WINTER 2007

P O S T S C R I P T

THE SOCIETY OF POSTAL HISTORIANS

Volume 57: No.4 (Whole No.250) Winter 2007

1944 Postcard addressed to Guernsey (see page 194)

CONTENTS PAGE

A few words from the President 162 Sherborne Meeting, 6 October 2007 164 Prisoner of War Airmail John Wilson 165 South West African Airways, 1931 to 1935 Colin Faers 169 English Civil War Letters Malcolm Ray-Smith 175 The Falmouth Greens Derek Seaton 177 Hong Kong & Treaty Ports Barred Obliterators Eddie Lawrence 178 SPH and France & Colonies PS at Marcophilex XXXI, 6/8 October 2007 183 President’s Weekend, Harrogate, 9/11 November 2007 184 The Tees Valley and Cleveland Mike Oxley 186 Mail of the Foreign Volunteers in the Finnish Forces WW2 Eric Keefe 187 Red Cross Postal Message Scheme David Gurney 191 Channel Islands : Fortress Period August 1944 to May 1945 Alan Moorcroft 194 Sark David Gurney 196 Send to Customs : German Exchange Control 1918 to 1925 Robin Pizer 198 Lake Como Postal Markings Grahame Lindsey 201 Postal Markings of the Lifland Estates Geoff Lovejoy 209 Eighteenth Century Spanish Postmarks on Gibraltar Mail David Stirrups 213 Secretary’s Notes 162

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A FEW WORDS FROM THE PRESIDENT Before I attended my first SPH meeting as a guest, with some trepidation, some 14 years ago, I had heard that it was perhaps the friendliest group of philatelists with maybe the greatest collective knowledge of postal history anywhere. So it proved to be. I was introduced to our then President, Susan Oliver. And now it is my turn. This year there are meetings throughout Great Britain; some new venues and some old favourites. I hope that I shall meet many guests and that some of them will be proposed as prospective Associates. A steady flow of new members is essential for the health of all Societies. We have been very fortunate recently in that our new Associates have included some very knowledgeable postal historians with splendid collections who are also excellent company. Their enthusiasm should guarantee the well bring of the SPH for many years to come.

SECRETARY'S NOTES : Susan McEwen

Frank Bennett has completed his term of office and handed over the secretarial briefcase. Being still relatively new to the Society it was with some trepidation that I agreed to take over, but Frank has been wonderfully helpful and has everything so well organised that it is a case of pick up the reins and continue as before. Frank has arranged the programme for 2008 and is publishing the 2008 handbook. I add my sincere thanks to those expressed by the President and Chairman at the AGM, very many thanks Frank - I will do my best to follow your lead and hope that my years as Secretary of the Malaya Study Group will prove to have been an apprenticeship for this role. MEMBERSHIP CHANGES FROM THE AGM Promotions: Ron Hake to Life Fellow Geoff Osborn to Life Fellow Frank Laycock to Fellow David Venables to Fellow Susan McEwen to Member John Yeomans to Member New Associates: ANDERSON Mr I G (Ian) 57 Manse Road, EDINBURGH EH12 7SR. Tel: 0131 3347866 email ghanastampman@aol.com GALLAND Mr R B (Bob) Little Orchard, Gardeners Lane, UPPER BASILDON RG8 8NL Tel: 0141 671852 robert.galland@royalberkshire.nhs.uk MARK Mr G D (Graham) Oast House West, Golden Hill, WIVELISCOMBE TA4 2NT Tel: 01984 624527 REECE Mr C S (Colyn) The Chequers, Highwood Hill, LONDON NW7 4EU Tel: 020 8959 1488 email csreece@btinternet.com RENOLLAUD, M Jacques 71 Rue de Bellevue, F - 92100, BOLOGNE, FRANCE Email jacques@renollaud.com SIMONS Mr J G (Jan) 5 Cheyne Close, GERRARDS CROSS SL9 7LG Tel: 01753 887693 email jan.g.simons@virgin.net

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Name Badges: Those who attended the President's weekend at Harrogate received their smart new name badges. From now on we are asked to keep them and take them to all the SPH meetings which we attend. This saves the Conference Secretary and his Assistant the task of collecting and redistributing them and means we can have our badges at country meetings. Arrangements are in hand for the distribution to those who were not at Harrogate. ABPS Executive Bulletin: These Bulletins are sent to affiliated societies, such as the SPH. They are available, without charge, to any member of an affiliated society who would like to have copies and has an e-mail address - which should be sent to abps.phil@elics.co.uk Anyone who would like copies but does not have an e-mail address can receive the next five issues by post, at cost, for £2.00 – payable to ABPS and sent to Geoff Longbottom, Publicity and Publications Officer, Mill Close, Hickling, NORWICH, NR12 0YT. ABPS Croydon 2007: Congratulations to the following members of the Society on their awards at Association of British Philatelic Societies Exhibition: Jacques Renollaud Vermeil The Relation and Mail Between the United Kingdom and

France, 1789-1818. Michael Roberts (Ilkley) Gold Liverpool Maritime Postal History Until 1900 Thomas Slemons Vermeil The Postal History of Suffolk 1839-1844 Graham Booth Large Vermeil Spoon Cancels of England and Ireland (with felicitations) Patrick Campbell Large Vermeil Panama Mail to U.P.U. Gavin Fryer Large Vermeil Blind Person's Mail (with felicitations) Robert Viney Large Vermeil London's Postmasters Graham Booth Gold The First 25 Years of the Cayman Islands Post (with felicitations) Office, 1889-1914 Michael Roberts (Ilkley) Large Vermeil The Falkland Islands: A Postal History Until 1970 Mike Mapleton Silver-Bronze The Scottish Additional Halfpenny Mail Tax on

Incoming Mail to Scotland Patrick Reid Vermeil Tasmania: The CTMS/T Tax Marks 1904-1939 SPH members on the jury were : James Grimwood-Taylor, Colin Hoffman, John Jackson, Peter McCann, Robin Pizer and John Sussex. Brian Trotter was Secretary to the Jury. Change of Address etc: Chadwick, Peter change address 1 Seymour Grove, Eaglescliffe Stockton-on-Tees TS16 0LB Moorcroft, Alan change email anmoorcroft@btinternet.com Hake, Ron add phone 01884 253980 Viney, Bob change phone 07825 612700 Please send changes of address/phone/email to: Mrs Susan McEwen, 2 Lordswood, Welwyn Garden City, Herts AL7 2HF Phone: 01707 328384. Email: smcewen@btopenworld.com

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A SEASONAL NOTE FROM THE TREASURER

The dreaded word “subscriptions” comes round at this time of the year. I will be sending out reminders for the 2008 subscriptions just after Christmas and I know I will receive the usual SPH response, i.e. payment by return. If nothing arrives do not think I have forgotten you, it will be because you either pay by standing order or you paid me at the President’s weekend. A Happy Christmas to one and all Mike Fulford

SHERBORNE MEETING, 6 October 2007 – Convenor : David Ashby

This was an excellent meeting at the Eastbury Hotel with an eventual turnout of 32 including nine guests. No-shows didn't help but the attendance was good given the same day competition from the SPH meeting in Dunkerque. Pat Campbell kicked off with a splendid standing display of 80 sheets of Mails via Panama which is to be an international competition entry at Croydon.

There were 28 short displays, five by guests, one of whom has been proposed and seconded for Associate membership of the Society.

Brian Cropp Mails via Panama David Ashby Australian and NZ Mails via Panama Ingrid Swinburn South American Censors (inc Panama overflights!) Wilf Vevers Pacific Steam Navigation Co postcards via Panama Bryan Wood Very Early Peru Graham Mark* WW1 POW Mails Richard Stock Anglo-Boer War POW Mail John Wilson Prisoner of War Airmail Rodney Frost Ceylon Boer War POW Mail Edwin Rideout* WW1 Censored Army postcards Eric Goffe Missent Mail Maurice Porter Kent Maritime Mail Tony Osmond* Undelivered for Reason Stated Ashley Lawrence 1870 Pigeon Post Colin Baker* GB 1d Pink Envelopes Richard Stroud Ionian Is - 1953 Earthquake Brian Cropp(2) Transatlantic Mail Barry Hobbs Steamer Mail Gibraltar to Genoa Colin Faers South West African Airways, 1931 to 1935 John Loraine* Devon Maritime Mail George Gibson Australian States Malcolm Ray-Smith English Civil War Letters Derek Seaton The Falmouth “Greens” Eddie Lawrence Hong Kong & Treaty Ports barred obliterators Charles Leonard Sweden : “Fran” handstamps used on mail from the Russian Empire Others attending were: John Forbes Nixon, Reg Gleave, Keith Hatch*, Barbara Osmond*,

Heather Porter*, Tony Stanford and Tony Swinburn*. * = guest. As usual there was some rare, beautiful and interesting postal history on show but I want to single out an item from Malcolm Ray-Smith's display. This was a report from Sir Thomas Fairfax besieging Sherborne Castle in August 1645 before destroying it with naval guns from Portsmouth. Our meeting was a short stone's throw from the ruins.

