WINTER 2015

P O S T S C R I P T

THE SOCIETY OF POSTAL HISTORIANS

Volume 65: No.4 (Whole No.282) Winter 2015

Early Zanzibar (see page 199)

CONTENTS PAGE

Secretary’s Notes etc 170

Reading Meeting, 5 September 2015 172 Concessionary Foreign Rates from Germany Rex Dixon 173

Disinfection of Maritime Mail at Alexandria, 1838 to 1840 Denis Vandervelde 179 GB Early Official Letters and the Introduction of the Franking System Bob Galland 183 Ship-Shore Communications in the Early 20th Century Colin Tabeart 189

Sherborne Meeting, 11 October 2015 197 Salisbury Slogan Cancellations Jeremy Martin 198 Early Zanzibar Colin Baker 199 Western Desert WW2 Ingrid Swinburn 201 Perak 1942 The Re-opening of the Postal Service Susan McEwen 203 Postal Evidence of the Occupation of Regions of France by Italian Forces During WW2 John Dickson 206 Old GB Letters Malcolm Ray-Smith 212 Military Mail from and to the Island of Réunion 1870 to 1899 Peter Kelly 212

The Acceptance of Special Stamps within the UPU up to 1920 Robert Wightman 218

Italy – Italian AR Cards (a work in progress) Andy Harris 219

1934, First Scheduled Flight from England to Australia Colin Tabeart 223

Postscript 65/170

It is with regret that we have to announce the death of a member

Francis Kiddle

A FEW WORDS FROM THE CHAIRMAN I am honoured to have been appointed to the post of Chairman; to be following such a long and illustrious line is intimidating, but I’ll do my best. My thanks to my predecessor Mike Roberts and the Executive Committee for their confidence in me, and for the work they have all done during Mike’s term of office.

As announced by Mike Roberts at the AGM, we have received the first part of the Richard Payne Bequest, and we face a challenge. You may think ‘challenge’ is an odd word for such a generous bequest, but the challenge is to use the money wisely for the benefit of the SPH without in anyway harming the ethos of the Society. We are a society of friends who are active in Postal History.

The sub-committee of the Representatives have assembled ideas from Fellows, Members and Associates which have been discussed by the Executive Committee. The decision has been taken to contribute £200 to each Country meeting in 2016, and £2000 to each of Conference and President’s weekend. This will give the benefit of the bequest to those who attend meetings. Further ideas for using this bequest wisely are under consideration and will be announced, in due course.

I have been asked about Guests at meetings. They are very welcome, we are a sociable society and Sponsors are tasked with ensuring that their nominees attend meetings. If you see a guest at a meeting, or see a guest attendee listed in Postscript, it is quite likely that they are a potential member. If, however, you recognise as a guest someone about whom you have serious qualms please have a quiet prompt word with either the Attorney, or the Secretary or the Chairman. That’s Wilf, Philip and myself.

By the way it is ‘Chairman’ to quote another Susan: A chair has four legs and gets sat on.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, 2016 has an interesting mix of meetings, which I am sure we will enjoy.

Susan McEwen November 2015.

SECRETARY’S NOTES – Philip Longbottom

New Officers Announced at the AGM At the AGM in York, the following new officers were elected or announced: President: Nigel Gooch Chairman: Susan McEwen President Elect : Maurice Porter Rep. for Fellows: Max Smith Rep. for Members: Mike Elliott Rep. for Associates: Geoffrey Amos

Postscript 65/171

At the AGM the new Chairman, on behalf of the Society, expressed sincere thanks to all those retiring from office especially the retiring Chairman, Mike Roberts, after his five years service.

Elevations and new Associates announced at President’s Weekend 2015 To Fellow: Maurice Porter To Member: Henk Slabbinck Invited to become Associates: Patrick Flanagan and Robin Tapper

Robson Lowe Trophy This year at the AGM, and with much acclaim, the retiring President awarded the trophy to Geoff Lovejoy who has done so much on behalf of the Society.

Resignation Dr Seiju Laakso has been deemed to have resigned from the Society.

Address Changes etc (in order of notification) Chris Grimshaw New email chris.grimshaw@nationalgrid.com Nick Harris New address 118 Maldon Road, Tiptree, Colchester CO5 0PA Martyn Cusworth New address 15 Lea Drive, Shepley, Huddersfield HD8 8HA Tony Tudor New email thetudors77@gmail.com

Members’ email Addresses It is very important for members to keep the Secretary informed of their email addresses. Electronic communication is becoming an increasingly important method of communication for the Society. It allows the discontinuation of time consuming paper based transmission of information. (See also section below about meeting fliers.) At present there are only twelve members who have not notified an email address to the Society. However some of these members do have access to email. For the sake of easier communications every member is urged to get themselves online and let the Society know their email address.

Awards to SPH members Congratulations are due to Richard Stroud. At the 77th National Congress of the Philatelic Federation of South Africa held on 16 October 2015 at Cape Town, he was elected to sign the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists of South Africa (RDPSA).

Congratulations are also due to the SPH members who achieved an award at one of various exhibitions (postal history exhibit unless otherwise noted):-

Autumn Stampex in September 2015: John Sussex GB Registered Mail to Overseas Destinations 1971-93 Large Vermeil

Singapore August 2015: Gary Brown Tunisia till WWII Large Vermeil Geoff Kellow Sierra Leone: King George VI Period 1937-56 Large Vermeil Chris King The Posts in the City of Lubeck before 1868 Gold Geoffrey Lewis Philippines International Airmail up to 1941 (Aero) Vermeil Martin Simon-Redman Sarawak the First Forty Years 1858-98 (Trad) Large Gold

Nordia, Sweden October/November 2015: Bjorn Sohrne Indian - Persian Postal Relations across two Centuries Large Gold NOTOS, Athens November 2015: Bjorn Sohrne Postal Story of Yemen 1873-1940 (Trad) Gold

Postscript 65/172

MEETING CONVENERS’ FLIERS TO MEMBERS - Philip Longbottom To reduce the amount of paper sent out with Postscript it has been agreed that new arrangements are to be put in place for the distribution of meeting fliers. In future conveners will initially send their fliers / booking forms in a suitable format to the Secretary. He will then distribute these fliers via email to the Society’s members. This will form the primary method of communicating this information to the membership. The Secretary will also send address labels to conveners with the addresses of those few members without email addresses. It will be the responsibility of the conveners to circulate those few members by ordinary post. If members have any queries about a particular meeting, they should address their query to the relevant convener. The names of conveners are published in the Society’s annual handbook on the back page along with the programme of meetings.

READING MEETING, 5 SEPTEMBER 2015 – CONVENOR : Patrick Reid The good sized room provided by the Best Western Moat House at Sindlesham, near Reading enabled the 27 members and guests to enjoy a day of first class displays. The opening standing display was given by Rex Dixon showing Rates and Services in Germany, 1923 to 1945. List of attendees and displays Geoff Amos Australian coastal mail Frank Bennett A pub crawl through Hereford Nick Colley Naval registered mail Kevin Darcy Cayman Islands overprints Rex Dixon Christine Earle* Michael Elliott Finland – the mobilisation period, 1939 to 1940 John Forbes-Nixon An eclectic mix of covers Rodney Frost Bob Galland Old letters and the Franking System Sue Hopson Mail from the bin John Jackson 70th anniversary of VJ day Peter Kelly Printed matter rate in France, 1876 to 1900 Phil Kenton GB express mail Michael Lockton Holsworthy postal history Rob May Telegraph cancels on a postal cover from Cameroon James Podger Welsh postal history 1714 to 1844 Chris Rainey Use of reply paid stationery from Africa Malcolm Ray-Smith Scottish ship letters Patrick Reid Max Smith Richard Stroud Corfu in WW1 Colin Tabeart Ship to shore, shore to ship, and ship to ship communications Robin Tapper* Plymouth postal history Denis Vandervelde Disinfected mail in the Levant Wilf Vevers Paul Woodness Kalymnos * = Guest

Postscript 65/173

CONCESSIONARY FOREIGN RATES FROM GERMANY DECEMBER 1923 TO MAY 1945 – Rex Dixon At Sindlesham I showed my eight-frame exhibit entitled Postal Rates and Services in Germany December 1923 to May 1945 that had been successful at London 2015 Europhilex. It provided a broad overview of the postal services offered by the Reichspost and the rates they charged for them. The period covered was from the end of the high inflation on 1 December 1923 through to the end of the war in May 1945. I provided members present with a 14-page handout of the exhibit’s scope and structure; most of it was devoted to tables of rates. If any reader would like a copy of this handout, please would they contact me.

For the purposes of this article, I am limiting myself to postal rates for the various classes of letter mail to countries that enjoyed concessionary rates less than the full UPU rates charged for mail to the rest of the world. Excluded are parcel mail, insured mail, and money services. Saar, Danzig, Lithuania with Memel, Austria and Luxembourg Inland rates applied to all classes of letter mail up to the weight limits that applied to inland mail. Mail heavier than the inland limits but still within the UPU limits attracted full UPU rates. However, at various times to these territories (and also to Hungary, but never the Saar) an ‘inland-like’ rate was charged for a weight band above the inland limit; this applied to printed papers, commercial papers and mixed consignments in the 500 to 1000g band. These inland rates included ancillary fees such as that for express delivery.

