is dated 4 Dec 40, so it would be feasible to have travelled from Aden to Egypt for processing of all ME free Xmas concession airmails. 

WIS in the sender's details is Wireless Intelligence Screen, later Wireless Observer Unit - better known later in the war as the listening element of the SigInt 'Y-service'. Y-service was bi / tri-service, hence an army gunner serving in a RAF unit and an Army Lt censor. FIRST QUESTION - does anybody know what E + SD was? (Electronic Signals/Security Division/Department is a best guess).

SECOND QUESTION: TIME ZONES - later in the letter the sender says he will be 3 hours ahead of his family in UK time when celebrating Xmas. Today Yemen and the Horn of Africa are 3 hours ahead of UK time, whilst Egypt is 2 hours. I am aware that things like double British Summer time (GMT+2 in Summer and GMT+1 in winter) applied during WW2. What I do not know is what effect these UK WW2 differences made elsewhere. +3 would imply written and censored in Aden, and transported to Egypt for processing where FPO 171 applied - any other solution might imply written and censored in Egypt with the sender on the way to a posting in Aden.

Any facts/guidance welcome!

Neil W

[Peter Harvey]

Hi Neil, on question one I would have gone Engineering and Stores Depot. Also Nick Colley does not record R9 No 99, maybe he can comment on this but R9 is recorded in Aden from Dec 40 and not in Egypt until 1941. So assume the censor cachet was applied in Aden,

Regards

Peter

[Michael Dobbs]

Neil

I have found a reference to the unit in The National Archives which may answer your queries:

[color=maroon]Operations Record Book: AIR 29/164/2
1940 July-1943 Dec

13 Wireless Intelligence Screen, later 13 Wireless Observer Unit (WIS WOU). Based at White Waltham (UK) until September 1940, then moved to the Middle East. Photographs of vehicles included. With appendices.[/color]

Mike

[Nick Colley]

Hi, chaps, I don't think I have anything with which to address your specific questions, Neil, but Pete's observation prompted me to see if I do indeed have a record of R9/99. I have one in my New Recordings file - entered in May 2021, with a chap whose initials are NW as the source :-)

chrs
N

[Neil Williams]

Thanks for the input - somewhat of an orphan it seems, only record of the censor and no clear indication of how this unit fitted into the ME/Aden command structure. Being 'Intelligence' that may be deliberate!!

If anybody is going to Kew......!! I'll happily pay your tube fare.....as it's probably 5 hours each way for me.

Neil W