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PRISONER OF WAR AIRMAIL – John Wilson

During World War Two, most mail between prisoners of war and their home countries was carried by surface transport and was conveyed free of charge. However, for those prisoners who were held far from their home country, mail could often be carried by air upon payment of an airmail surcharge, although it has to be said that in wartime conditions the airmail transit time was often as long or even longer than surface conveyance. Formal agreements on carriage of mail were often entered into by warring nations, and to a large extent honoured. The application of the agreed rules was, however, subject to error and variation, particularly in the last two years of the war, and examples of non-observance can be found if one hunts for them. My display represented the first feeble efforts to study the operation of the airmail system as applied to prisoner-of-war mail and I am sure (indeed I hope) that the usual S.P.H. volcano of knowledge will engulf me with more information as time progresses. My short display encompassed the United States, Germany, Italy, South Africa, Kenya, Tanganyika, India and New Zealand, which was quite enough for anyone to absorb after a good lunch. There were probably more US servicemen held in Germany than in any other country, and vice versa more German servicemen held in America than any other country. Sheet 1 of the display showed mail from US prisoners in Germany illustrating the use of a “Taxe Percue” handstamp to confirm pre-payment by the prisoner of the 40Rpf air surcharge. It is suggested by German sources that the authorities were concerned that “secret” messages could be written under adhesive stamps and/or labels, hence the use of the “Taxe Percue” handstamp. This situation changed in November 1944 when Amtsblatt Nr.380/1944 Para. 4 announced that adhesive stamps could be used but only if they were applied by the postal clerks accepting the letter and never by the letter originator. Sheet 2 showed the use of a 40Rpf postage stamp to pay the air surcharge from Stalag II B to California. The Amtsblatt instructions were that mail from prisoners of war was routed via Berlin, Charlottenburg 2 for censorship and onward transmission. Mail to America was then routed via Lisbon. It also has to be said that I have many examples of the use of postage stamps prior to November 1944 and observance of the rules seems to have depended upon the clerks at each P.O.W. Camp. Sheets 3 and 4 showed 1944 use of the American pre-printed airmail form for use when sending mail from the homeland to prisoners of war overseas. The rate charged was 6c which applied at the time to all airmail to serving US personnel, active or imprisoned. An interesting feature on both these covers is the removal of the US postage stamp by the German censors at Stalag Luft III and Stalag VII A. This practice was not universal across all camps. Sheet 5 showed the same air letter form used from Oklahoma City to Stalag Luft IV, located at Gross Tychow, Poland. However this is endorsed “Free” by the sender because by reciprocal agreement between US and German authorities at the beginning of 1945 the air surcharges for prisoners of war were abolished. Amtsblatt Nr.9/1945 issued on 9 January 1945 confirms this and also changes the air surcharge for Australia and New Zealand as shown (indirectly) later in the display. The letter also illustrates events in Germany/Poland in January 1945 since it has been returned to sender because even before the letter was written, Stalag Luft IV along with all the camps

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located in occupied Poland had been evacuated and the prisoners force marched back towards Germany; the so-called “Death Marches” which, for many prisoners proved a sad truth. That the postal arrangements were reciprocal was shown in sheets 6 and 7, the first being a cover sent from Kaiserslauten to a German prisoner-of-war held in Camp Crossville, Tennessee on 28 August 1944. The cover carries a “Taxe Percue” handstamp confirming payment of a triple rate of 120 Rpf. Since the cover contains the original letter I was able to confirm that the triple 40Rpf rate was correct. The cover was opened and re-sealed in Berlin by the Wehrmacht censor and again in New York by the US censor. Sheet 7 showed a cover from Cunersdorf to Camp Howe dated 27 December 1944 on which the double rate air surcharge is confirmed by the use of German stamps. Cover has again been censored in Berlin, this time by the SS Censorship office and in New York by the US censor. Sheet 8 showed what happens when the postal clerk does not read his Amtsblatt. This cover was sent from Weilburg to Camp Grant in America on 8 February. The 40Rpf air surcharge to America was abolished on 9 January so there should have been no payment. However, in the same Amtsblatt the air surcharge to Australia and New Zealand was reduced to 30Rpf so the sender of this cover was charged a double rate for the Antipodes when in fact the cover should have travelled free to America. Sheets 9 and 10 showed air surcharges applied to mail from South African prisoners of war in Germany back to South Africa, the first using the “Taxe Percue” handstamp, the second using a 25Rpf postage stamp in August 1944 despite its use being forbidden until November that year. Findlay & Ryan in their “Prisoner Of War and Internment Camps in South Africa” give the route for P.O.W. mail as Basel, Istanbul, Palestine, to Geneifa for censorship then by sea from Port Tewfik to Cape Town. I believe that this may refer only to free surface mail and that the air route was via Lisbon as evidenced by the sender’s endorsement to the cover shown on sheet 10. Sheet 11 showed a cover sent from South Africa to a prisoner-of-war in Campo P.G. 54 in Italy with a 9d. air surcharge. By the time the cover reached Italy, all Allied prisoners had been moved north via the Brenner into Austria and eventually many of them ended up in Stalag VIII B in occupied Poland. Cover was censored in South Africa and again in Vienna before being passed via the Red Cross in Geneva. These Allied prisoners in Italy had all been captured in North Africa, notably at Tobruk. Sheet 12 was a similar cover with a 9d. air surcharge but addressed to a South African prisoner (possibly with SPH connections) in Oflag VII C in Germany. The addressee had possibly been captured somewhere other than North Africa and had not travelled the “Italian” route. The routing for this cover was almost certainly by “Horseshoe” to the north and then via Lisbon, Stuttgart and Berlin. Sheets 13 and 14 showed mail from New Zealand prisoners of war back to their home carrying the 40Rpf air surcharge using a “Taxe Percue” handstamp and a 40Rpf postage stamp. The December 1942 card on sheet 13 is endorsed “Luftpost via Lisbon” by the sender, and handstamped “über Nordamerika” by the camp postal clerk. This confirms the air route as Lisbon, then probably FAM-18 to be censored in New York (Censor No. 322) before onward transmission, but the trans-Pacific part of the journey was almost certainly by surface conveyance.

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Sheet 15 showed air mail from New Zealand to a prisoner-of-war held in Italy carrying double 1/- rate applied to P.O.W. mail. Addressed to the Red Cross in Rome, the routing was almost certainly surface across the Pacific then air to New York and FAM-18 to Lisbon, despite an endorsement (unattributable) on the cover which states “NZ-New York surface to Lisbon” although in the absence of definitive punctuation this could be taken as “NZ-New York surface, to Lisbon”, but perhaps that is carrying imagination too far. Sheet 16 showed air mail from an internee in Dehra Dun camp, India to Germany carrying an 8 Anna air surcharge. Censorship was applied by the camp censor and again by opening and re-sealing by the German censor in Berlin. No routing instructions were added to the cover but the route was by “Horseshoe” to Cairo then Lydda, Adana by air, train to Istanbul then Lufthansa to Sofia, Budapest, Vienna and Berlin. Sheet 17 showed a cover with the same air surcharge of eight annas but this time from an Italian Brigadier General captured in North Africa and held in Bombay, addressed to his wife in Italy. Routing was again via Cairo, Lydda, Adana, Istanbul, Sofia but then by train to Swiss Chiasso, transfer across the border to Italian Chiasso and so to Rome. Interestingly the Bombay censor stamp was used to cancel the adhesive, a practice I have seen on other covers from Bombay. Sheet 18 showed a cover from an Italian prisoner held at Yol Camp and addressed to Trieste. Eight annas air surcharge cancelled and censored in Bombay and carried by the Cairo, Sofia, Chiasso, Rome route. Sheet 19 showed a hand made letter sheet sent from an Italian prisoner in Camp 356 at Eldoret in Kenya with a $1.30 air surcharge indicated by a “Postage Paid” undated hand stamp. Conveyance was again by the “Horseshoe” to Cairo then Sofia, Chiasso, Rome route. Finally, sheet 20 showed a cover from Germany to a German internee in Tanganyika with handwritten “Taxe Percue” endorsement properly countersigned by the postal clerk but no rate shown. The rate would have been 25 Rpf and had presumably been paid since the cover reached Tanganyika and was opened and re-sealed by a PC2 Tanganyika censor label. Despite the payment of the surcharge the letter was despatched on12 November 1941 but did not arrive in Lushoto, Tanganyika until 2 February, 1942. And as Tony Blair finally (and unremarkably) said “That’s that, the end.”

Sheet 13

Sheet 1 Sheet 2

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Sheet 16

Sheet 13 Sheet 15

Sheet 9

Sheet 5

Sheet 7

Sheet 11

Sheet 20

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SOUTH WEST AFRICAN AIRWAYS, 1931 TO 1935 – Colin Faers South West African Airways, a specially formed subsidiary of Junkers Aktiengesellschaft of Dessa, Germany, won the initial tender to establish a weekly airmail service from Windhoek to Kimberley as a “feeder service” for the Imperial Airways route from South Africa to London. The agreement provided, inter alia, for an annual subsidy of £7,000 and for payment at the rate of 3s. per net lb., or portion thereof, of mail carried. Junkers Junior single engined aircraft were to be used for the service. For various reasons, however, the opening of the Imperial Airways route to London was delayed. As South West African Airways was ready to commence operations, the Administration decided to set up internal routes to ascertain the potential usage of an airmail service. Airmail postage was fixed at 4d. per ½ oz. inclusive. Three services were established and a leaflet produced by the airline advertising these routes is shown [Fig. 1]. The routes were: 1. The Northern route: Windhoek – Okahandja – Omaruru – Otjiwarongo – Tsumeb –

Grootfontein. The service ran on Saturdays departing Windehoek at 09.00, stopping at each point and arriving at Grootfontein at 14.45. the return flight on Mondays left Grootfontein at 12.00 and its scheduled arrival at Windhoek was 17.40.

This weekly service ran from 1 August 1931 until 15 February 1932. 2. The Southern route: Windhoek – Rehoboth – Mariental – Keetmanshoop. This was also

a weekly service departing from Windhoek on Wednesdays at 09.00 and arriving at Keetmanshoop 13.40. the return flight took place on Thursdays with identical departure and arrival times.

This service ran weekly from 5 August 1931 until 4 December 1931. 3. The Coastal service: Windhoek – Okahandja – Karibib – Swakopmund – Walvis Bay. This service was run in conjunction with the arrivals/departures of the mail steamers to

and from Europe. The initial flight was scheduled for 10 August 1931 but was in fact delayed until the following morning as the mail boat had been delayed. The return flight from Walvis Bay was made on the afternoon of the same day – 11 August 1931. The total flight time for the journey, including the intermediate stops, was 2 hours 45 minutes. The service continued until 22 December 1931.

Apparently there are no records of the quantity of mail carried on the inaugural flight, but a great portion of it was from collectors. A large part of the mail flown to Walvis Bay was for onward transmission to Europe by sea. Each of the 12 airmail centres were issued with special airmail cancellers. These were small rubber stamps inscribed AIR MAIL at the top and LUGPOS at the bottom. The place name was in the centre. The normal colour was black but cancellations are recorded in violet/purple from Keetmanshoop, Mariental, Okahandja and Omaruru. Otjiwarongo is also known in blue.