The Saar territory (Saargebiet), the Free City of Danzig (Freie Stadt Danzig) and the Memel district (Memelgebiet) had been detached from Germany by the Treaty of Versailles and placed under League of Nations control. Memel was seized by Lithuanian troops in January 1923 and its union with Lithuania was recognised on 16 February 1923. Inland postage rates were extended to the whole of Lithuania on 1 November 1923; they were subsequently withdrawn on 1 February 1936. The Saar was reincorporated into the Reich on 1 March 1935 following an overwhelming plebiscite earlier that year, and Danzig was reincorporated in September 1939 as one of the first effects of WWII. Austria and Luxembourg had been members of the Austro-German Postal Union since 1850 and 1852 respectively and as such had enjoyed inland postal rates since then. Both were incorporated into the Reich, in 1938 and 1940/41.

Fig. 1 The Saar counted as inland. Inland letter 2.10.1928 to 20g, 15pf; inland airmail fee to 20g, 10pf. Charged

30c poste restante fee in Saarbrücken (French practice to charge, German practice not to use postage due stamps).

Postscript 65/174

Fig. 2 The ‘Frei durch Ablösung Reich’ (Paid on State service) exemption from postage did not apply to foreign mail, so this letter to Austria was treated as unpaid. It was returned to the sender to attach the missing postage and to repost it after removing the label. Letter post to Austria attracted inland rates, as indicated by the middle paragraph. This also applied to Luxembourg and Danzig but no longer, since 1 February 1936, to Lithuania and Memel (struck out in blue). The label also gives the preferential rates to Czechoslovakia and Hungary. Deficiency shown as 12pf, the rate for a letter to 20g. The sender did not repost it.

Cross-border rates Germany had ‘cross-border’ arrangements with Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Switzerland when the sending and destination POs were no more than 30km apart. Postcards and letters to 40g attracted inland rates. Only these first two weight steps were the same as the inland rate; for heavier letters each 20g was the same as the first 20g. Inland rates also applied to commercial papers up to 100g to Denmark alone, though I have yet to see an example. All ancillary fees had to be paid at foreign rates.

Fig. 3 Cross-border postcard 6.7.1925, 5pf. Aachen and Eupen are 16km apart.

Postscript 65/175

Fig. 4 Cross-border letter 6.11.1935 from Lörrach to Basel in Switzerland, 6km apart. Cross-border rate for 40-60g, 36pf (3×12pf); overpaid by 1pf for convenience. Refused and returned. The envelope shows some stress reflecting its heavy contents.

Hungary and Czechoslovakia Both Hungary and Czechoslovakia (and Slovakia after it became independent in 1939) enjoyed reduced rates of postage for postcards and letters: 5pf reduction for postcards and the first 20g, and for Hungary from 1 February 1925 a 5pf reduction for each further 20g as well. For Hungary alone, reduced rates for printed matter were introduced on the same date: 5pf per 100g (rather than per 50g), and 3pf to 50g; on 1 August 1927 these were reduced again, this time to inland rates.

Fig. 5 Reduced-rate postcard 24.12.41 to Budapest, 10pf from 1.1.1925. ‘Return to sender – not permitted’. Pictorial cards, even Christmas greetings as here, were prohibited by wartime censorship regulations.

Postscript 65/176

Fig. 6 Printed matter card 28 January 1941 to Hungary at inland rate: to 50g, 3pf. This was before the introduction on 1 July 1942 of the ‘Europe tariff’ to Hungary.

Bohemia & Moravia, General Government, Ostland and Ukraine These four territories came under Reichspost control at various dates from 1939 to 1941. Letter mail to them attracted inland rates, including any ancillary fees. Occupied Luxembourg to Belgium Mail from Luxembourg to Belgium enjoyed inland rates. This continued after the German occupation in 1940 until superseded by the ‘Europe tariff’ to Belgium on 1 January 1943.

Fig. 7 Letter from Luxembourg city to Brussels posted 25.2.1942. Inland letter to 20g, 12pf; foreign express fee, 50pf. Censored in Cologne.

Postscript 65/177

‘Europe tariff’ with occupied and allied countries To aid the war effort, particularly the sending of heavier items of mail needed for commerce, the Reichspost negotiated a series of bilateral agreements with eleven occupied or friendly countries so that all classes of letter mail from the German Reich to those countries enjoyed German internal rates and weight steps, with similar reductions in the reverse direction. These rates are generally known in German as the Europatarif. The dates these bilateral agreements came into effect are: Italy 1 January 1942 Romania 15 July 1942 Netherlands 1 January 1942 Bulgaria 1 September 1942 Finland 1 April 1942 Norway 1 September 1942 Denmark 1 June 1942 Slovakia 1 September 1942 Hungary 1 July 1942 Belgium 1 January 1943 Croatia 1 July 1942 Fig. 8 Inland rate for ‘Europe tariff’ to the Netherlands: very early date. The treaty with the Netherlands came into effect on 1.1.1942. Letter dated 6.1.1942 to 20g, 12pf. Censored in Cologne.

Fig. 9 Although the bilateral agreement with Belgium, effective 1 January .1943, introduced inland rates for letter mail, foreign rates (and conditions of service) continued to apply to express delivery and other ancillary services. ‘Inland’ letter 25.10.1943 to 20g, 12pf; foreign express delivery fee, 50pf; registration fee, 30pf (there was no difference in the inland and foreign registration fees).

Postscript 65/178

European Postal Union (EPU) rates The EPU Convention was signed in Vienna on 19 October 1942 and came into effect on 1 April 1943. On that date letters and postcards to all signatory countries from the German Reich enjoyed German internal rates and weight steps. Other classes of letter mail were not affected. The only countries not already covered by bilateral agreements were:

Albania 1 April 1943 San Marino 1 April 1943 Fig. 10 Airmail postcard 30.5.1944 from Vienna to German-occupied Albania. EPU rates to Albania continued after the resumption of services on 1 April 1944 – they had been suspended following the Italian capitulation. ‘Inland’ postcard 6pf; airmail fee 10pf.

Fig. 11 Attempted use on 2.10.1944 of inland rate to Serbia, which was, perhaps surprisingly, not party to the use of inland rates. Foreign postcard 15pf; less inland postcard paid 6pf; deficiency 9pf. Returned to sender as posted in a postbox, rather than over the counter, and it lacked 9pf (‘es fehlen 9 Rpf’ in pencil on label).

Postscript 65/179

DISINFECTION OF MARITIME MAIL AT ALEXANDRIA, 1838 to 1840 – Denis Vandervelde The very able Khedive of Egypt noted the precautions against cholera taken in Malta by Great Britain and France in 1837, and instituted strict quarantine on foreign vessels calling at Alexandria. But no official authorisation for the disinfection of mail has yet emerged, and the practice was so little used that fewer than a dozen examples are recorded. As in India, there was little point in treating mail against a disease already raging in his own country. But passengers and baggage on ships, (including any letters), must be quarantined and ‘fumigated’. The reports of John Bowring to Viscount Palmerston in 1840 are frank : Can anything be more absurd, when plague is raging in the ports of Syria and Egypt, to put vessels into quarantine in those very ports. At Alexandria, when more than a hundred persons were dying a-day, vessels from healthy places were subjected to long quarantines.

No cachet is known prior to May 1838, when three types appeared: all had disappeared before the close of 1839. I am indebted to Colin Tabeart for his reading of British naval vessels’ logs on the short-lived service between Beyrouth and Alexandria, 1836 to 1839 : see his ‘Admiralty Mediterranean Steam Packets’, published by James Bendon, Limassol, 2002.

HMS. Blazer, 29 January 1837. Anchored at Alexandria and landed the mail. Pratique officer came alongside and put the vessel in quarantine.

HMS. Firefly, 24 April 1837. Anchored at 1.15 (pm) at Alexandria. Rec’d pratique. Commdr. landed with the mails 6.10 (pm) rec’d mails and started engines.

HMS. Firefly, 29 April 1837. Anchored off the Granary (Alexandria)7.20(am). Rec’d pratique. Commander landed with the mail.

HMS. Hermes, Saturday, 26 August 1837. Received a pilot at 4.10. Anchored in the old harbour of Alexandria. Rec’d pratique and delivered the mails.

HMS. Hermes. 4 October 1837. Anchored in Old Harbour of Alexandria. Received pratique and landed the mails. In December 1837, the Rev. Edward Robinson took a voyage by Austrian steamships to the Holy Land. At Alexandria, the captain was notified that his vessel would have to be quarantined, but this did not happen as Egypt was not enforcing quarantine against Greece. But once in Alexandria he wrote, The last French steamer, which arrived just a week before us, had by some negligence received on board at Syra letters and packages from Smyrna and Constantinople, without their having been fumigated at the Health Office. In consequence of this, the ship had been put in quarantine at Alexandria for 20 days, and passengers for 7 days. After a brief visit to Lebanon, Robinson left Beyrouth on 8 July on the English govt. steamer Megaera for Alexandria, where she was quarantined. (Colin Tabeart’s Admiralty Mediterranean Steam Packets notes that HMS Megaera left 8 July, arriving at Alexandria on 10 July, but with no mention of quarantine). Robinson remained on board rather than risk the lazaretto. Formal correspondence between diplomats in 1840, only published by the Ath. Politis, Cairo, in Greek in 1931, provides the necessary background..

