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We were treated to a simply magnificent display of mainly pre-stamp material from the French forces during its many campaigns and occupations. The major period covered was the Napoleonic era. Alan started off with an entire of 1695 covering a vittling requirement for a cavalry regiment then came an item from the French occupation of Corsica in 1767 with an extremely rare mark of the French Army there. The majority of the display covered the period 1792-1815 and we were shown items with cachets of the various Armies (of the Coast, Rhine, Alps and West) as well as the Divisions that made up these armies. In fact wherever there was a region of French interest there was an Army and almost always a special mark. Alan showed two items from 1798 from the Army of England established the previous year with 8 divisions. Another particularly rare mark was that of the 4th Division from the Army of Switzerland. He also had a letter dated 1801 from a French sailor held in Mill Prison at Plymouth that had been smuggled out appealing for financial assistance from the municipal administrators of La Rochelle where he lived. Other material showed marks from the Armies of Germany, the Cote de Brest and the Cote de l'Ocean. When the designation "Grand Armee" came into use these were numbered and Alan showed items from Nos 9 and 15 (the Army in Poland) in 1806. He also showed an item concerning military conscription from Brussels. He mentioned that France was divided into 82 departments (regions) but as France extended its borders into occupied lands the majority of these were incorporated into the departmental systems and the number rose to above 100. A further POW item related to an officer held in Porchester writing to a fellow prisoner in Chesterfield. He showed a number of items from the Peninsular War 1807-14 from the Army of Spain and the Army of Portugal. There was also the French occupation of Illyria (that part of the Adriatic coast of Istria, Croatia, Dalmatia, parts of Austria and the port of Trieste) including an unrecorded mark from 43rd Army. After the fall of Napoleon at Waterloo there was an Allied army of occupation in France and Alan showed two British items from the 79th Regiment and a Lt Barclay in the 43rd Regiment. 1828-32: an entire of 1831 from the Army de Moree in southern Greece (there to maintain stability and ensure the withdrawal of Turkish forces). Greece gained its independence in 1829. An item from 1848 during the occupation of Rome. Lastly Alan finished off with a display of WW1 privately produced postcards from France depicting Allied flags. |