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Mail from some of the airmail centres is small in number, the most common are letters despatched from Windhoek on the Southern service. Christmas 1931: The Southern service, which had ceased on 4 December, flew a special flight to connect with the Imperial Airways special Christmas London-Cape Town flight. It left Windhoek on 19 December, calling at Mariental and Keetmanshoop and then Upington (South Africa) to Kimberley. A special bilingual cancel inscribed Windhoek-Kimberley Air Mail / Lugpos dated 19.12.31. was used. The Imperial airways regular service from London to Cape Town started on 20 January 1932 and the feeder service from Windhoek to Kimberley started on 26 January. The route to Kimberley was operated efficiently by South West African Airways for three years and in February 1935 was taken over by South African Airways. Shown below are some airmail flight covers carried on the above mentioned routes/services.

Fig 1. Advertising leaflet for the 1931 Internal routes.

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South West African Airways Timetables Internal Flights from 1 August 1931

1. The Northern Service:

Sundays Airport Mondays 09.00 Dep. Windhoek Arr. 17.40

09.35 Arr. Okahandja Dep. 17.05 09.50 Dep. Okahandja Arr. 16.50 10.40 Arr. Omaruru Dep. 16.00 11.10 Dep. Omaruru Arr. 15.30 12.10 Arr. Otjiwarongo Dep. 14.30 12.40 Dep. Otjiwarongo Arr. 14.00 14.00 Arr. Tsumeb Dep. 12.40 14.20 Dep. Tsumeb Arr. 12.25 14.45 Arr. Grootfontein Dep. 12.00

2. The Southern Service:

Wednesdays Airport Thursdays 09.00 Dep. Windhoek Arr. 13.40

09.40 Arr. Rehoboth Dep. 13.00 10.10 Dep. Rehoboth Arr. 12.30 11.25 Arr. Mariental Dep. 11.15 11.55 Dep. Mariental Arr. 10.45 13.40 Arr. Keetmanshoop Dep. 09.00

3. The Coastal Service:

This service did not have a regular timetable on a weekly basis – the flights were scheduled to tie in with the estimated arrival dates of the mail steamers at Walvis Bay.

Dates Dates One day before the arrival of the steamers 10.8, 3.9, 21.9, 13.10, 18.10, 26.10, 11.8, 5.9, 23.9, 14.10, 19.10, 27.10, 2.11, 12.11, 23.11, 10.12, 20.12 3.11, 13.11, 23.11, 11.12, 22.12

Airport 14.30 Dep. Windhoek Arr. 13.15

16.45 Arr. Swakopmund Dep. 11.00 17.00 Dep. Swakopmund Arr. 10.45 17.15 Arr. Walvis Bay Dep. 10.30

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Routes of the South West African Air Line

Fig. 2 Northern Service. First Flight cover Windhoek – Otjiwarongo 1 AUG. 1931 backstamped with Otjiwarongo arrival cancel 1 AUG 31. 12PM.

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Fig. 3 Coastal Service. First Flight cover Windhoek – Swakopmund 19 AUG 1931. Backstamped Swakopmund

arrival cancel 11 AUG 31-12.45PM.

Fig. 4 First Flight cover Keetmanshoop – Kimberley 19 DEC.1931. Cover is franked with “Inscriptional” pair from

sheet with Printer’s name in bottom margin. Kimberley arrival cancel 20DEC 31 4.30PM on back.

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Fig. 5 26 January 1932. The first direct flight Cape Town to London with connection from S.W.Africa at Kimberley.

Fig. 6 Imperial Airways First Flight London to Cape Town. Inward flown flight cover Pietersburg – Johannesburg –

Kimberley – Windhoek – then by rail to Okahandja. Cover cancelled Pietersburg30 JAN 32., backstamped Johannesburg transit cancel 1 FEB 32-3.30PM, Windhoek special Airmail cancel 2,.2.32. – 7 and Okahandja arrival cancel 5FEB 32.

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Fig. 7 Reduced Airmail rates 4 Oct. 1932. Airmail postcard Windhoek – Purley, Surrey 4.10.1932. Special

Windhoek-Kimberley airmail canceller and Purley arrival cancel 17 OC 32. Acknowledgements for this article: “The Comprehensive Handbook of the Postmarks of German South West Africa/ South West Africa/ Namibia” by Ralph F Putzel.

ENGLISH CIVIL WAR LETTERS – Malcolm Ray-Smith The selection was chosen for the military content and the personalities of the writers and/or the recipients. In most cases I chose to show the front of the letter, revealing the address panel and the contents mostly by means of transcripts. I started with a letter from late 1641 from the Mayor of Chester addressed to the House of Lords and sent to London with a recusant prisoner, Arthur Progers. The next was a letter from the Earl of Holland to his half brother, the Earl of Manchester, with a coded address panel, dated June 1642; the letter concerns a serious lack of finances for the King’s fort at Harwich. The letter was read to Parliament on 20 June 1642. A Royalist peer taken prisoner in honourable circumstances was detained at Warwick Castle until an exchange could be arranged. He writes to a first cousin on the other side to express thanks. In a PS he mentions the Lord Brooke, the eldest son of the Earl of Warwick, who has just left the castle. Lord Brooke was shot dead just two days later by a sniper at Lichfield. Both sides set up arrangements to distribute and collect intelligence. A letter to the Governor of Liverpool from the Committee of Both Kingdoms fits him into their system. The Earl of Holland had been a Commissioner to His Majesty’s Treasury until he joined the other side! In November 1643 the Earl of Essex sends news of enemy troop movements and fresh orders to Sir Thomas Fairfax.

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A note from George Maxwell, a Royalist commanding Berkeley Castle, apologises to Mr Smythe of Nobley for not keeping an appointment …but the enemy was abroad …. At Cambridge the five members of a Committee of Safety all sign a letter to the Earl of Manchester about a dispute between two of his officers and the need to pay soldiers their arrears. Richard Lowther, besieged in Pontefract Castle, turns down terms to exchange prisoners in a note to Lord Fairfax, and at Knaresborough Lord Mounteagle asks Lord Fairfax for a pass to leave the besieged castle on the grounds of his ill health. Another item from the Committee for Both Kingdoms chases the Committee for Suffolk to set a date to come to a rendezvous. In Bridgwater Edmond Wyndham sends Prince Rupert a hasty note about Parliamentary Army troop movements. At the siege of Donnington Castle Silius Titus writes to his superior officer to complain about men taken from his platoon before the second Battle of Newbury; two years later he became a Royalist. Lastly a report from Sir Thomas Fairfax besieging Sherborne Castle in August 1645, to his father in London. While he waits for larger naval cannon to be hauled from Portsmouth in order to breach the thick walls of the castle he has dispatched Cromwell, his second in Command, to break up a meeting of the local Clubmen. They were small landowners, shop keepers and professionals who had grown tired of both Royalist and Parliamentary Forces taking animals and supplies without adequate reward and were attending meetings in large numbers across several southern counties to campaign against both armies. Cromwell dispersed this group and nothing came from the Clubmen thereafter. The naval cannon did breach the castle a few days later. Schedule of letters and transcripts shown: 1641 Mayor of Chester to the House of Lords, with a prisoner (with transcript)

1642 Earl of Holland to his brother, the Earl of Warwick, discussed in Parliament 20 June (with transcript)

1643 Prisoner of War letter from Warwick Castle to the Earl of Manchester (with photocopy of the text of the above, including the PS about the Lord Brooke)

1643 Committee of Both Kingdoms to Col. John Moore re the weekly secure communication system

1643 Outline of the Weekly Intelligence network of the Parliamentary Army in November

1643 Commissioners for H M Treasury to the Earl of Holland (with transcript)

1643 Earl of Essex to Sir Thomas Fairfax with news and orders (with transcript)

1644 Gregory Gawswell, the Parliamentary Quartermaster to the Earl of Manchester (with extract)

1644 Captain George Maxwell, Berkeley Castle, to Mr Smythe of Nibley (with transcript)

1644 Cambridge Committee of Safety to the Earl of Manchester (with summary)

1644 Col Richard Lowther, Pontefract Castle, rejecting terms of a truce offered by Lord Fairfax

1644 Lord Mounteagle, Knaresborough Castle, to Lord Fairfax (with transcript requesting a pass)

1644 Committee of Both Kingdoms to Committee for Suffolk requesting a date for a rendezvous

1644 Edmond Wyndham at Bridgwater to Prince Rupert (with transcript of troop movements report)

1644 Silius Titus, besieging Donnington Castle with a protest to Alban Cox Esquire

1645 Sir Thomas Fairfax from the siege of Sherborne Castle reporting progress to his father in London (with transcript)

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THE FALMOUTH GREENS – Derek Seaton I am indebted for much, if not all, of the background information concerning these postmarks to Robertson Revisited by Colin Tabeart and Cornwall – Its Postal History and Postmarks by Christopher Riding. These postmarks are relatively rare, considering the amount of mail landed at Falmouth, and it has been suggested that they were only used on loose letters, or for those on top of bundles, possibly to assist the London office to raise the correct postal charges. The earliest use of these postmarks, in 1809, was on mail from Leeward Islands, Jamaica and America. The latest known use was on correspondence from Buenos Ayres in 1850. These handstamps were replaced from time to time, and this led to a number of varieties in their details. The later examples were often without a date, and the mark in use for mail from Malta had three variants in the format of its date. After 1824, a new type of green postmark for use on mail from India, Mexico, Columbia and Buenos Ayres was made, but without the capital ‘F’ which had previously confirmed arrival at Falmouth. It is rather bizarre to note that one of this new type (now with a fleuron), was sent to Falmouth, Jamaica for use there. In the 1830s, some mail from Jamaica was given the Leeward Island mark, the Jamaica mark is thought to have been lost or damaged. Although these Falmouth marks with the ‘F’ at the bottom are known as the ‘Falmouth Greens’, even the colour was inconstant, with the America and Brazil marks occasionally being seen in red, and the America and Lisbon marks being in black; the one from Lisbon is thought to have been used in Plymouth during the Packet Mutiny period in 1810 and 1811, when postal facilities, including staff and handstamps, were transferred there from Falmouth.