Postscript 65/180

Alexandria, 16 January, 1840.

As the Minister will be aware, the viceroy established a Lazaret seven years ago to preserve the state from disease, and charged the Consular Corps with organising and directing the service. But there have been incidents which have disturbed His Highness, principally the recent decision to cease quarantining vessels coming from Turkey with clean bills of health. For this reason, His Highness decided to remove the service from the Consular Corps, and entrust it to Minister Borghos Bey, with the help of merchants from every nation, each serving for one month. The consuls did not accept this order, which annoyed the Viceroy, who has provisionally suspended the sanitary service. However, the sanitary service has not ceased, and has today uncovered a case of plague.

In British Parliamentary Papers, there is evidence that the Viceroy had his way initially. A document in Italian and English sets out the new Regulations. Dated 21 January, 1840, it bears the names of the first seven Intendants : the Englishman was A.C. Harris.

However, on 4 February, Consul Larking wrote to Col. Hodges as follows: Both as to its regulations and the members composing it, this board is precisely the same as the one lately abolished ... as regards personal liberty in time of plague, this power is arbitrary and liable to abuses: it authorises the removal of whole families to the lazaretto, on the suspicion of a case of plague have {sic} occurred in their house. As regards shipping... nothing is easier to find than a flaw in a Bill of Health, and consequently a motive for putting the vessel into quarantine. In a country like this, where the Government are so mixed up with the trade of the place, the greatest caution ought to be used in granting them a power so easily abused. I therefore suggest no quarantine on British shipping be recognised, unless sanctioned by the Consulate. The board also claims the right of levying quarantine dues.

On 20 April 1840, Hodges advised: I have reserved to Her Majesty’s Consul the sole right of examining the papers, etc, of all vessels bearing the British flag which may enter this port; and that it is by the Consul’s authority such vessels are placed in quarantine, when the justice of the case requires it. The disinfection of mail : the Lazzaretto.

The clearest copy yet seen of the fine ‘beaded oval’ Lazzaretto di Alessandria, on a Diplomatic letter from Nizza (Nice) on 3 May 1838, sent to the Sardinian Consul-General.

It was missent to Alessandria, Piedmont. It was punched at Alexandria by a device which left an ‘aureole’ around each hole and soaked in disinfectant. A weaker impression is known on a cover, without contents, from the Sanità in Genoa to an

official in Alexandria, also in 1838: date not known. It was rastelled, with no obvious aureoles, and slightly discoloured by disinfection, but not soaked like that of 3 May.

Postscript 65/181

A third Lazzaretto di Alessandria entire only transited Alexandria. Posted London 4 May 1838, to be forwarded to India, Care of Mr. Waghorn / Alexandria.

It is surprising that it was deemed to need treatment, when Britain and France were free of cholera, the only disease which might have alarmed the Egyptians. It travelled from Calais to Marseille to catch the French ss. Scamandre, leaving for Malta on 11 May. Thence by the Rhamses to Syra on 18 May to catch the Minos to Alexandria. It arrived 24 May, 1838. After it had been disinfected, Waghorn’s service took it to Suez in time to catch an E.I.C. steamship arriving in Bombay on 15 July. It was soaked in a disinfectant liquid: but, (uniquely, so far as is known), it was neither rastelled nor slit. Mr. Waghorn’s agent may have persuaded lazaretto staff not to pierce their client’s letters. Three letters are known which were conveyed by Waghorn and passed through Alexandria, but without being cachetted. One was sent from Bombay to Ireland, Care of Mr. Waghorn, who put it into the French P.O. at Alexandria on 27 May 1838. It is relatively clean, with two disinfection slits certified at Malta. Such examples suggest that the cachet was only used earlier in May 1838. All three letters were taken care of by a Waghorn agent, who seems not to have taken them to the Lazzaretto, but directly to a foreign post office. In short, the Lazzaretto, (off the shore of the Porto Nuovo), was probably operating from 1837 to 1839, using a cachet in May 1838, but it was usually evaded by foreign mail carriers.

Postscript 65/182

The disinfection of mail : the porto nuovo

The scarcest of the three cachets, shown here, is the sole example seen, to date. From the French consulate, Tarsus endorsed Service public. Probably conveyed in the diplomatic bag to Alexandria. After cachetting at the uffizio sanitario in Porto Nuovo, it was transferred to the French P.O. On 27 November 1838, it was carried by the French steamship Sesostris to Syra and thence by Rhamses on 1 December to Malta, arriving 4 December 1838. Slit there, as certified by a Purifié cachet on the face, it was sent to Paris, where, a mss. 6 francs due was cancelled with the words au dos, explaining that its consular origin on the reverse had been overlooked. It was twice redirected, as shown by the Paris postmens’ numbered marks. The cachet, clearly from the same ‘stable’ as the Lazzaretto mark, is of similar dimensions, viz. 43 x 33 mm. That it has been seen used only in November 1838, after the latest known dates for the Lazaretto cachet, suggests that mail from suspect ships was no longer being directed to the Lazaretto. More than five years earlier, in January 1832, the Consular Board had notified foreign consuls that quarantine and disinfection was being discontinued at the Porto Vecchio and that all ships were to go to Porto Nuovo. The disinfection of mail : the Porto Vecchio

Several letters to British Consul Larking in Alexandria from his wife, who was travelling in the Levant, have survived. They were each cachetted with a similar oval to the others, but reading uffizio sanitario in Porto Vecchio. The one shown was prepaid at the French P.O. in Constantinople. It was taken by the French steamship Leoni to Syra, arriving 21 September 1839. Carried from there by the ss. Rhamses, arriving Alexandria 24th. September and released to the French P.O. the same day. As with all known letters cachetted there, (from 14th.December 1838), it has two slits made by a one-inch (British-made) chisel, probably used by Consular staff. The contents include:

Our voyage as far as Rhodes was very disagreeable, having so many Turks and black slaves, who were all sick upon deck ... Waghorn left at Smyrna to come with another steamer ... that stops a few minutes at Tenedos. He thinks he is the only person to settle the affairs of the East

Postscript 65/183

GB: EARLY OFFICIAL LETTERS AND THE INTRODUCTION OF THE FRANKING SYSTEM – Bob Galland For the purposes of this display I included Royal, Departmental and Parliamentary mail as ‘Official’ mail. The display concluded in the year 1799 by which time the Franking System was well-established with handstamps becoming a recognised feature of it. Although it is likely that letters from members of both Houses of Parliament and from Official Departments had always been carried free of postage, no specific written authority existed until 1652 when the Franking System was introduced. A Court Post was established during the reign of Edward II. By the time of the reign of Elizabeth I messengers, paid by the Exchequer, carried letters from Court to locations within London and the Provinces.

Figure 1 illustrates a Treasury Warrant for Letters carried from London to Devon, Cornwall, Dorset and Somerset. Dated at the top in Latin: The month of April in the present ninth Regnal Year of our lady Queen Elizabeth ie 1567. This relates to the earliest period of mail-carrying to the West

Fig. 1

Postscript 65/184

Country. Authorises payment at 2s-8d per day for the 30 days journey to Phillippe Conway, one of the Ordenarye (sic) Messangers of the quene’s (sic) Maiestie’s (sic) Chamber. Signed Winchester who was William Paulet, first Marquess of Winchester, Lord Treasurer to Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I. Departmental mail can be considered as arising from three broad groups. Government Departments which existed before the Restoration of the Monarchy included the Admiralty which had been in existence for about 200 years by the time of introduction of the Franking System.

Fig. 2a

Fig. 2b

Figures 2a & 2b show an entire signed by King Charles I from our court at Windsor, ye 8th day of July 1627. Addressed To our right honourable Lourd (sic) Cousin and Counsellor the Earl Marshall. The letter deals with the cost of maintaining the king’s ships and the need to sell some to raise funds. Being from the king there are no postal markings. Only the king, his ministers and friends could use the Post at this time. In 1635 it was opened to the public. Other departments were created by Acts of Parliament or established by the Privy Council. These all appeared on the General Franking List. In addition, a steady stream of Special Franking Acts provided the franking privilege for individual departments not on that list. Finally, letters sent out, usually in small numbers, for political or charitable reasons were granted privilege by Treasury Minute. From the 16th century, letters of extreme urgency could be authorised by top officials only. These Official Express Letters were endorsed Haste Post Haste (or similar) and were carried without a break, other than to change horses and were often inscribed with routes and times of arrival.

