Dover Patrol censor marks

[Tony Walker]

These are queries regarding the CEN - (number in circle) - SOR censor marks associated with the Dover Patrol.  Michael Gould supplied some information back in 2010 on several of them, but I have additional covers which I am not fully satisfied I have the correct ship.  These are numbers either with no ship attributed in MG's handbook, or ones that differ from those shown in the handbook :

CEN - 34 - SOR :  I have no info on this, my cover has a Lond mc of 26.3.17, and no           
                            censors initials.  Has anyone identified the ship
CEN - 47 - SOR :  Identified from censors initials on my cover, Surgeon Arthur H Pierce of HMS
                            Botha.  I believe other 47's have been found.  Not in handbook
CEN - 61 - SOR :  Censors initials suggest P.Sub Lt. JS Thompson of HMS Servitor.  No ship in
                            handbook.  Need help with Servitor - she appears to be an RFA tanker or
                            cargo vessel, unlikely to be based at Dover although one of my items is PPC of
                            Granville Gardens in Dover and the other (same correspondence to Mrs Trible) is
                            a beach scene, location censored out.
                            Nick - I think you have a 61 cover ?
CEN - 42 - SOR :  MG suggests possibly HMS Murray from difficult censors initials. Saucy PPC no
                            help.  Addressed to Syd Marker at Devonport, London mc 8 July 1918.  Has
                            anyone any further info?
CEN - 40 - SOR :  Clear censors initials on almost identical covers of Surg. prob. Douglas McClean
                            RNVR.  19 February 1918 and 29 April 1918 respectively.  Covers addressed to
                            Hotel du Passage in Le Hague, Netherlands (Undercover Address?), with OBC
                            4767 censor label on each.  McClean appointed to HMS Morris on 18 August
                            1916.  Anyone agree with this ship?
CEN - 6 - SOR :    Censors initials V.K. for Lt. Vero E Kemball.  MG says in note of 2010, from HMS Laforey. 
                            London cds 5 June 1917.  Handbook has this number down as HMS Mohawk?
CEN - 29 - SOR :  Two covers with good initials which I have scanned to MG for help.  Handbook as City of
                            Oxford for this number.  Very confusing on internet search as ship appears to have been
                            converted to a dummy battleship and renamed St Vincent, then Kite Balloon Ship then
                            Seaplane Carrier.  One cover has 8 barred circle, no date, other cover has FPOa Scapa mc of
                            15 September 1916.  Is this the ship?  No mention of Dover in searches. 
CEN - 30 - SOR :  MG identifies censor as N Wallis (self censoring cover) of Dover Kite Balloons, possibly taken
                            to France.  London mc of 29 August 1916.  Any further info available?

That's it for the moment, have yet to look at the letters and letters and numbers censors.

Cheers
Tony

[Frank Schofield]

Tony

My notes agree CEN -47-SOR as Botha
                      CEN -40-SOR as Morris

Servitor was a RFA Oiler, no mention of her being at Dover during WW1

CEN-6-SOR cannot be Laforey on 5th June 1917, she was sunk by a friendly mine on 23rd March 1917. Lt. V Kemball appt Mansfield 6th Apr 1917

CEN-30-SOR my notes say 11th Kite Balloon section

Hope of some use

Frank Schofield

[Tony Walker]

Thanks Frank, that's very helpful

Tony

[Nick Colley]

Hi, Tony,

From what you write, it seems you may not have a copy of the latest Gould book ? It won't answer all your questions, but it might help with one or two marks - or even more, going forward.... Let me (or Peter High) know ?

chrs
N

[Alan Baker]

I have a cover with the mark CEN29SOR, which I have assumed to be from RFA City of Oxford as per Gould. It was posted on 22nd April 1918 and has a Cairo backstamp dated 23rd. It also bears a boxed censor stamp "Passed by Base Censor E.E.F".

A google search for RFA City of Oxford comes up with a website called HistoricalRFA.org and shows the history of the ship, including its pre-war civilian routes. There are photos of the graves of seamen who died on the ship, one buried in Dover in 1916 and one in 1917.

My cover dates from her time as a seaplane carrier in the Eastern Med

[Tony Walker]

Nick

I was in touch with Michael a week or so ago, and understood the book was not yet available?  I'm sure Michael Dobbs will send a notice out - maybe you've seen a late draft ?

Will curtail my posts for the moment, can someone say when the book will be published please

______________________

Thanks Alan for that info on City of Oxford - will check out the website to see if she was at or attached to the Dover Command at all

Cheers
Tony

[Frank Schofield]

Tony

Re: Gould Vol 2

Suggest contact Peter High

I received  my copy last month

Frank Schofield

[Alan Baker]

If the Cen (number) Sor marks are associated with Dover, presumably the stamp was retained by the ship when it moved onto another station. Certainly, mine from the Eastern Med has the Cen29Sor stamp. There is also a cover on WarCovers site this month from October 1917 which bears the stamp (albeit faintly) when she was in the Med.

On the Historical RFA site, there is a photo of the ship with a balloon purporting to be at Dover, although the narrative does not specifically mention her being there (apart from the sailor's grave I mentioned before). It does say she was attached to the Grand Fleet in October 1916 as a kite balloon ship.

[Tony Walker]

Alan, I think we have both been looking at the same website for City of Oxford.  There was an enormous range of naval vessels and units  temporarily at Dover under the Dover Command or further afield in France and Belgium.

It seems C of Ox may well have been in Dover early in the war, until early in 1916 (your grave in Dover in 1916)  and then to Scapa later that year (my FPOa cancel September 1916), then off to the Med together with a much-travelled CEN - 29 - SOR censor mark ! 

Maybe someone can tell me if the ship would still be under the Dover Command whilst in the Med? -or up at Scapa Flow for that matter

We need a dated cover  pre-early 1916.  I'm sure there are more of this mark around.

Thanks for input

Tony