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HONG KONG & TREATY PORTS BARRED OBLITERATORS Eddie Lawrence The earliest date recorded for the first barred obliterator (killer cancel) ‘B62’ for Hong Kong & the Treaty Ports was 14 April 1863. This type of cancel was introduced at the time of issue of adhesives on 8 December 1862. Treaty Port mail was initially first brought to Hong Kong in sealed bags for cancellation with the ‘B2’ obliterator. To some extent the practice continued even after the introduction of Treaty Port obliterators in 1866. Use was officially discontinued in 1885. However some mail continued to have the cancels applied until May 1893, the last date recorded so far. B62 Barred Obliterator The cover in Fig. 1 has been franked by three 2 cents and one 14 cents on 30 cents Queen Victoria adhesives all tied by the (Chinese) ‘Customs Kowloon’ double-ring cds and recancelled with the Hong Kong ‘B62’ barred obliterator (Webb type ‘D1’) together with a Hong Kong transit dater nearby. This is a late use of the ‘B62’ killer, as mentioned above the use of killer cancels was officially stopped in 1885.

Fig. 1

A1 Barred Obliterator This UPU post card [Fig. 2] is franked with a Hong Kong 5 cents on 18 cents lilac adhesive tied by the Amoy A1 barred obliterator, alongside a straight-line Amoy circular date stamp. The card with the 5/18 cents overprint is one of only a few known to date with the Amoy A1 obliterator. The three Chinese characters indicate respect for the addressee. On the reverse are Hong Kong and Naples transit cds.

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Fig. 2

The card would have been taken by a regular coastal vessel to Hong Kong to catch the French Amazone that sailed on 14 April for Marseilles. The card was landed at Naples on 13 May and forwarded by train to Hamburg where it arrived on 15 May. C1 Barred Obliterator The Pacific Line letter shown in Fig. 3 reflects the 10c half-ounce UPU charge that also came into effect in February 1880. The ‘paid all’ cds was applied on the reverse on arrival in San Francisco from where the letter travelled overland to Acushnet. The use of this ‘C1’ cancel is two months later than the previously recorded date of 15 October 1883.

Fig. 3

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D27 Barred Obliterator This card [Fig. 4] is franked with a Hong Kong 3 cents printed stamp, tied by the Amoy D28 barred obliterator with an Amoy cds, type Dii (b), alongside. So far this UPU postcard is the only one known to date with a D27 obliterator. The 3 cents rate was in force from 1 April 1879 until 31 December 1894. The ‘D27’ obliterator was brought into use for the second post office opened on the main island of Amoy to handle increasing amounts of commercial mail, and was thought to have entered service in mid-1876. It was withdrawn in 1894.

Fig. 4

On the reverse are a Shanghai cds and a Hong Kong transit cds. There are no other markings. D29 & S1 Barred Obliterators Fig. 5 shows a card franked by a 3 cents on 16 cents yellow stamp tied by the Hankow D29 barred obliterator, and over struck by a Shanghai S1 killer alongside a Hankow cds of 6 March 1880. On the reverse are a Shanghai cds, a Hong Kong transit, cds, and an arrival cds for Stainland. The SHANGHAE cds is the worn handstamp showing the ‘E’ as an ‘F’.

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Fig. 5

The only dates previously recorded with the 3 cents on 16 cents yellow adhesive on postcard from Hankow with the D29 cancel are 5 September and 5 March 1880. The above card is dated one day later. S2 Barred Obliterator & Paid All Marks & Straight Line Daters The letter bearing HK8 cents postage [Fig. 6] cancelled with a blue S2 obliterator, type A, reflects the single rate brought into force in November 1867. On the reverse is the straight-line SWATOW cds, type B. Also on the obverse are the Paid All cds required for mail to the USA via San Francisco. The use ended when Hong Kong joined the UPU on 1 April 1877.

Fig. 6

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Y1 Barred Obliterator This flimsy wrapper is franked by a Queen Victoria 1863 K8 cents stamp, tied by a Y1 obliterator, type C, and marked with ‘4’ in magenta ink, being the rate in British currency. Also added is the oval forwarding agents’ cachet. On the reverse is a Yokohama despatch dater, type A, and a Hong Kong arrival cds, type D.

Fig. 7

The Posts and Postcards of Plaxtol by David Gurney - has recently been published by the Plaxtol Local History Group.

The book has a four colour cover and there are some 65 photographs, maps and illustrations in 48 pages, all with captions describing the images shown. The many aspects of the history of the posts in Kent, and specifically the postal history of Plaxtol, are examined. This is very much a social as well as a postal history with a second section illustrating aspects of Plaxtol village life on postcards. The Posts and Postcards of Plaxtol costs only £6.00 and is available by post from Plaxtol Local History Group, Yopps Green Cottage. Yopps Green. Plaxtol. Sevenoaks. Kent. TN15 0PY at £6.70 to include postage and packing.

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SPH AND FRANCE & COLONIES PS AT MARCOPHILEX XXXI 6/8 OCTOBER 2007 : SPH Organiser – Peter Kelly

SPH Members present and displaying: Brian Brookes Inland postage in Martinique and m/s markings 1762-1890 Ken Clark The Russo-Japanese War and correspondence with Western Europe Claude Delbeke River mail by steamer in Holland Anthony Eastgate The Falklands War 1982 Judith Edwards Newfoundland TPOs Michael Fulford Foreign post offices in Smyrna, Turkey Richard Harlow Postage Due stamps of King Emmanuel II of Italy Fred Hendriks “Departement conquis” in Belgium and Holland 1892-1815 Chris Hitchen The Paris “Petite poste” 1760-1895 John Jackson “Stoovaart Maatschsappij Nederlands” Peter Kelly French maritime ph during the French “Sage” period 1876-1900 Jeremy Martin French Togo 1914-1922 Peter Maybury Mail carrying steamers on the coastal routes of France Claire Scott The wounded soldier John Scott European decorative paper, 1800-1900 Denis Vandervelde Disinfection and quarantine in France Bob Viney Moveable boxes and maritime mail between England and France Alan Wood Morocco John Yeomans French India. Entry into the UPU and the period following it

A very successful Marcophilex was held at Dunkirk with a sizeable contribution from the SPH and the France & Colonies who were invited to fill 50 frames. The Convention was held at the spacious Kursaal on the seafront at Malo les Bains, a suburb of Dunkirk. This was an extremely well organised show with over 60 exhibitors, of which one third were ours, showing a wide range of material with, obviously, a preponderance of things French. There were also some 15 dealers.

The Friends of the Paris postal museum brought an additional display as did the Town and Chamber of Commerce of Dunkirk, highlighting various issues during the dark days of the war.

The programme included an open meeting of the Academie de Philatelie with a most interesting illustrated talk by the President, Robert Abensur, on the taxation of postcards.

On the Saturday night we all attended the gala dinner at the Kursaal and enjoyed an excellent meal. This was, to some extent, overshadowed by France’s last gasp win over the All Blacks, the match being avidly followed by many.

Meanwhile, outside the Kursaal we enjoyed almost continuous sunshine over the weekend which helped considerably with the digestion of all the good food we had eaten and allowed us to enjoy a walk along the beach or promenade and to discover the town itself where there was much of interest to see, particularly in the old port area.

Monday is the day usually given over to an outing in the surrounding countryside and the residue of our members joined with those of the Union Marcophile on the coach. First stop was the enormous Arc International glass production site where we say how the glasses, plates, vases and other objects were made. The visit into the foundry can only be likened to Dante’s Inferno as we were subjected to very high noise levels, great heat, leaping flames and frenetic activity.

Things became more leisurely over a splendid lunch in a little restaurant not far away. Afterwards we visited the “Coupole” at St Omer which had been an important base for the manufacture of the V2 rockets in 1943. It is now the “Centre d’histoire de la mémoire du

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Nord”. The harrowing pictures of the way in which civilian detainees were treated was very disturbing to most of us.

The final visit of the day was to a small family owned distillery producing Geneva at Houlle. It is one of the last small private distilleries producing this powerful spirit flavoured with juniper berries and the actual still itself dated from 1812. After tasting the product (48 degrees) many dozed on the coach ride back to Dunkirk.

By and large I can confirm that the British Expeditionary Force acquitted itself well, enjoyed themselves, and the final evacuation took place in an orderly and reasonably disciplined fashion.