Postscript 65/185

Fig. 3

Figure 3 is a Civil War period entire (ca 1643/44) from Sir Patrick Curwen at Workington Hall, Cumberland. Sent to Sir Henry ffletchor, Sir George Dalston and Sir Thomas Daczo, Commissioners of army. It was carried across the Lake District to Hutton on official King’s business. Contents discuss attempts to find arms for Royalist forces. Endorsed ffor his ma.tys speciall (sic) affairs and Hast hast post hast. There are no postal charges. Fig. 4

A Commonwealth period entire dated 9 June 1653 is illustrated in Figure 4. From Robert Lilburne, it is addressed For his Excy General Cromwell att (sic) Whitehall and endorsed Hast Hast. Lilburne (1613-1665), a Commissioner at the trial of Charles I, was one of the 59 who signed the death warrant. After the Restoration of the Monarchy he was sentenced to death. This was commuted to life imprisonment. In this letter he complains of a shortage of stores in Scotland and requests further supplies as soon as possible.

Postscript 65/186

Fig. 5

Figure 5 shows an entire dated 31 October 1653 to the Lord President of the Counsell (sic) of State. Concerns Guns for ship to carry the Lord Ambassador’s goods to Sweden. Signed by Hugh Peters, Geo Cokayn, Ro Stapylton, Nath Ingslo and John Walker. Hugh Peters was regarded as being one of the regicides, though he did not sign the death warrant. He was hanged, drawn and quartered on 16 October 1660 having been found guilty of inciting regicide. All official letters seemed to have passed free from 1652 to around the time of the Restoration of the Monarchy. From then there is some confusion as to the workings of the Franking System. There seem to be three main reasons for this. Firstly, the Convention Parliament which met 25 April 1660 proclaimed on 8 May that Charles II had been legal monarch since the death of Charles I. Thus all Acts introduced during the Commonwealth period were rescinded. Since this included the Franking Act of 1652 franking was abolished. It seems, however, that some letters were carried free as an act of grace. Others were not. Following complaints from members of both Houses the King was petitioned to restore free mail. This was granted by Royal Warrant 14 May 1661. Secondly, Great Britain and colonies had the year start as March 25 until 1752 when the Gregorian calendar was finally adopted. For letters dated 1 January-24 March, it is impossible to know which year is meant before 1752 unless both years are stated. Finally there is the inevitable problem with regard to human error; mistakes by post office officials will occur.

Fig. 6

Postscript 65/187

Fig. 7

Figures 6 and 7 demonstrate this point. Entire dated 11 December 1660 ffor (sic) my much honored (sic) brother Edmunde Prideaux esq at Padstowe (sic) in Cornwall [Figure 6]. Signed below the address Will Morice who was Secretary of State 1660 to 1668. His frank was granted allowing the letter to go free. On the other hand, the entire from Guildhall, London dated 16th October 1660 to the high Sheriff of the County of Derby from the Commissioners for Disbanding the Army was charged [Figure 7]. The contents concerned gathering cash for paying off the Cromwellian army. Despite being signed by three Privy Councillors, namely Wheeler, Richard Browne and Thomas Player, postage was paid.

Fig. 8

Following the Royal Warrant of May 1661 charges were generally applied correctly. However there was still some misunderstanding as to which letters required payment as illustrated in the text (part of which is shown) of the entire dated 13th March 1661 (1662) [Figure 8]. No charge is made as Clare has been recognised as being entitled to free postage.

Postscript 65/188

…You were cosend (cheated) in paying three pence for the carriage of your former letter to me (no date provided) though I did not pay for it heer (sic), for no member of either house of Parlement (sic) that is heer doth pay (postage) during the sitting of Parlement for any letter he either sends or receaves (sic)… A number of 17th century items followed. An entire dated 6th May 1665, the year of the Great Plague, endorsed post pd and pd 3(d) as Parliament was not sitting, making the franking privilege invalid. Parliament was transferred to Oxford during this time. An entire, dated 8 December 1678, from the Earl of Orrery to Robert Southwell of his Maties (sic) most honble (sic) Privy Councell (sic) at his house in Spring Garden. It was probably sent from Dublin with manuscript 6(d) crossed out and initialled. A letter regarding Hull defences to the commissioners of his Maties (sic) ordnance and the principal officers of Kg James, dated 22 October 1681. A charge of 3(d) was made which was crossed out. An entire dated 6th June 1687 written and signed by Courtney Pole, Sheriff of Devon and MP for Honiton. Addressed to the Right Honoble (sic) George Barron Wembe and Ld high Chanselor (sic) of Englande (sic). This was surprisingly charged 3 as Barron Wembe was Judge Jeffries!

Fig. 9

Finally, early examples of handstamps were shown including the first marks of Dublin and London. The London experimental handstamp of 1799 illustrated in Figure 9 has only been recorded used on 23rd and 24th July. It was thought to be short-lived because its use resulted in the Vs tearing mail. Bibliography

Scott JGS. Official Franking 1800-1840. The Postal History Society, 1983.

Bottomley, F. The Franking System in the Post Office 1652-1840. Presidential Display, Society of Postal Historians, April 1988.

Lovegrove JW. Herewith My Frank. 2nd Edition. KB Printers Ltd, Bournemouth, 1989 (and supplements).

Bob Galland . Free Franks: What’s in a Name? Postscript 2012, 63, 137-141.

Postscript 65/189

SHIP-SHORE COMMUNICATIONS IN THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY Colin Tabeart A small display of this material at the recent SPH Meeting hosted by Pat Reid evoked some interest, hence this article. Persons wishing to communicate with others either from or to ships had a number of options, some of which are examined below.

Ocean Letters. Perhaps the simplest was the Ocean Letter. This was a message accepted aboard a ship for transmission by wireless to another ship proceeding in the opposite direction. The receiving ship posted the message by registered post on arrival at her first port of call.

The general rules for Ocean Letters and Poste-Radiotelegrams are set out above on the back of the Marconi form for the Ocean Letter shown below. If possible such items should be collected with both the message form and the despatching registered envelope. Shown below is a 1927/28 message from the outbound steamship San Ugen transmitted by radio to the inbound ss Metagua for mailing on arrival at Avonmouth.

Postscript 65/190

Postscript 65/191

Poste-Radio Telegrams. As noted above radio telegrams were accepted aboard the despatching ship for transmission by radio to a vessel proceeding in any direction, the message being forwarded by post on arrival. They resemble Ocean Letters but went by ordinary as opposed to registered post. They were perhaps the cheapest of the various message services.

Above is the envelope of a 1933 Poste-Radio Telegram to Wantage, landed on arrival at Plymouth, where treated as a Paquebot item. Sadly the message has not survived. Radiograms from ships to shore

These were radioed direct to shore from ships carrying the necessary powerful transmitters. Shown below is a very early message from the Holland-America liner Rotterdam via Radio Cape Race Feb 20th 1915 with the Western Union Telegraph Co envelope below.

Postscript 65/192

At 24,149 tons Rotterdam was the largest Dutch ship at the time. On her first wartime voyage to New York she carried 1386 first, 708 second, and 278 third class passengers. This was the largest number of first class passengers ever carried in one ship, primarily Americans escaping the war. Laid up in 1916 until the end of the war due to the U-boat menace, she was finally scrapped in 1940. Radiograms from shore to Ships.

Radiograms could also be sent from shore to ship. Above is a 1928 radiogram from New York to a lady aboard the Cunarder Berengaria. On receipt in the ship’s wireless office these would be typed out onto the relevant form, placed in an envelope, and delivered to the passenger. Note the advert at the bottom: A Remington typewriter was used for typing this message. In the UK the outgoing service was divided into three according to the receiving ship’s range from the transmitter. The range bands were: up to 250 miles, 250-1500 miles, and worldwide.

Postscript 65/193

The various transmitting stations and their ranges are shown below in a GPO publication, sadly undated. Only Devizes was capable of the intermediate range, and Rugby the world-wide coverage. Rugby transmitted, and still transmits, at a very low frequency. Its transmissions can also be read to a reasonable depth below water, and it is still used to communicate with dived submarines around the world.

Postscript 65/194

The cost of sending a message was substantial, as laid out in the same GPO leaflet. For most ships in the short and medium range bands it cost 11d a word. There were concessions: to HM Ships within 250 miles, 7d; to ships constantly engaged within the British Isles (ferries, coasters etc) 3½d a word; to ships engaged in North Sea, Baltic, and Bay of Biscay 5½d a word. The long-range Rugby service cost 1/6d a word with no apparent concessions.

I do not know how such services were organised in other countries, but the Australian and New Zealand newspapers carried daily forecasts of what ships would be within (unspecified) wireless range. The messages from the Rotterdam and to the Berengaria reproduced above show that the USA had a system probably similar to that of the UK. Doubtless all major countries had their own systems. Ship Letter Telegrams Introduced on 1 June 1931, Ship Letter Telegrams were a supposedly cheaper form of radio telegram service for non-urgent messages. Messages, which had to be in plain English, could be sent from any ship to any UK or Irish address via a Post Office coastal radio station. Messages were forwarded on receipt by normal post to the addressee. The charge in 1963 was 10 shillings for 20 words plus 6d per additional word, payable in cash by the sender. A 1968 ship letter telegram from the light fleet carrier HMS Hermes (shown below). Received at Bridgewater, Somerset, and posted to recipient. Her main claim to fame was as one of the two carriers sent to the 1982 Falklands War.

