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Keith Tranmer started the afternoons' displays by reminding us that Germany was not united until Bismark took control in 1871. He then showed three covers from the Austrian Army on the Rhine at Mainz 1832-47. He then jumped to WW1 and mentioned the arrangement the Austrians had with Germany and showed a number of comic postcards. He then told us about the first bomb dropped in England at Dover on 21 December 1914, but missed. The pilot (Oberleutnant zu see Prondzynski) was eventually brought down at a later date and made a POW. He showed a POW cover from him at Donnington Hall in Derby. He also display a postcard showing Marshall Liman von Saunders, who took control of the Turkish 5th Army and was commander of the Turkish-German defence at Gallipoli, on a personal Feldpost card at his HQ - postmarked Feldpost AOK5 of 17-6-1916. Other items displayed included a field service postcard of German seamen from SMS Breslau who went ashore and acted as machine gunners supporting the Turkish Army at Gallipoli. Postmarked Marineschiffspost No 14 in 1915. He then told the story of the three German airships (L31-L33) that came over the Essex coast in September 1916. L31 was the only one of the three to make it back to Germany - L33 was hit by gunfire over Basildon and brought down. The crew surrendered to a local auxiliary policeman on his bicycle who they met whilst marching along the road to Colchester. L32 was shot down over Billericay - there were no survivors. Keith showed a cover from the commander of L32 (Peterson) to his wife on 12 August 1915. It was not so much the items shown by Keith that were of interest (although they were !) but the stories behind each an every one. We sat there enthralled by these and so it went on to the beginnings of WW2 with special Austrian Winter Relief Fund charity sheets of 1938 and 1939 and into WW2 itself with an SS camp staff cover from Mauthausen concentration camp in 1940 and a representation of mail from the camp and its sub-camps. Alistair Kennedy showed WW1 German FPOs showing the variety of named datestamps initially used by field and static FPOs. The Bavarians had their own postal system as they were a separate Kingdom in Germany. Saxony also had its own distinctive datestamps. However, in 1917 numbers and designations were removed from datestamps to avoid disclosing information which may be of use to the enemy. Mute datestamps were used instead; however, a new series of numbered datestamps (650 to 1021) were introduced, but only for use on registered mail. He then showed items from the Balkans front, Turkey and 6thb Turkish Army; also a special postmark from the German Delegation at the peace conference at Versailles. He then moved to the 1938 occupation of the Sudetenland and to 1939 when Germany took over the remainder of Czechoslovakia and then to occupied Poland showing the use of provisional postmarks. Keith Lillywhite remarked that the topic had encouraged him to mount and write up a number of his miscellaneous Kriegsmarine-related items; these included a postcard of the Cap Arcona of 1941 which was bombed by the RAF on 9 April 1945 whilst carrying prisoners from concentration camps, killing thousands of these unfortunate people; postcards of the liner New York, used by the Kriegsmarine as an accommodation ship 1940-45; a cover and accompanying picture postcard of the Turpitz in 1941; and a ppc of the Focker-Wulf FW.200 Condor which undertook long range reconnaissance fro U-Boats from French Atlantic coast bases. Mike Goodman showed a small number of covers and cards from the British Army on the Rhine, including a number of Army Courier Office S5 marks including a locally made rubber handstamp and a registered cover used in 1921. Also Army Post Office S64 at Solingen in Upper Silesia and S120 from Durren, Germany in 1919 then at Allenstein as part of the Plebiscite Force. Lastly cards from FPO H20 in 1920 at Danzig as part of the Allied Boundary Commission, including a card addressed to "British Forces in East Prussia, Germany". John Leathes displayed part of his Croydon 2007 entry to gauge members opinions - it is called "The German U-Boat Arm 1914 to 1918". This was the high seas fleet (five flotillas) and included a cover from one Oberleutnant Karl Dönitz (who later succeeded Hitler) to his wife whilst he was training to become a U-boat commander in 1916. The display included covers and cards from various U-Boat organisations - including the U-Boat Acceptance Command and U-Boat Schools, Inspectorate and the Divisions at Kiel. The display included covers, cards and registered mail and contained a wide variety of Schiffpost and Briefstempel marks. As usual Peter Burrows showed a miscellany of items - all connected with official stationary of one sort or another. There were Knights of Columbus Christmas cards from the US Army of occupation after WW1; British Army on the Rhine Christmas cards for 1921 and 1925; BEF Main Line TPO marks on postcards and lastly a selection of photographs of 1st Division AEF on parade in Germany. Michael Dobbs showed a number of British FPOs used in Germany in 1945 as well as extracts from his extensive researches into British Forces in NW Europe showing the postal organisation in 30 Corps District July-September and BAOR September 1945, a listing of E and Z series APO/FPOs in Germany; the Military Government structure in 8 Corps and Naval Parties in Germany. Alistair Kennedy concluded the afternoon by showing further items, this time material prior to WW1 including 3rd Army APO in 1870 (a front only) addressed to "Her Royal Highness, Crown Princess of Prussia, Princess Royal of Great Britain and Ireland, Hamburg von der Grosse, Frankfurt am"; covers and cards from German military camps at Lockstedt (1881 & 1905) and Arys (1945); items from the German contingent during the Boxer Rebellion (standard German postmarks) and lastly military post offices established in German South West Africa (K.D. Feldpostexpedition). |