PRESIDENT’S WEEKEND, HARROGATE, 9-11 November 2007 The annual President’s Weekend was held in the historic spa town of Harrogate where we met in the Crown Hotel – an eighteenth century town centre hotel which was almost at an end of its multi-million pound refurbishment. After a welcome cup of tea and biscuits, the weekend started on Friday with a full set of Members’ Standing Displays before dinner, followed by the President’s Display on The Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. The display provided an enlightening insight into the political aspects as well as the postal history of that turbulent period. Saturday began with an invited display of Mail between India and Great Britain by Max Smith. Little did we realise what was in store for us, but as Max explained the many and varied rates and the complications of the period it quickly became apparent that this was an excellent display. Many members were simply left in awe of the research and unravelling of the rates which Max had achieved! The other invited displays were from the Yorkshire Postal History Society whom we had asked to come and celebrate their fiftieth anniversary with us. They provided a number of postal history displays of Yorkshire material which we seldom see. Displays from our own members then added a varied and interesting flavour to the afternoon. The evening started with a champagne reception led by our outgoing President Alan Wood, which was followed by an excellent dinner in the marvellous setting of the hotel’s Victoria suite. Sunday followed the traditional pattern with ‘Pause for Thought’ led by David Trapnell before the Annual General Meeting which saw Mike Roberts (of Huddersfield) taking over as our new President and an elated Frank Bennett hand over the secretaryship to Susan McEwen. The Remembrance Day silence was observed since we were actually meeting at that hour, and another full set of members displays conclude what was a most enjoyable and entertaining weekend of sociability and discerning postal history. A particular thank you must be given to the 44 members, including two from overseas, who provided our members displays – well done. Standing Displays by:

Sue Hopson Hungerford sub-offices Richard Stock Boer Invasion of Natal Alan Becker Rome circa 1750 Peter Kelly Travails of a re-used Stamp Denis Vandervelde Early Bills of Health Peter Kelly All about Prisons David Gurney Red Cross Message Scheme John Yeomans French Equatorial Africa Richard Harlow Italy Dues 1862 – 1875 Maurice Porter Kent Postal History Susan McEwen Majeedi Camp Kenneth Norris Christkindl Geoff Oxley Via Ostende Martyn Cusworth Aviation in Chile

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Malcolm Montgomery Indian Letters Rex Dixon Latvian SSR 1940-1941 Malcolm Ray-Smith India – Great Britain Norman Higson P P I s Grahame Lindsey Lake Garda Malcolm Fenning Early Edinburgh Denis Vandervelde French Disinfection David Robinson Early Shetland Mail Mike Mapleton Scottish ½d to Scotland David Gurney Sark John Whiteside Danzig : French Connection Richard Stock A Sudan Miscellany Norman Hoggarth Railway Disaster Mail Robin Pizer German Exchange Control Alan Moorcroft C I – The Fortress Period David Trapnell German GHQ 1914 – 1918 Bernard Lucas Persia 1925 Wolf Hess G B to and from Finland Eric Keefe Volunteers in Finland Robert Wightman Nepal Graham Booth Retaliatory Mail 1847–1848 Hugh Feldman Red River Mails Tony Eastgate Cyprus George Gibson A Variety Hans Smith Early Bosnia Gordon Hardy Moldavia & Wallachia

Displays by the Yorkshire Postal History Society

Dick Ashdown Leeds John Gatecliff Hull Frank Walton Sheffield John Bass York Cliff Hopes Knaresborough Susan Oliver N Yorkshire David Brown Huddersfield Jack Lemm Halifax Mike Oxley North Riding Ken Brown Wetherby Dennis Rolfe Sheffield Frank Laycock Addingham John Colton Free Franks Bob Viney Bradford Squared Circles

Members and their Guests who attended:

John Birkett Allan Norman Hoggarth Chris Rainey Alan Becker Sue Hopson Malcolm & Anne* Ray-Smith Frank Bennett John Jackson Mike & Susan* Roberts Graham Booth Eric & Shirley* Keefe Mike Roberts (of Ilkley) Peter Chadwick Peter Kelly David & Lyn* Robinson Martyn & Nancy* Cusworth Frank Laycock Anthony Shepherd Rex Dixon Grahame & Gillian* Lindsey Ronnie* & Joan* Shires Tony & Helen* Eastgate Geoff Lovejoy Hans Smith Richard Farman Bernard Lucas Max & Sue* Smith Hugh & Susan* Feldman Mike & Ewa* Mapleton Richard Stock Malcolm Fenning Peter Maybury David Trapnell John Forbes-Nixon Susan McEwen Denis & Elise* Vandervelde Mike Fulford Malcolm Montgomery Wilf & Valerie* Vevers George Gibson Alan & Linda* Moorcroft Bob Viney Nigel & Deborah* Gooch Margaret Morris Judith Viney James Grimwood-Taylor Andrew Norris Frank & Liz* Walton Pat Grimwood-Taylor Kenneth Norris Gilbert Wheat David & Pat* Gurney Susan Oliver Richard & Yvonne* Wheatley Gordon & Wendy* Hardy Bash & Barbara* Orhan John Whiteside Richard & Pia* Harlow Geoff Oxley Robert Wightman Gordon Harper Mike Oxley Alan Wood Joan Harper Richard Payne Bryan Wood Wolf Hess Robin Pizer John & Kathy *Yeomans Norman Higson Maurice & Heather* Porter Jan Young* Chris Hitchen

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THE TEES VALLEY AND CLEVELAND – Mike Oxley Historically the northern boundary of the North Riding of Yorkshire has been the River Tees. Before 1840 most of the Post Towns were north of the river with only two to the south. The oldest of these was Gretabridge, where the road to Carlisle, that branched off the Great North Road at Thirsk, crossed the Tees. Barnard Castle, on the north bank, soon became more important because of its size. It had only one Penny Post office, Cotherstone, in the North Riding. Darlington had an extensive Penny Post system, but again only one office, Aldbrough St John, was on the south side of the river though Croft and Hurworth may have been, if anybody was certain where the Receiving Houses were situated. Yarm, the second Post Town on the south side, was an important port during the period. Four early letters are known dating from the late seventeen hundreds, but it was another hundred years before the first handstamps were introduced. Early handstamps from Yarm are scarce considering the amount of trade at this time. Yarm did not have a Penny Post, and only one sub-office, Hutton Rudby. Stockton-on-Tees took over from Yarm because of the shorter distance to the sea, ships had become larger and it often took at least two high tides to get up the river. The move downstream continued and eventually a new port was developed at Middlesbrough. In 1832 Middlesbrough became part of the Stockton Penny Post system and in 1841 two sub-offices were opened, one at Ormesby in May 1841 and one at Middlesbrough in July 1941. After the introduction of obliterator numbers in 1844 the stamps on letters posted at Middlesbrough were cancelled with the 736 of Stockton until Middlesbrough became a Post Town in 1845. Later Stockton also had a sub-office at South Stockton, now known as Thornaby-on-Tees. The mail coach route north branched at Thirsk for Stockton, Sunderland and South Shields, and branched again just north of Osmotherley to serve the area known as Cleveland with the Post Towns of Stokesley and Guisborough. The Cleveland Tontine Inn was built at this junction and became a post office in 1804 with a mileage mark, and later with the mileage erased. Closed c 1845, it later reopened as Staddle Bridge, a very elusive cancellation, as there are only two farms and the Cleveland Tontine Inn. Stokesley was the first Post Town on the road to Guisborough with one Penny Post office at Great Ayton. Guisborough was a busy office with four Penny Post offices and an enterprising Postmaster who ran a local delivery service. At first the Penny Post Receiving Houses had handstamps numbered from 1 to 4, but Number 3 has not been recorded to date. Named handstamps were issued later, and the offices are known to be Redcar, Marsk, Skelton and Loftus. A Type 47 Penny Post handstamp was issued to Guisborough in 1838 but is very scarce.

THE EDITOR’S WORDS The next issue, due out at the end of March, will be unusual in that there is only one meeting between now and my closing date. As a result I will be relying on those members who have promised me “free-standing” articles. I am sure you will not let me down. [I know your names and where you live!]

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MAIL OF THE FOREIGN VOLUNTEERS IN THE FINNISH FORCES WW2 Eric Keefe During the Second World War Finland fought the Soviet Union on two occasions. First during the Winter War of 1939 to 1940 following a Soviet invasion, and secondly during the Continuation War of 1941 to 1944 when the Finns sought to regain territory lost during the Winter War. During both these conflicts there was worldwide sympathy for the Finns and large numbers of foreigners volunteered to serve in the Finnish armed forces. Although the largest number of these volunteers came from Sweden there were other contingents from Denmark, Norway, Hungary, Estonia and Great Britain. Although much has been written about the Swedes there has been much less information recorded about the postal arrangements of the British, Danes and Estonians. The British Volunteers Following an appeal for assistance to the League of Nations by the Finnish Government, over 2,000 British men volunteered for service in Finland. In the event only a first contingent of 227 volunteers arrived in Finland before the war’s end in March 1940. This group was comprised not only of British citizens but also a few Australians, Canadians, Czechs, Irish, South Africans and New Zealanders. The British Government also allowed 16 anti-aircraft technicians from the Royal Army Ordnance Corps and Royal Artillery together with 16 Royal Air Force ground crew to resign their engagements and go to Finland. In addition an ambulance unit of 27 men with ten ambulances was sent to Finland by the British Quakers. The London Fire Brigade sent a detachment of eight men together with a red London fire engine. It is also recorded that a group of 19 women from the British First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (F A N Y) also saw active service in Finland driving ambulances for the Finns. When hostilities ceased in March 1940 the majority of the volunteers were withdrawn to Great Britain via Sweden and enlisted in the British forces. A small number remained and took Finnish nationality to continue their service with the Finnish Army. Throughout their service in Finland the British volunteers had to pay normal postage on their mail going home. Mail sent to addresses in Finland was carried free. Covers and cards were posted at the Finnish fieldpost offices, handstamped ‘Kenttäpostia’ i.e. fieldpost and censored by the Finnish authorities before being despatched to the UK via Sweden. The British unit was allocated the Finnish fieldpost unit number 4934 at fieldpost office 16 (kpt 16) when they were based at Lapua, following their move to Savonlinna in eastern Finland they were allocated unit number 9300 at fieldpost office 1. As with the military volunteers the mail going abroad from the non-combatants in the Fire Brigade and the ambulance units had to be pre-paid. The Danish Volunteers During the Winter War about 1,200 Danish volunteers served with the Finnish forces. Initially the Danish government was uncooperative and wished to remain strictly neutral. However, a wealthy Danish businessman agreed to pay from his own resources the cost of equipping the volunteers and sending them to Finland. In February 1940 the Danish government relaxed their stance and agreed to a number of serving Army officers being released from their engagements and going to Finland to command the volunteers. The Danish unit was designated the Dansk Finlands Korps (D F K) and allocated unit code number 4935 at fieldpost office 10. As with the British units, all their mail to and from Denmark had to be prepaid at current rates. At the end of the Winter War in March 1940 the unit was disbanded and most of the volunteers returned to Denmark. However, 600 Danes decided to remain in Finland and joined the Finnish Army as the Dansk Finlands Battallion (D F B). When in early April 1940 Denmark was