Postscript 65/195

Perhaps inevitably the ability to send messages from ships to shore was exploited commercially in some instances. Shown below is a 1933 postcard, with a message from the Royal Mail Lines ship Atlantis, to a private addressee in Liverpool. The message on the back of the card is a radiogram from the ship giving details of her cruise to date. This would seem to be some kind of service offered to friends or relatives of passengers aboard to let them know how the cruise was progressing. I do not know whether the service was included in the passage money, or was an additional charge.

Postscript 65/196

Radio messages sent in clear could obviously be read by any vessel (or indeed amateur radio enthusiast) equipped with the necessary radio apparatus. The Marconigram shown below is marked (Intercepted) – this is not easy to read at the bottom centre of the red band but it is there! It is apparently from a ship called City of Spokane on 8 October 1926 from a position 26.15 degrees north, 130.30 degrees east in the East China Sea referring to a typhoon over the Balinting Channel, north of Luzon at about 123 east and 20 north, moving north west, i.e. towards the East China Sea. Sent to the ss West Calina who was presumably in the likely track of the typhoon as a warning. The identity of both ships, as well as the intercepting vessel, has not been ascertained, but hopefully both were able to avoid the typhoon as a result of the warning.

Postscript 65/197

SHERBORNE MEETING, 11 OCTOBER 2015 – CONVENOR: Wilf Vevers Standing and opening displays: Mike Roberts (Ilkley) Scilly Isles Following displays: Geoff Amos Australia/Oriental Mail David Ashby Australian Mails via Torres Straits Colin Baker Zanzibar Frank Bennett Allan Shipping Line Kevin Darcy Cayman Islands Provisionals John Dickson World War 2 Italians in France Richard Farman Napoleonic POW Mail Barry Hobbs Peru TPOs Peter Kelly Reunion Military Correspondence 1970 to 1900 Charles Leonard Russia-Prussia 1851 Postal Treaty Grahame Lindsay Italian Postage Dues Graham Mark Gallipoli and After Gerald Marriner Early Belgian Congo Jeremy Martin Salisbury Slogan Cancels Susan McEwen Perek 1942 to 1944 Bill Pipe Dorset Miscellaneous Malcolm Ray-Smith Elizabethan Letters Claire Scott Brunei Airmails John Scott Wafer Seals Richard Stroud 4th Battalion Somerset Light Infantry 1899 to 1902 Kim Stuckey South American Airmails Ingrid Swinburn Battle for Tobruk Colin Tabeart Recent Acquisitions Judith Viney Labrador Bob Viney Rutland Peter Wingent* 1930s Airmail – unusual Rates Also in attendance: Max Smith (President), Brian Cropp, Rodney Frost, Reg Gleave, Andrew Norris, Maurice Porter and Tony Swinburn* Guests joining us for luncheon: Ann Bennett, Adrienne Dickson and Anne Ray-Smith * = Guest

Postscript 65/198

SALISBURY SLOGAN CALCELLATIONS – Jeremy Martin These can be divided into categories. There are statements such as Trade follows the Flag. Then there are instructional such as WW2 Dig for Victory [Fig. 1]. Another category is promotional slogans. Salisbury used these to promote its Arts Festival, now known as the Salisbury Festival. In 1967 you could park free for two hours [Fig. 2]. Nowadays you almost need to take out a small loan!

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

Postscript 65/199

EARLY ZANZIBAR – Colin Baker Zanzibar is the name given to a group of islands off the east coast of Africa, just south of the equator. It is also the name of the main island in the group and the name of the main town on that island. Despite Zanzibar being on one of the main Arab trading routes, it did not have its own postal service until well into the second half of the 19th century. In 1868 a post office was opened in the British Consulate in Zanzibar, but it closed just nine months later following complaints from other powers that the consulate should not be used for such a purpose. Finally in 1875 the Indian Post Office opened a sub office in Zanzibar using Indian stamps and postal stationery. By 1895 the Zanzibar government had decided it should run its own post office and issue its own stamps, and they formally took control from 1 July of that year. However the new stamps and stationery had not been delivered from England and Indian stamps and stationery continued to be used, but they now carried a single line overprint Zanzibar. This continued until 1896 when the new stamps and stationery were issued, carrying the portrait of the ruling Sultan, Sayyid Hamid bin Thwain. His reign ended in August 1896 when it is believed he was poisoned by Sayyid Khalid bin Barghash Al-Busaid who wanted the throne for himself, establishing himself in the Sultan's Palace. The British disagreed with this move, wanting Sayyid Hamoud bin Mohammed bin Said to take over. They quickly assembled a force consisting of 3 cruisers, 2 gunboats, 150 marines and 900 askaris (men from the local militia) and just after 9.00am on 27 August they began shelling the Palace. After about 30 minutes a white flag appeared on the top of the ruins, but Al-Busaid had fled to the German Consulate. He was then spirited away to German East Africa (now Tanzania). This is said to be the shortest war in history, lasting somewhere between 30 and 40 minutes. The British immediately put Mohammed bin Said on the throne, but had to rebuild the Palace that they had completely destroyed that morning. Fig. 1 Envelope sent Zanzibar to Mundra, posted in the period 1879 to 1882. This type of cancellation did not indicate the year of posting.

Postscript 65/200

Fig. 2 ½ anna postal stationery envelope used in the period 1879-82

Fig. 3 ¼ anna East India post card uprated with 1½ anna stamp and used from Zanzibar to Holland 1892, and forwarded to Baden Baden.

Fig. 4 2½ anna bin Thwain issue postal stationery envelope used to Germany 1901

Postscript 65/201

Fig. 5 6 cents Mohammed bin Said issue specimen reply postcard

WESTERN DESERT WW2 – Ingrid Swinburn Earlier this year I purchased, in Auction, a large collection of covers relating to the fighting that took place in North Africa, and I have since then been attempting to sort it out. My display shows work in progress. I have tried to relate the story of the fighting that took place and have tried to determine where the letter was sent from and where the writer was located. After the fall of France the Allies were concerned that Hitler may send troops to try to capture the Suez Canal, if this happened there would be serious problems for Britain, supply lines between Britain and her Colonies would be made even more difficult. After Italy entered the War in July 1940, Britain needed a deep water port on the North African coast, Tobruk was ideal. At that time it was not heavily defended by the Italians. In January 1941 the Australian 6th Division made an assault on Tobruk and were able to capture it within 24 hours. 27,000 Italians were captured along with 208 guns and 28 tanks. By the first week in February the Italians were driven from Cyrenaica and their 10th Army had surrendered. Churchill called a halt to the advance, the Australian 6th Division and a New Zealand Division were withdrawn from the Western desert and sent to help in the defence of Greece. Many other divisions were sent to Cairo to repair their tanks and to prepare the defences there. German troops were sent to North Africa to help the Italians and Rommel was put in charge and started a build-up of the Afrika Korp. On 24th March 1041 Rommel advanced from his Headquarters. The Allies fell back to stop the Axis advance on Benghazi and to block any move onto Mechill. The British 3rd Armoured division was ordered to Meus to stop any supplies falling into Axis hands and then headed back

Postscript 65/202

to Mechill. As a result routes to Benghazi and Mechill remained open. Rommel brought forward some of his troops to try to engage and stop the Allied advance. By the 10th April Rommel had Tobruk surrounded and so the siege began. There were many attempts to break out and Operation Crusader was launched on 18th November to relieve the town and they succeeded on the 24th. Rommel then withdrew to Gazala as he could not maintain his long supply lines. This resulted in the complete relief of Tobruk and the occupation of Cyrenaica by the Allies. On June 1st in a surprise attack Rommel captured Tobruk. In July the first battle of El Alamein took place. At the end of July the Allies attacked Tobruk. From 23rd October to 11th November the 2nd battle of El Alamein took place. On 8th November Operation Torch took place, 100,000 men landed at 8 different sites along 900 miles of coastline of North Africa, the Germans were then in retreat. On 11th Casablanca was captured and hostilities ceased in French North Africa. On 13th the Allies advanced on Tunisia, fighting continued and on 23rd January 1943 the 8th Army entered Tripoli, then on 7th March Rommel attacked the 8th Army, but, was driven back, on 18th April the German air convoy was smashed off Tunisia. On 7th May Tunis and Bizerte are captured, by 12th all German resistance ceased and 291,00 prisoners are taken. With the number of troops involved in North Africa the distribution of mail was difficult. Most mail was sent via Cairo. A Base Post Office was set up in the civilian Post Office, but was not big enough. In April 1941 it moved to the 'Old Greek School'. The sheer volume of mail meant that it was very slow, troops were not happy about this as news was coming through that the Germans were bombing Britain. When the Italians entered the war it meant that the Mediterranean could not be used. Sea post had to go round Cape of Good Hope, and air mail went by sea to West Africa and then by air to Khartoum. The introduction of airletters did help as they reduced the weight of mail so greater amounts of mail could be carried. The real difference was the introduction of the Airgraph, letters were photographed in Britain and the letters were sent on reels of film and then enlarged on arrival. Reels of film 100ft long could have 1600 letter forms on them and only weighted 5½oz as opposed to the same number of letters weighing 35lbs. The volume was great, the reels were printed and folded by machine, but had to be put in the envelopes by hand. This was done by Egyptian boys who could put 500 to 600 forms in envelopes in an hour and maintain this speed for about 4 hours at a time. Middle East Command covered a large area from Syria to Egypt and Sudan. There were static Army Post Offices in strategic locations with Line of Communications postal units. There were eight of these units in North Africa and one in the Middle East. When mail arrived in Cairo it was sorted into bundles and sent to the appropriate Army Post Office where it was sorted into LoC Postal Units and forwarded by whatever means of transport was available, most common were the railways. By the end of May 1943 there were 53 APOs serving LoCs and 36 British FPOs. There were another 50 APOs of other nationalities, which included India, South Africa, New Zealand, Free French, Belgian, Poland, Greece and Sudan, who worked in co-operation with the British. The Americans operated their own postal service which operated separate from Britain.

Postscript 65/203

PERAK 1942 THE RE-OPENING OF THE POSTAL SERVICE Susan McEwen The closing of the Postal service in Malaya as the Japanese and Allied troops fought their way down the Peninsula (December 1941 – February 1942) was probably one of the lesser problems faced by those who lived there. After the Fall of Singapore, 15 February 1942, the postal service was re-opened there on 16 March, which by the way was after fishing re-started, the same day as the Trolley buses started but before the schools reopened. Other Malay States opened on different dates, Perak was on 1 April 1942. Initially each State had a local service within the State, later extended to a service between States. Perak is a large state on the West Coast of the Malay Peninsula, formerly part of the Federated Malay States it is now part of Malaysia. The Postal rates before the occupation were 4c for Postcards, 8c for letters, locally or within the Empire. The UPU letter rate was 15c. For reasons which remain unclear Perak and Kedah started their service with 15c as the letter rate. All the other states used the pre-occupation 8c rate. A possible explanation is that the UPU letter rate applied to mail going to Japan, and as Malaya was now part of the Greater Japan the rate within Malaya should be the same as the rate to the Japanese homeland. But it must be emphasised that this is speculation! With no Japanese overprinted stamps to pay for postage, the postmasters accepted 15c cash for each item and initialled the covers.

Fig. 1 From Ipoh to Taiping 1 April 2602 in the Japanese Calendar (1942). The red oblong ‘chop’ is the personal chop of Hayashi Tomo Chi, a Japanese Postal Official.

Similar from Taiping, Tapah and Sitiawan were also shown. On 18 April Singapore started sending post to other parts of Malaya, and the Inter-state service started. Perak sent its first mail out of State on 20 April.

Postscript 65/204

Fig. 2 Ipoh to Singapore (renamed Syonan by the Japanese) an Ipoh Postage Paid boxed mark was pressed into service.

At the end of April a Postal Conference was held, and the States decided to return to the pre-occupation postal rates, with effect from 6 May. Only Perak and Kedah had to change. Fig. 3 8c rate, Teluk Anson to Singapore, 8 May. Still with the manuscript Postage Paid and initials but now 8c.

With a locally made cancel with Perak Yubin Kyoku meaning Perak Postal service, around the rim. The town name, and year were fixed inside. These postmarks are known as ‘Cogwheels’ because of their rims and were issued across Perak. Someone - probably in the Perak postal service had translated the manuscript address as ‘Singapore’

Postscript 65/205

Manuscript postage paid and cash payments were clearly unsatisfactory beyond the start up of the service. The Japanese overprinted stamps, and these were available from the 12 May in the main towns of Perak, and a little later in remoter parts. Fig. 4 8c rate from Sungei Siput to Ipoh. The stamp had been overprinted Dai Nippon 2602 Malaya. The date was added by hand to the Cogwheel cancel, 22/5 being 22 May 1942. The stamp and cancel are on the back of the cover, the small rectangular mark is a censor mark.

Fig. 5 Cover with 15c paid in cash. The letter is enclosed in this cover, the sender is apologising for delay in returning a book on Jurisprudence and Toxicology

Perak was back to having the same postal rates as the rest of Malaya, with stamps and postmarks, and without their temporary and provisional usages about six weeks after the post re-opened.

Postscript 65/206

POSTAL EVIDENCE OF THE OCCUPATION OF REGIONS OF FRANCE BY ITALIAN FORCES DURING WW2 – John Dickson Italy declared war on France on 10 June 1940 and by an armistice of 25 June 1940 annexed a series of border localities, Menton (Mentone) being the most important, and set up a demilitarised zone extending 50 kms west of the pre-war border. Italy also established a submarine base at Bordeaux and a naval presence at Toulon. Operation Anton: consequent upon the allied landings in Morocco in November 1942 Germany occupied most of the former French free zone (Vichy) leaving an eastern sector from the Swiss border as far as Toulon to Italian forces. Italy also attempted the military occupation of Corsica. Between the fall of Mussolini on 25 July 1943 and an armistice of 9 September 1943 certain Italian units withdrew participation in the war. Under Operation Achse Germany took over the Italian zone and entered Italy; the Italian occupation of eastern France ended. The larger part of the Italian army was interned in Germany/Poland, some subsequently joined German units, others remained as internees. A minority of Italian occupants associated with Free France and the Maquis against Germany.

Fig. 1 Italian occupation first phase - military postcard from the Alpine frontier region of Montgenèvre/Abriès date-stamped 17 Sept 1940; censor cachet of 17 Battaglione CC. NN. (Black Shirts). Note Fascist year date XVIII in date-stamp.

Postscript 65/207

Fig. 2 Italian occupation second phase - military postcard type 40 with date-stamp type M of 17 April 1943 (Easter) and cachet of Stato Maggiore, Sezione "A" Comando 4 Armata, Posta Militare 1, located at Beaulieu sur Mer.

Fig. 3 Second phase - military postcard "Vinceremo" (2.8.42) with date-stamp type L of 9 July 1943 and cachet of 68 Regg. Fant CCR, Posta Militare 16, located at Draguinan.

Postscript 65/208

Fig. 4 Second phase - military postcard date-stamped 21 June 1943 at PM 168 (Marseille) and cachet of 3 Batt., 920 Regg. Art. Cote. with German unit identifier F.P. 25201. Milan censor stamps 81R and 252.

Fig. 5 Second phase – Letter written at Tolone (Toulon) on 28 May 1943 bearing No. 10 handstamp of the Italian Naval Base at Tolone; posted at Menton(e) and stamped Arrivi e Partenza.

Postscript 65/209

Fig. 6 Second phase – Letter date-stamped 14 June 1943 at Cannes written by Countess Euphemia Rzyszczewska addressed to Geneva. Italian civilian censorship 7 at Chambery.

Fig. 7 Corsica – Letter date-stamped (postmark type H) 22 April 1943 at PM 226, Ajaccio. Written from 2nd Compagnia, 465 Battaglione Costiero.

Postscript 65/210

Fig. 8 Corsica – Letter date-stamped (postmark type L) 31 August 1943 at PM 79 – Note Fascist year slugs deleted. Written from Gruppo 2, Batt. 6, 35 Regg. Artiglieria (Friuli) at Belgodère.

Fig. 9 BETASOM: Letter date-stamped 29 March 1944 Forze Subacquee Italiane in Atlantico, the Italian submarine base at Bordeaux. Note that this operation continued after Operation Achse under German control and that the Fascist Year XXII was used but the Arms of Savoy excised.

Postscript 65/211

Fig. 10 POW Letter-sheet dated 24 August 1945 from an Italian under control of French Depot de PG 182 at St. Médard en Jalles (Germignan Camp) near to Bordeaux – presumed to be captured at Bordeaux submarine base.

Brief Bibliography: GERARD, Claude L'occupation italienne en France a travers son service postal militaire (1940-1943).

In Les Feuilles Marcophiles, No. 338. Paris, 2009. Pp 155.

MARCHESE, Giuseppe, La Posta Militare Italiana 1939/1945. Vol. 1, 2nd Edition, 1991. Vol. 2, 2002. Pp. 344 and 396

TRAPNELL, David H. The postal history of the two-phased Italian Occupation of south-east France, 1940-1943. France & Colonies PS,. 2014, pp (48).

Postscript 65/212

OLD GB LETTERS – Malcolm Ray-Smith

1 1553 Privy Council of Rdward VI to pay household of Anne of Cleeves

1a Transcript with portrait of John Mason, Master of the posts

2 1558 Privy Council of Queen Mary to Lord High Treasurer

2a Portrait of William Paget, joint Master of the posts

3 1662 Hugh Barnard, Mayor of Haverfordwest

To the President of the Queen's Majesty's Counseull in the Marches of Wales

3a Transcript

4 1576 Signature of Queen Elizabeth with Commission to supress Pyrates addressed to Lord Cobham, Warden of our ffive ports

5 Wrapper embossed with Royal Seal of Arms

6 1583 Sir Francis Walsingham to his brother in law Walter Wildmay

7 Transcript

8 Portrait of Sir Francis

8a Portrait of Sir Walter Mildway, Walsingham's brother-in-law

9 1601 Privy Council of Elixabeth with instructions to the Lord Treasurer

10 Transcript

11 1645 Report from Sir Thomas Fairfax at the seige of Sherborne Castle

12 Transcript

MILITARY MAIL FROM AND TO THE ISLAND OF RÉUNION 1870 to 1899 – Peter Kelly

Since the British captured Réunion in 1810 there has been no civil or international war that has been reflected within the shores of Réunion. Nevertheless, Reunion has played its part as host to soldiers and sailors in transit and particularly in connection with the convalescence of troops engaged in the two Expeditionary Forces in Madagascar.