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occupied by Germany the unit was disbanded and some of the volunteers returned home. On the outbreak of the Continuation War in 1941 most of the Danes still in Finland joined the Swedish volunteers in the Svensjka Frivilligbataljjonen (S F B) and took part in the siege and capture of Hango. The S F B used unit code numbers 0487, 7942 and 7604, at fieldpost office 4. Mail to Denmark was carried free of charge if it was endorsed with either Kenttäposia or Fältpost and was posted through the Finnish fieldpost system. Mail to the volunteers from Denmark had to be pre-paid at current Danish rates. After the fall of Hango the S F B was disbanded and the Danish volunteers that remained in Finland were re-enlisted in a new unit, the Dansk Finlands Legion and fought with the Finnish 13th Infantry Regiment in the campaign in Eastern Karelia. They used the unit code number 3864 at Finnish fieldpost office 1, initially based at Matkaselka on the eastern frontier and from mid-August 1942 at Äänislinna, now Petrozavodsk in Eastern Karelia. Letters and cards sent back to Denmark by surface mail and weighing less than 40 grams were carried free. For items weighing more than 40 grams the excess had to be paid for at normal rates. Items weighing less than 40 grams sent to addresses in Finland were carried free. An airmail service back to Denmark was also available, but letters and cards had to be pre-paid at current Finnish airmail rates. All unfranked mail going back to Denmark was at first handstamped with a circular ‘Fältpost F’ transit mark in either red, violet or mauve. From April 1942 this handstamp was superseded by a boxed type with the same text. In April 1942 the Danish postal administration issued an instruction that all mail arriving from Finland endorsed with either of these handstamps was to be delivered free of charge. Estonians Following the Soviet occupation of Estonia in 1939 a large number of Estonians fled to Finland where many joined the Finnish forces. There is an affinity between the Finns and the Estonians and their languages are similar. When Germany invaded the Baltic States in 1941 many Estonian refugees went to Finland and large numbers joined the Finnish forces. At first many of these volunteers were enlisted in the Finnish 47th Infantry Regiment, and by 1943 the 3rd battalion of the regiment was entirely Estonian. Whilst in training the unit was allocated address code numbers 0321 to 0352 and initially used fieldpost office 7. After training the unit was transferred to active service on the Karelian Isthmus Front where they used unit code numbers 1268 to 1273 at Finnish fieldpost office number 2 based in Viipuri. By early 1944 the number of volunteers available enabled the Finns to establish another entirely Estonian formation, the 200th Infantry Regiment with a strength of about 850 men. This used unit address code numbers 7540 to 7563 and used the fieldpost office 2 at Viipuri. A small number of Estonians also served with the Finnish Navy and Air Force. In August 1944 the Finns permitted the units to return to Estonia to help stem a Russian attack. During the German occupation of Estonia from mid 1941 to late 1944 the volunteers were given free access to both the German and Finnish fieldpost systems. After examination by the Finnish censors mail from Finland to Estonia was handstamped with the normal Finnish ‘Kenttäpostia’ handstamp and usually endorsed in manuscript Durch die Deutsche Feldpost i.e. via the German fieldpost. It was then passed to the Finnish fieldpost for delivery to the German fieldpost office in Helsinki where a red circular transit handstamp inscribed ‘Feldpost F’ was applied before it was transported to Estonia for delivery. Mail going to Finland from Estonia was endorsed in manuscript Finnische Feldposti and posted unpaid. After censoring by the German authorities it was transferred to the Finnish fieldpost office in Helsinki for delivery through the normal Finnish fieldpost system.

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Fig.1 Swiss postal stationery card to a British volunteer

Fig. 2 Cover from a volunteer serving with the Friends’ Ambulance Service

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Fig. 3 Finnish fieldpost stationery card from a Danish volunteer

Fig. 4 Postcard from an Estonian volunteer

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RED CROSS POSTAL MESSAGE SCHEME – David Gurney The display focussed on the only means of communication that civilians in the German occupied Channel Islands had with friends and relatives in Allied countries. A page of the Guernsey Star newspaper dated January 1941 explaining how the system would work there and photographs of the various Red Cross Headquarters opened the display. Examples were shown of British, German and some overseas Red Cross message forms, all limited to 25 words in the message and then the reply on the back. The round journey could take up to nine months with routes always being subject to the changing war situation.

All forms were routed through the International Red Cross in Geneva. In Britain a person wishing to send a message to the Channel Islands would obtain a form at the local Red Cross Message Bureau or Citizens Advice Bureau, complete the message when it would be checked/censored and a small fee paid. In simple terms the form would be batched, sent to

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Geneva where it would again be checked and then forwarded to Paris where it came under the control of the German Red Cross who carried out further checks and censorship. From there the batches of forms were routed to German Military headquarters in Jersey from where they were sent on to the local Red Cross Bureaux for despatch to addressees. En route the forms collected a variety of cachets and censor markings. The German Civil and Military Censor cachets provide an interesting field of study in themselves and are very popular amongst enthusiasts. Some of the ephemera, official stationery and envelopes were shown to provide a limited window on a vast subject. It is estimated that the International Red Cross handled some 24 million message forms between 1939 and 1947, but it is impossible to know how many of these might have passed to and from the Channel Islands. Advice cards were at first posted by the Guernsey Red Cross Message Bureaux to advise receipt of a message, but this ceased from April 1942 due to the numbers of messages received which were then posted directly to addressees.

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Message forms carried on the German supply flights in late 1944 and early 1945 in the so-called ‘Fortress’ period following the isolation of the Islands after “D Day” as Allied forces advanced south from Normandy are very scarce indeed, one is shown below. The facility to send and receive such Message Forms brought much joy and news to families cut-off by the war and the work of the International Red Cross was warmly appreciated throughout the world affected by this conflict.

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CHANNEL ISLANDS : FORTRESS PERIOD AUGUST 1944 TO MAY 1945 Alan Moorcroft The Allied landings in Normandy in June 1944 and the liberation of Northern France in the following two months led to the Channel Islands becoming an isolated fortress of German held territory. The last mail left the Islands on 3 August 1944. The only means the Germans had to supply the Islands was by air. In late September 1944 they started a series of supply flights from either Zellhausen or Grobostheim in Germany landing in Guernsey. In all 23 flights were made to April 1945 with several being shot down. Mail is known to have been carried on several inward flights and it is believed that most outward flights took mail. To date just ten items of mail, all addressed to soldiers, are known that were flown in. It is believed that some 100 items of soldier’s mail is known that was flown out by the supply flights. In researching this subject it became obvious that Red Cross messages dated from September 1944 to January 1945 are known with dated replies in early 1945 were flown out by the supply flights. Examining records at the Guernsey Archives has revealed information confirming that batches of the messages were carried out and to date some 40 examples have been identified. The archive files also reveal that mail from Channel Islands internees in Germany were carried on the flights. The only examples to be identified to date are the Christmas postcards produced at Laufen internment camp in Germany which are noted in Island press reports as being received in December 1944.

Postcard addressed to Guernsey with Laufen censor stamp No. 13 applied on front

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Postcard addressed to Jersey. The front is endorsed “love to all Eric”

With food and medical necessities running out in the Channel Islands by late 1944 it was realised that the German flights could not bring in sufficient supplies. Following negotiations it was agreed that a Red Cross ship, SS Vega, would carry supplies from Lisbon to the Islands. The first of six voyages arrived after Christmas 1944 carrying food, medical supplies and Red Cross parcels.

Laufen censor cachet No. 10

I.C.R.C. cachet applied in Geneva

German censor cachet applied in Jersey

Jersey Special Form dated 26 February 1945 to Laufen Internment Camp. Carried on the SS Vega on its return voyage 15 March 1945. it is endorsed received 26th April 1945

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It has been established that messages from the internees were carried by the Vega. Messages from the camps dated February and March 1945 has been identified along with a few examples from December which were brought by the Vega. Families receiving the messages were allowed to reply to these. Normal letters were sent from Guernsey but in Jersey special forms were printed for the purpose. Only 6 of these forms are known to date.

When the Vega made its first voyage attempts were made to send thousands of Red Cross messages that had accumulated at Lisbon. The German authorities refused permission for these to be carried as they did not have the ability in the Islands to check the forms for invisible ink. In the end a lady from the Red Cross in Lisbon agreed to type shortened versions of the messages onto lists. The Germans allowed the lists to be carried and on the arrival in the Islands they were transcribed onto blank forms and posted out. For many years a few examples were known but thought to be copy messages and of little value, they are now highly sort after. Guernsey printed special forms for the messages received on the later voyages of the Vega but Jersey continued to type them onto black forms. To date only six Guernsey forms and 20 Jersey are known. The Islands were finally liberated on 9 May 1945 when British troops under the command of Brigadier Snow accepted the German unconditional surrender and the fortress period came to end.

SARK – David Gurney

Up to the 19th century very few letters were carried into or out of Sark and those that were came by fishing boat. The establishment of a Post Office was first raised in 1838 and approval was eventually given to the establishment of a Sub-Post Office under Guernsey in June 1857. An undated double arc was issued, but this was not included in the display nor another great rarity, a 29mm rubber datestamp or Climax Dater issued in 1885. Only two examples of each are known.

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The display commenced with an 1880s trade card of the Hotel Dixcart showing an early map of Sark followed by examples of the 21mm single circle datestamp issued in April 1890 following the introduction of Money Order and Savings Bank business. Postcards of the earliest known photographs of the Office were shown with a 1902 postcard addressed to Hong Kong with a superb example of the single circle with the scarce ‘B’ code and a pair of QV ½d stamps cancelled with the Guernsey ‘squared’ circle datestamps also showing a Victoria/Hong-Kong arrival datestamp. Amongst the postal ephemera were two ‘Certificates of Posting a Registered Postal Packet’ for 1903 and 1913 signed by the Sark Sub-Postmaster’s family members, a 1910 Parcel Post label and a postcard commemorating the first human parcel in 1905 following the introduction of a new GPO Regulation allowing for “Postmasters to arrange the conduct of a person to an address by an express messenger”. A Henry Turner posted himself from Guernsey to Sark for 5/10d accompanied by a Messenger, William Gurney, who received the Sark Sub-Postmaster’s receipt on arrival! The double circle datestamp first issued in 1926 was evidenced on a variety of cards and envelopes, a Telegram form showing a late use of the single circle in 1931 and then covers and cards used during the German military Occupation of the Island from 1940 to 1945. These mostly reflected commercial usage including a bisected 2d GVI Centenary stamp and in 1944, with shortages in all postal stationery, a letter registered to Guernsey with a pre-war HERM registration label crossed through and SARK written in place of HERM in ink. Items displayed in the postwar period included a Cash Account form of 1945, a photograph of the quaint 1951 postbox Notice and the two Island Postmen on deliveries in 1952, a stamped Postal Order form of 1953, a midget Parcel Post label of 1967 and various uses of 1960s envelopes.