This article examines the role played by Réunion, especially from a medical viewpoint, and military mail that related from this. This includes a definition of mail eligible for either free postage or concessionary rates, the tariffs and dates of application of the franchise, the post offices recorded as having handled this category of mail and, importantly, the background to the presence of troops on the island. The article concludes with a selection of covers supporting the text. 1 Definition of military mail The Decree of 30 May 1871 (Application 16 June) lays down the general principle of how military mail is to be dealt with and this is divided into two categories:

The military (army and navy) forming part of an Expeditionary Force, officially described as being en campagne as promulgated by decree relating specifically to it, had the right of free mail (sous franchise) for letters not exceeding the first weight step. This also included troops wounded, ill and hospitalised. Mail sent by these means had to be marked with the name of the relevant campaign to which the franchise related (ie Corps Expeditionnaire de Madagascar) and an authorising handstamp (ie Réunion / Hôpital thermal de Salazie). The franchise given to the first Corps Expeditionnaire was decreed on 24 June 1885 and came into immediate effect and remained in place until July 1890, sometime after the

Postscript 65/213

cession of hostilities. This did not last long and serious problems beset the protectorate and an army, the second Expeditionary Force, was landed at Majunga in March 1895. Mail franchise was granted from 15 February 1895 until 31 December 1903.

Those troops simply on garrison duties in the Colonies or on station or passing through were allowed to send mail at the inland rate. This also covered registration. There was a strict proviso that this concession was only available to mail that could be carried under the French flag. (Law of 27 June 1792.) All eligible mail had to be marked with a handstamp indicating Correspondance d’Armées with the origin (i.e. Corr d’Armées / St Denis) together with an authorising handstamp.

On occasions, this does not happen and one has to rely on the rate and presence of authorising handstamp. The postal agents on board the French mailboats also had Correspondance d’Armées handstamps that were applied on occasions but not systematically to mail in transit.

None of this was affected by France joining the GPU / UPU.

The concessionary inland rate no longer applied and was no longer necessary after 1 January 1899 when all mail to and from the Colonies could be sent at the inland rate.

The postal authorities also emphasised that mail sent at the concessionary rate had to be franked with colonial stamps (ie. the imperforate general or colonial issues) and that mail franked with metropolitan stamps would be taxed as unpaid letter less the value of stamps affixed. [Ref. 1.] 2. Réunion and the Madagascar campaigns. The Réunionais do not appear to have written a great deal about either their own conscripts sent to Madagascar or the treatment of convalescent troops sent to the island. On the one hand, it was considered that the Réunion troops were poor quality and only fit for garrison duties and that the presence of the convalescent troops on the island was a disagreeable imposition. [Ref. 2] There certainly seemed to be an element of bitterness that the accession of Madagascar as a Colony pushed Réunion into a secondary position.

A report by Commandant Grandin [Ref. 3] refers to an action of April 1895 when two companies of Réunion tirailleurs (infrantrymen) performed well in the taking of a small fort, with the success of the venture due largely to them so there may well be two sides to the coin.

The greatest problem encountered by both Expeditions was that of health with a substantial number of the troops, particularly the European ones, suffering from water borne diseases, malaria and anaemia. Initially, troops that were seriously ill were sent to the convalescent unit at Nossi-Comba but this was quickly filled and the decision was made to send them to Réunion. But this did not happen immediately and up to 20 August 1895 convalescents were returned home to France and many, already weakened, died on the voyage home particularly while crossing the Red Sea. The climate was much healthier in Réunion, only 24 hours away by steamer. The main military hospital was stone built and situated at the highest point of the capital, Saint Denis. It had 256 beds with open windows through which the breeze could percolate. In the mountains to the south there were thermal spas at Salazie (Hell Bourg), Cilaos, St Francois and Mafate. Salazie was 900 metres above sea level. The general idea was that the convalescents spent a certain amount of time at St Denis and once their condition was stronger they could be transferred to the mountains for a final period. This worked well for the patients with a noticeable reduction in mortality. 3. The post offices The author is aware of only four offices having used date stamps incorporating correspondence d’Armées. The periods of use are those quoted by F.Feuga [Ref. 4] with a couple of improvements from the author.

Postscript 65/214

St Denis 1865 to 1901 Known in black, blue and red. Three types Hell Bourg 1887 to 1901 Known in black, blue and violet and without central slug St Paul 1865 to 1876(?) Rare St Pierre 1865 to 1878(?) Extremely Rare. It is logical that the majority of examples are from St Denis where the military hospital is situated and from Hell Bourg (Salazie) to a lesser extent. Examples from St Paul and St Pierre are rarely seen and their use must have been accidental. St Pierre was the second largest port on the island. 4. Concessionary mail rates The rate for a single weight letter from Réunion to France and vice-versa was the following. 1 April 1849 20c per 7½g 1 September 1871 25c per 10g 1 July 1850 25c per 7½g 1 January 1876 25c per 15g 1 July 1854 20c per 7½g 1 May 1878 15c per 15g 1 January 1862 20c per 10g References: 1 M Chauvet, J-F Brun Introduction à l’histoire postale 1848-1878. Contains valuable source and

general information 2 D. Vaxelaire Le gand livre de l’histoire de la Réunion. Tome II 1848-2000. 3 Cdt Grandin Les Francais à Madagascar. René Halon, Paris 1895 4 F.Feuga Marques postales et obliterations de l’île de la Réunion. Privately printed. 1994 5. Illustrations Finally, a selection of letters are shown illustrating the handstamps of the four offices and also inward mail sent sous franchise.

Fig. 5.1 The military concession rate was 15c per 15g from 1 May 1878 to 1 January1899

Transit: Cor d.Armées / Paq Fr T No 6 16 March

Montbrison (Isère) 4 April. St Antheme (Puy de Dome) 5 April. St Ambert (PdD) 6 April Carried by Messageries Maritimes Ligne T mailboat Salazie

Dep: Réunion 16 March. Arr: Marseille 3 April Note use of Cor.d.armées / paq.fr.T No 6 handstamp

St Denis to St Ambert (Puy de Dome) 16 March 1886 m/s “Correspondence militaire / Le lieutenant de vaisseau(signed)

cds Corr d’Armées – St Denis

Postscript 65/215

Fig. 5.2 The military concession rate was 25c per 10 grams from 1 September 1871 to 1 January 1876

6March 1875 Registered military concession letter from St Denis to Marseille and redirected to Montpellier

m/s Correspondence d’Armée / Le Sous Commissaire de la Marine ( signature) Franked Chargé and m/s “10gr”

Franked 75c. Postage 25c (inland rate) of 1 September 1871 + Registration 50c (Tariff of February 1873)

Transit: Col.F.V. Suez Paq F ‘ 1 Mars 1 31 March 1876 (Entry mark applied at Marseille on

mail destined for Marseille from French colonies by French mailboat via Suez) Marseille 31 March; Marseille / Poste Restante 1 April; Montpellier 2 April

Carried by Messageries Maritimes Ligne T mailboat Tigre. Dep: Réunion 6 March

Arr: Aden 18 March M.M ligne N mailboat Amazone Dep: Aden c 18 March. Arr: Marseille 31 March

Postscript 65/216

Fig. 5.3 Correspondence des Armées, Hell Bourg Military Franchise period June 1885 to July 1890

Corps Expeditionnaire de Madagascar.

Letter sent ‘sous franchise’ from Hell Bourg to Lyon (Rhone) 6 April 1887 m/s Correspondence d’Armées / L’Agent comptable de l’hôpital de Salazie (Signature)

Accompanied by the blue handstamp Réunion – Hôpital thermal de Salazie ds. Corr d’Armées / Hell Bourg and Hell Bourg / Réunion.

Transit: Cor d.Armées / Paq Fr T No 4 10 April. Received at Lyon 29 April.

Carried by Messageries Maritimes Ligne T mailboat Sydney. Dep: Réunion 10 April Arr: Marseille 28 April.

Postscript 65/217

Fig. 5.4 The military concession rate was 25c per 10 grams from 1 September 1871 to 1 January 1876 Correspondence d’Armées. St Pierre.

St Pierre, Réunion to Camp de Santhonay (Ain) 6 July 1872 cds Corr d’Armées / *St Pierre*

Transit: Carried by Messageries Maritimes Ligne T Emirne. Dep: Réunion 27 July Arr: Aden 8 August.