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SEND TO CUSTOMS : GERMAN EXCHANGE CONTROL 1918 TO 1925 Robin Pizer

The display showed a few covers which had been opened by the German Exchange Control and had been found to contravene various laws and so were resealed and redirected to the Customs Office nearest the intended recipient (for incoming letters from foreign countries) or the sender (for outgoing letters). These covers are only known from eight of the over twenty Exchange Control Offices which examined mail delivered to them by the Post Office. While the covers are not particularly common, the bulk of the currently known ones come from Berlin, Dresden, Königsberg and München Postal Supervision Offices with the odd one or two from Elbing, Freiburg, Ludwigshafen and Stuttgart. In theory covers could exist from 1918 and 1923 but none have been recorded. From 1 December 1923 the exchange control became the responsibility of the Customs themselves so there was no need for such redirection. The process is illustrated here by reference to one particular cover. This is illustrated in Figs. 1 (front) and 2 (back). The registered letter was postmarked at Hustopec in Moravia on 28 June 1921 and addressed to Stade-Campe near Hamburg. It was opened by the Dresden Postal Supervision Office who found that it contained stamps which could only be imported via a special licence. They resealed the envelope with a standard sealing label with wording that translates to: 4 opened by virtue of the law of 15 November 1918 (Government Gazette page 1324). This label and the Dresden arrival postmark can no longer be seen on the reverse as they are covered by another larger label (see below). The number 4 is the number allocated to the Dresden Postal Supervision Office sometime in 1919 when the 20 existing offices were numbered in alphabetical order. The Dresden Office sent a postcard to the intended recipient which is shown in Figs. 3 (front) and 4 (back). This stated that: a registered package of stamps with a value of about 30 Marks which is addressed to you is stored at this place. The sender is F Bruckmeyer, Ausspitz, South Moravia. Within 4 weeks you may request the necessary import licence to be sent to this place. This may be obtained from the Foreign Trade Sub Office for the Book Trade Branch Office Berlin W66 Wilhelmstrase 45. You can learn all particulars about the import and export of stamps on application to this office. A cachet was added Return to sender is not permitted. The card was dated 2 July 1921 and postmarked 3 July 1921. The front bears an oval cachet of the Dresden Postal Supervision Office. These postcards are not particular hard to find and come with various wordings depending on the circumstances. After eight weeks no import licence had arrived, so the Dresden Postal Supervision Office added a red label to the front of the envelope whose wording translates as: this letter is to be delivered to the competent Customs Office nearest to the addressee's Post Office. Dresden Postal Supervision Office. For good measure they also added a typewritten white label to the reverse which states in translation: To the competent Customs Office : as the addressee of the enclosed postage stamp consignment has not produced the import licence demanded on 2 July 1921 within the stipulated 4 weeks, the consignment becomes due for surrender in agreement with paragraph 3 of the law about the alteration of the law concerning the import regulations of 16 January 1917 Government Gazette page 41 and of 22 March 1920 Government Gazette page 334 and is forwarded for confiscation or to await explanation respectively. This is tied by a Dresden postmark of 2 September 1921 and a Stade arrival postmark of 3 September 1921. The addressee must have eventually provided the import licence, so allowing the card and the cover to be linked together again. The red label on the front and the white label on the reverse are the only recorded copies and no other combinations of letter and postcard are known.

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At that time 30 Marks was 25 times the cost of posting a 20g foreign letter but even over franked letters were considered to be an evasion of the import laws and examples were shown sent to the Customs. The law on importing stamps was relaxed by the Minister of Trade Dr Hirsch to permit the import of cancelled stamps without a licence and was reported in the Deutschen Reichsanzeiger number 252 dated 27 October 1921. The author would be delighted to receive information of similar German exchange control covers 'sent to Customs'.

Fig. 1

Fig 2

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Fig. 3

Fig. 4

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LAKE COMO POSTAL MARKINGS – Grahame Lindsey

Lake Como is centrally situated at the top of the Lombardy plain and is formed by three branches - to the north to Colico; to the south-west to Como; southeast to Lecco; with Bellagio at its centre. It is approximately 750 feet above sea-level, 30 miles long between its extremities, 2½ miles across at its widest, nearly 2000 feet deep and fed by the River Adda.

The lake has been a much-travelled means of communication since Roman times when it connected Rome to its provinces in Bavaria. Then called Lacus Larius, it was known at the turn of the nineteenth century as Il Lario and by the 1860's, was called Lake Como. A steamer service started in 1826 and at that time the boat “Lario” was the pinnacle of technology and of lake navigation. Postal routes have only been recorded along two of the lake’s arms, namely to Colico and to Como. The absence of steamboat postal service on the Lecco arm may be explained by the relatively small population along this arm and the establishment of a railway line along the east bank between Colico and Como by the turn of the century. Travelling (Floating) Post Offices (TPOs) were established by 1855 but there are no postal markings known during the Lombardy-Venetia period although navigation

company cachets are known on cover from about 1850. It was only after the unification of Italy that Sardinian type handstamps were introduced in 1860. By 1863 there were two TPOs on the lake which operated until 1895 when they were reduced to one. However, by 1906 a second TPO was in operation again and in 1913 there were three. In the winter of 1915 - 1916 the TPO numbers were changed from 1, 2 and 3 to the service numbers of the boats. The earliest postal marks are the Sardinian double ring type and have the legend “LARIO” [Fig 1] the early name for the lake and the name of the first steamer. The handstamps, numbered 1 and 2, and were used for both directions of travel.

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Fig 1 1862 E.L. bearing “LARIO (1)” mark.

Subsequent double ring type handstamps introduced in 1863 carried the names of the termini Colico – Como and are numbered 1 or 2. The word order indicated the direction of travel [Fig 2]. The word “Natante” or its abbreviation is included in all TPO marks from this date.

Fig 2. 1876 - Postal Stationery card with “COMO-COLICO / NATANTE N.2” mark also bears Collettorie “Como” mark.

The collettorie marks (cursive marks denoting origin) [Fig 2] were applied to mail collected from lakeside stops. They are known for Bellaggio, Bellano, Cadenabbia, Carate Lario, Colico, Como, Dongo, Molstrasio,Rezzonico, Sala, Sala Comacina, and San Vito. Single circle handstamps, introduced in 1880, also carried the names of the termini Colico – Como and are numbered 1 or 2 [Fig 3] or without number.

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Fig 3 1887 - Postal Stationery card bearing “NATANTE COMO COLICO (N.1)" mark.

The squared circle postmark for Lake Como is the only recorded use of this type of mark on the lakes and was first used in 1893 and continued to be used until 1915. the handstamps are numbered N1, N2, N3 [Fig 4] or without number.

Fig 4 1913 - Picture Postcard bearing “NATANTE COMO COLICO N. 3” mark.

Double circle handstamps with or without bars in the lunettes and with the word Natante were introduced in 1910 and various types with the word Natante continued to be used until the second world war. Initially the postmarks had ten bars and were numbered 1A and 2A [Fig 5] but were changed to 27A and 28A [Fig 6] when service numbers were introduced during the winter of 1915/16.

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Fig 5 1913 - Picture Postcard bearing “NATANTE COLICO COMO 2 (A)” mark.

Fig. 6 1930 - Cover with “NATANTE COMO COLICO 27 ( A )” mark.

Service numbers 27 to 30 were used for complete journeys from Colico to Como or vice versa [Fig 7] and numbers 31, 41, 42 and 43 for shorter journeys between Como – Argegno [Fig 8] and Como – Varenna.

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Fig 7 1924 - Picture Postcard bearing “NATANTE COLICO COMO 30 ” mark.

Fig 8 1922 – Picture Postcard with “NATANTE COMO ARGEGNO 31” mark.

The Messaggeri marks, introduced in 1894 when the TPOs were temporarily reduced to one, were applied by messengers who carried sacks of mail and were permitted to accept loose letters in addition to collecting mail from quayside boxes and boxes on the steamer. The messenger cancelled the adhesives or facsimiles on postal stationery with the handstamp provided. There are a number of marks which only vary in size or letter spacing which suggests many handstamps of the same type for different travelling postmen.

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By 1919 there were four runs in each direction between Colico and Como and many shorter runs. The boats used were Unione, Italia, Lariano II, Volta, Lombardia, Elvizia, Brunate [Fig 9], Como, Lecco and Plino II.

Fig 9 Lake Steamer “BRUNATE”

The first Messaggeri marks is inscribed “SERVIZIO POSTALE SUL LAGO DI COMO”

Fig 10 1895 – Postal Stationery card with “SERVIZIO POSTALE / SUL LAGO DI COMO” mark

Other Messaggeri marks are double circle marks with or without bars and the direction of travel is indicated by the word order of the termini. Initially they also included the word “MESSAGGIERE” [Fig 11] or its abbreviation “MESSAGG.”

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Fig. 11 1902 - Picture Postcard with “COLICO – COMO ( MESSAGGIERE)” mark.

Later marks either had the number “2” or the letters M [Fig 12] or N.

Fig 12 1912 – Picture Postcard with “COLICO – COMO ( M ) ” mark.

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The only Messaggeri marks known for shorter runs are between Cadenabbia – Colico [Fig 13] and Argegno – Varenna - Como and they had a short life. The Cadenabbia – Colico and Colico – Cadenabbia marks are only know for June to October 1909.