Transfer to M.M. Ligne N mailboat Provence. Dep: Aden c.8 August Arr: Marseille 20 August

Marseille à Lyon special (TPO) 20 August. Received at Santhonay 21 August.

Only four letters have been recorded so far from St Pierre sent at the concession rate with this h/s. All are in blue ink. The lozenge cancel of Réunion on colonial imperforate 5c Empire and 20c Cérès is said to be the only known example of this franking from St Pierre. Only 33000 5c Empire were issued to Réunion.

Fig. 5.5 The military concession rate from 1 January 1876 to 1 May 1878 was 25c per 15 grams. Correspondence militaire – St Paul, Réunion.

St Paul, Réunion to Paris 27 April 1876. Franked 25c and authorised by the h/s Inscription Maritime – Saint-Paul / *Réunion*

m/s Présent dans la Colonie le 28 Avril 1876 / Le Chef Insce / (signature) cds Corr.d.Armées / *St. Paul* and ‘Réunion / *St Paul* with Réunion dumb grill.

Postscript 65/218

Carried by messageries Maritimes Ligne T mailboat Godavery Dep: Réunion 29 April. Arr: Aden 11 May

Transferred to MM Ligne N mailboat Irraouaddy. Dep Aden c11 May Arr: Marseille 1 June

Received at Paris 2 Jun

THE ACCEPTANCE OF SPECIAL STAMPS WITHIN THE UPU UP TO 1920 – Robert Wightman

B.5 Bulgaria Conversion of Prince Boris to the Orthodox Church postal card 1896

Bulgaria issued a series of stamps, plus special postal stationery cards in various colours with both inland frankings of 5 stotinki and international frankings of 10 stotinki. The vertical format was not a problem, but the illustration on the address-side contravened the UPU’s requirements for international use.

This exotic example of the 10 stotinki card was sent to Japan supplemented by stamps of the related commemorative issue to the value of 50 stotinki to pay the additional fees of 25 stotinki each for registration and Advice of Receipt. The card bears transit marks of London and Hong Kong from its outward journey; it remained undelivered in Nagasaki and was subsequently returned to Europe via San Francisco and New York, thus becoming a round-the-world card.

Postscript 65/219

ITALY – ITALIAN AR CARDS (A WORK IN PROGRESS) Andy Harris (This article contains extracts from the two frames display shown at the SPH meeting at the London 2015 Europhilex Show in May 2015) An “AR card” is a document that provides proof that a registered letter has been delivered. The “AR” stands for Advice of Receipt or Avvisio di Ricevimento in Italian. I have called it a “card” for brevity and because it usually looks like a postcard. However, it does not have to be a card and in the early days it was usually a form. The “AR” service was available for any postal item that was registered or insured, and in the period from 1861 to the end of the twentieth century there were 30 different rates. In addition, during the first two time periods, there was a reduced rate for qualifying items sent within the same postal district (see table). There is a lot more work to be done on this project but the following is what I believe I know now. There is much I don’t know. All input is welcome. The way the service works is as follows. A form is filled in at the time of posting with the registration number and details of the addressee plus the name and address of the sender. The form travels with the letter to the recipient who, upon delivery, is required by the postman to sign the form. The postman returns the form to the post office where a date stamp is applied and the form is then retuned by registered post to the originator. The bilingual form [Fig. 1] was issued by the Italian Post Office. Side one shows that it was used with a registered letter posted on the 17 May 1892 from Spezi to Milan. The sender’s name is written in the top margin and the rest of the information in the body of the form. Side two has the signature of the recipient and the date stamp showing that it was delivered in Milan on 19 May 1892.

Fig.1

Postscript 65/220

When I ponder this process I wonder about two things. Firstly, how were the flimsy forms conveyed with the letters without getting separated or damaged? Secondly, how were the forms sent back safely? I don’t yet have an answer to the first question but a recent discovery seems to help with the second. The small envelope [Fig. 2] contained the AR form [Fig. 3] and is addressed to the original sender in Verona. It is not a complete answer because the handwriting on the envelope is not the same as that on the form. So, two more questions arise, namely, who wrote the address on the envelope and was this done in Verona (with the envelope travelling on the outward leg) or was it done in Reggio Calabria?

Fig. 2 Fig. 3

The form in Figure 3 is dual purpose. It is still in Italian and French and the left side is still for use as the Advice of Receipt of a registered letter. However, the right half of the form is now used for a new purpose which is when a payment has been made against a postal order. Figure 4 shows an AR form used at the local district rate of 10c. This was a 50% discount on the normal rate of 20c. It was used in Catania with a registered letter sent on 9 October 1915 catching the 10am post. It was delivered the same day with the receipting hand stamp timed at 4pm.

Fig. 4

Postscript 65/221

Figure 5 shows an AR form used on 16/17 May 1921. The form bears 40c in postage stamps, paying the current AR fee, and in addition there are several fiscal stamps with a total value of L3.10. These were applied and cancelled some four months later on 19 September 1921 in a court of law. They are a tax for introducing the form as evidence in some legal proceedings. It would appear that the need to go to the court to obtain satisfaction is not that unusual. This might account for the fact that close scrutiny of many AR cards reveals that they are often used for items sent over very short distances when, on the face of it, it would have been cheaper to make the deliver by hand. The value in the AR card is the security it brings. Fig. 5

Figure 6 is the earliest postcard type AR form that I have found so far. It was sent on 27 May 1923. The text is only in Italian and refers specifically to the receipt of a Registered Postcard. The perforations along the edge of the card suggest that it was originally attached to the registered card to which it refers in the same way as a reply paid postal stationery card.

Fig. 6

Figure 7 is another postcard style AR card, used in 1924. Curiously, although issued by the Italian Postal Authority and used within Italy, the text is entirely in French. (Could it have been intended for use with foreign mail?)

Fig. 7

Postscript 65/222

Paper form AR documents continued to be used alongside the postcard type for many years. Examples shown here [Figs. 8 and 9] were used in 1927 and 1931 respectively. In fact, until recently this was the latest use of a form I had seen but I now have an example used in 1947.

Fig. 8 Fig. 9

Evidence of how the AR cards were attached to the registered letters can be seen in the next two examples.

On the left [Fig. 10] a staple was used resulting in a piece being torn from the edge of the card. On the right [Fig. 11], the card was attached with string.

Some AR cards [Figs.12 and 13] are franked with postage due stamps. This occurs when the sender is a government or other official body that has a license to send mail at

the receiver’s expense, for example, the Ministry of Transport. In such cases the receiver is only charged the normal amount (ie. not the fine that was usually charged on unfranked mail). The item was usually struck with a “Poste Italiane” mark like the one

shown on the right, and the cachets “TASSA A CARICO DEL DESTINATRIO” (Fee charged to the person receiving), and/or “T.S.” (Tassa Semplice meaning literally “simple fee”).

(I hope to return to this subject in due course.)

Postscript 65/223

1934. FIRST SCHEDULED FLIGHT FROM ENGLAND TO AUSTRALIA Colin Tabeart Although there had been a number of experimental flights all the way from England to Australia, notably the 1931/32 experiments, it was not until the end of 1934 that a regular service was set up. The route was operated primarily by Imperial Airways, with QANTAS covering the link between Singapore and Australia. In fact QANTAS was unable to service the route initially, so it was all down to Imperial. Letter postage was 1/3d single from UK, and 1/6d single back to UK from Australia; postcards were 6d out and 9d back. Nowadays, when it is possible to fly from Heathrow to Sydney non-stop, or at most with one stopover, it seems almost inconceivable that in 1934 there were some fifty intermediate stages due to the slow speed and short range of the aircraft. The map below gives a general idea, somewhat lacking in detail due to the huge distances covered.

Having arrived as far as Darwin the air route within Australia was basically as shown here. There was an air link between Daly Waters and Perth. The Cootamundra-Sydney link was usually by rail, but exceptionally for the first flight the mails were flown from Narromine, midway between Charleville and Cootamundra, to both Sydney and Melbourne to make up some time lost. Mails for Tasmania went by sea from Melbourne. New Zealand mails were scheduled to arrive at Sydney in time to catch the Union liner Monowai, but she had to leave Sydney at 12.44 on 21 December without the air mails due to a delay with the

Postscript 65/224

flight from Narromine. They were actually sent by the Orient liner Oronsay on her one and only voyage to New Zealand, arriving at Auckland on 26 December 1934. The first flight left London on 8 December 1934 and mail arrived at Sydney on 21 December. The European section of the route was London-Paris-Basle-Genoa-Naples-Corfu-Athens-Crete-Alexandria. It was a very large mail so covers from all these intermediate stages are common enough. Perhaps slightly less common is the registered postcard from Wien in Austria, shown below. Registered postcards almost have to be philatelic, as this one clearly is, but as our late and much missed member George Gibson used to say find me another! Clearly intended not to be claimed by the addressee so as to be returned via the Dead Letter office, the card nevertheless has date stamps for several important places, notably Wien 7/8 December, Darwin 19 December, and Sydney 21 December. The “C” in diamond frame centre right means the letter was “called” at the main post room to see if any of the posties could recollect the addressee. Naturally none could, so eventually returned to sender.