Fig 13 1909 – Picture Postcard bearing “CADENABBIA COLICO ( P ) ” mark

Fig. 14 1927 – Picture postcard with “ARGEGNO VARENNA COMO” mark

Reference : Lindsey, Grahame – Italian Lake Mail Postal Markings. Italy & Colonies Study Circle

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POSTAL MARKINGS OF THE LIFLAND ESTATES – Geoff Lovejoy Lifland or Livonia includes most of Latvia north of Kurland and the southern part of Estonia. After the introduction of the horse posts and the following coach posts (see Rossiter Postal History Journal no. 6] the use of the mail increased over the years. The original estates naturally were determined in their positions by a proximity to the roads and their owners were often ethnic Germans [Fig. 1]. They were mostly self supporting including their postal arrangements and they used a shape of oval handstamp not used other than from an estate.

Fig. 1

Originally a manuscript marking was in use only giving the name such as that illustrated for Neuermühlen or Hilchensfehr with the security of a wax seal on the reverse [Fig. 2]. These were superseded by the oval handstamps but not by all the estates as some, particularly where the seal included the name of the estate, continued in use without ever having an oval handstamp such as those of Kastran and Wilkenhof. The estate of Adsel Neuhoff continued up to the 1870s using the name in manuscript without any change although a handstamp is recorded for 1862 I have not seen it. The oval stamps came into use in the early 1830s and in general are often 35 – 36mm wide by 26 – 27mm deep [Fig. 3]. At the top is the word POST followed by the estate name and at the bottom the number 18 enabling the date to be filled in by hand and so obviating any mechanical date change. Covers of Engelhardhof show dates of 22 September 1842 [Fig. 4] and 17 January 1862.

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There were variations in the size of the oval; that for Romerskaln is somewhat less being 30mm wide by 24mm deep, and Segewold (today’s Sigulda) is 33mm wide by 22mm deep [Fig. 5]. The smallest of all is that used for Doblen being 25mm wide by 21mm deep and was in use from 1824 to 1849, and for Teilitz in use from 1841 to 1870. One further point to be noted is that although the catalogue by Mr Manfred Dobin [Ref. 1] on these pre-adhesive marks was produced in 1993 and is easily understood and used, two such marks are not recorded by him. These are the marks for Roemershof dated 1856 and Segewold (Sigulda) mentioned above dated 1865 [Fig. 6]. I cannot add the period of time they were in use as the illustrations are the only copies that have been seen. As will be seen the estate handstamps were often in use far beyond the introduction of adhesives and the cancellations that came into use in 1858. Livonian Estates Adsel Manuscript (1862) Ohger 1833-1875 Doblen 1824-1849 Rodenpois 1856-1874 Engelhardshof 1834-1874 Romershof Unrecorded – 1856 Hilchensfehr 1834-1846 + manuscript Romerskaln 1855-1868 Jungfernhof 1834-1874 Roop 1833-1874 Kastran Seal Segewold Unrecorded – 1865 Kuikatz 1837-1871 Stakeln 1834-1874 Lenzenhof 1833-1874 Stockmanshof Seal Lips 1833-1874 Teilitz 1841-1870 Menzen 1833-1875 Wilkenhof Seal Neurmuelen 1834-1856 + manuscript Reference 1: Dobin, Manfred, Postmarks of the Russian Empire, St Petersburg, 1993

Fig. 2 Entire letter dated 23 September 1839. Joined the post at Hilchensfehr on 28 September and arrived at Riga on 29 September

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Fig 3 Outer cover sent from Neuermühlen (today Ādaži) on 15 November 1846 struck with the part manuscript oval

handstamp which was n use from 1834 to 1856. It was addressed to R v Klot, the church superintendent at Pernigel (todays Liepupe). Both places were horse post stations. It received a poor strike of the Riga arrival mark as a transit stamp dated 16 November

Fig. 4 Entire letter sent from Roop Dated 21 September 1842 and joining the post at POST

ENGELHARDSHOF the next day. It arrived at Wolmar the following day where the boxed mark was applied. The despatch mark was in use from 1834 to 1874. The arrival mark was in use from 1841 to 1857

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Fig. 5 Outer cover sent from an estate, joined the post at Segewold (Sigulda) on 22 March 1865 and arrived

at Riga the same day. The oval despatch mark, part manuscript, is not recorded by M.Dobin but is similar to other marks of the 1830s.

Fig. 6 Outer cover sent from Roemershof with the name on a black seal on the reverse. Joined the post on 16 March

1856, received a strike of the oval POST ROEMERSHOF handstamp which is unrecorded in M. Dobin. With a boxed arrival strike of Riga for 18 March Roemershof is one of the post stations of 1831

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EIGHTEENTH CENTURY SPANISH POSTMARKS ON GIBRALTAR MAIL David Stirrups

The third edition of Prefilatelia Española, published in 2004, shows that the information previously published can no longer be considered correct. Hine-Haycock’s book “Posted in Gibraltar” has been the most commonly used source of information. His chapter III has illustrations

taken from the two volume first edition of Prefilatelia Española but in this chapter he notes that it needs to be corrected and updated. Geoff Osborn in his “Pages from a collection of Gibraltar Postal History to 1885” on page 41 suggests that the Seville mark may have been transferred to San Roque about 1765. Cyril Metliss in his “Pages from a collection of Gibraltar Postal History to 1885” on pages 2, 3 and 5 refers to transit marks applied in Seville. Although on page 4 he states that San Roque did not have its own handstamp until 1800 but shows a 1785 cover to Algeciras with a two line ANDALUCIA VAXA mark which he states proves it was also used in San Roque or Algerciras. Much of this misconception is down to the fanciful map on page 12 in Hine-Haycock’s book. The routes he shows are based on his understanding of the marks rather than knowledge of the actual routes. San Roque was a very important Spanish Military Headquarters and the base for the local governor. The multiple sieges during the eighteenth century were conducted from San Roque and the military garrison at Campamento de Gibraltar. It is inconceivable that there was not a fast direct post service to the capital, Madrid. In 2002 the Spanish Post Office published “Atlas

Geográfico de Correos, Postas y Estafetas de la Peninsula di España”. In this the first map of postal routes showing a post office at San Roque is dated 1729 and on this and all subsequent maps the route north is shown as San Roque – Ronda – Osuna – Ejica –Cordoba and thence to Madrid [Fig. 1]. The direct San Roque to Cadiz route does not appear until a map of 1789 and is shown as a minor route via Los Barrios, Vejer de la Frontera, Chicalana and Isla de Leon. None of the maps show a route north through Cadiz, Jerez and Seville. The first “official” postal itinerary of Spain “Itinerario de las Carreras de Posta de Dentro y Fuera del Reyno” by Pedro

Rodríguez Campomanes published in 1761 lists a Post Office in San Roque and a sub office in Campamento de Gibraltar. Hine-Haycock correctly assigns San Roque to Andalucia Baja, region 25, in the 1779 reforms but mistakenly assumed that corresponded to the opening of the post office, an error repeated by Metliss (in the 1854 reorganisation, effective 1 May 1855 San Roque was transferred to the Cadiz postal region, formerly number 26). Whilst a Seville “Andalucia Alta” mark is very similar to that now attributed to San Roque, as are the Cadiz “Andalucia Alta” marks, there are differences when comparing the latest images in the

new edition of Prefilatelia Española that now runs to four volumes. Whilst the earliest Spanish town marks date from the start of the eighteen century the first recorded on Gibraltar mail is an

“Andalucia Alta” from 1759, a date that corresponds to that in the latest Prefilatelia Española for the “Andalucia Alta” mark [Fig. 2 & 3] recorded as 1759 to 1778 and as RRR (4-12 examples) although I believe this to be an underestimate. The next recorded mark is the “ANDALUCIA VAXA” [Fig. 4] recorded as used in black [Fig. 5] from 1786 to 1790 and red [Fig. 6] from 1792 to 1796, both rated as RRR.

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There are clearly gaps in this record and I would like to try to reduce these, so please if you have covers with any of these marks please let me know so that I can add them to the lists below and hopefully in due course produce a short study paper. Table 1 : Covers with Andalucia Alta

Date To Source Remarks

1759 Hine Haycock p 13 Black

1760 Hine Haycock p 13 Black

1765 Hine Haycock p 13 Red

1765 12 Jun ? Cronica Filatelica Feb 1989 Black

1765 24 Jun Edinburgh GSC member Black

1765 2 Jul Edinburgh GSC member

1769 March Marseilles Metliss Collection

1778 28 Sept Marseilles Osborn Collection

1779 11 Feb London Metliss Collection

Table 2 : Covers with ANDALUCIA VAXA

Date To Source Remarks

1785 Algerciras Metliss Collection Black

1786 Oct London Osborn Collection Black

1787 Harve de Grace, France Metliss Collection Black

1790 16 Mar Edinburgh GSC member Black

1790 27 Aug Bonard, Argyll GSC member Black

1791 19 May Bath GSC member Red

1791 27 Aug Anderston by Glasgow GSC member Red

1792 5 April Bathford, Somerset GPS Auction Feb 07 Red

1792 Aug Surrey Osborn Collection Red

1796 London GSC member Oxidised red, via Corruna

1795 London Metliss Collection Red

1795 Stockton Osborn Collection Red, via Coruna

Reference: Hine-Haycock, W, Posted in Gibraltar, 1978, 122p, Robson Lowe

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Fig. 1 Map of 1789

Fig. 2 First post mark used in San Roque.

Fig. 3 1778 letter to Marseilles, dated 28th September with late use of the first San Roque handstamp.

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Fig. 4 Second post mark used in San Roque.PE2

Fig. 5 1790 Second San Roque mark in black on letter dated 16 March. Rated one shilling eleven pence being one shilling six pence single rate from Spain to London (1/6 deleted) and seven pence London to Edinburgh (specific rate from 31 August 1784 to 5 January 1797)

Fig. 6 1791 Letter via Spain and France, dated 19 May with second San Roque mark in red. Rated one shilling eleven pence being one shilling six pence single rate from Spain to London (1/6 deleted) and five pence London to Bath (80 to 150 miles from 31 August 1784 to 5 January 1797).