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Michael Dobbs started off the proceedings with his most recent acquisition - a Sudan Military Telegraphs form and Army Telegraphs datestamp H/L for Halfa. He then showed a number of items from NATO military headquarters including British FPOs at HQ AAFCE in Fontainebleau, 10th Anniversary of HQ AFSOUTH at Naples commemorative postmark, HQ BALTAP 20th Anniversary slogan on meter mark and an early item of 1954 from the Turkish post office at HQ LANDSOUTHEAST. Keith Tranmer showed a cover from and written by Field Marshall Archduke Friedrich, at that time C-in-C at Przemysl in 1914; Field Post 4 in the Crimea 1854; KK Field Post Bucharest 1855 and KK Feldpost Bottuschan 1856. Nick Colley displayed items straight out of the auction house of John Daynes sales - from Axis forces engaged in Operation Pedestal - German air force in Sicily; Italian submarine mail (three items); German Navy - motor torpedo boat flotilla and a letter addressed to HMS Forsyth in 1941 and an airgraph from HMS Kenya. Alistair Kennedy showed items from Sri Lanka - where there has been trouble for a number of years. In 1987 India sent in a peacekeeping force which eventually grew to some four divisions with air and naval support. All were air letters, censored with Indian FPO marks sent back to India for posting. Peter Burrows showed a selection of ten official German POW postcards (Army Form W.3494) - all with different printings. Not so much as recent acquisitions but not seen before and recently mounted up - needs a revision to his book! Bill Collingwood showed WW1 American units attached to British units - railway engineers building tracks on the British front. Two covers from a railway unit, also a photograph of three US officers who have been identified as censor officers on the two covers. Also an item from the Civilian Technical Corps (CTC) - specialists recruited from the US to work as civilians in the UK; this was a cover from a chargehand. Bernard Atkinson showed POW mail from Osterley Park Camp in March 1947 together with internee mail from New Zealand. This was from Dunedin Internment Camp in 1942 censored in both New Zealand and Australia. Frank Schofield showed some recent acquisitions of mail from British forces in Italy - a letter from the Graves Registration & Enquiries in 1918 concerning a burial plot in Italy, mail from an RAF officer using the British APO, a couple of postcards showing Faenza Rest Camp and two further cards addressed to a Sergeant in 1/6th Glosters in Italy from APO L7. Michael Booker displayed a mixture of items connected with Colditz - including a 20th century 1900 commemorative card sent from China to Colditz with the cachet of the Peking-Taku Kaiserlich Deutsche Bahnpost; a 1923 inflation period 40 million marks cover from Colditz to Spain; early ppc showing a Swastika rising over Colditz Castle and a card dated 28 Nov 1939 just four weeks after the camp received its first prisoners (consisting of 140 Polish officers). This is the only type seen from Colditz where the prisoner had no number, suggesting a "special" prisoner. Colditz was originally opened as an interrogation camp by the SS in 1939. Peter High showed a WW1 cover from HMSH Syria with a very good cachet, also the Hertfordshire from Egypt with a clear cachet a Post Office inspectors mark. Other items included a ppc of a Japanese hospital ship actually sent from the vessel and a telegraph from a hospital ship in the Sino-Japanese War of 1907. Private hospital ships of the International Red Cross hired to swap wounded prisoners in 1918 between Britain and Germany via Holland. Also an interesting item dated May 1918 from a Scottish soldier repatriated from Germany with a postmark of Boston, Lincs which acted as a transit area and port of entry/departure in the UK. Lastly two items from the German hospital ship Helgoland which operated off Vietnam in 1967 and 1971. Albert Coles included items connected with HMS Golden Hind in Sydney, including redirected mail. Also covers from Royal Naval Hospital Herne Bay also in Sydney. Also a FDC addressed to a Commander at the Naval Camp, Canberra in 1927. Michael Goodman showed an unrecorded Aire ship letter; navy post offices in 1848 and 1851, Admiralty handstamps including Admiralty South West in 1917; 1923 & 1947 Admiralty registered Official Paid scrolls and lastly a number of items connected with the Easter Rising - APO Home Defence datestamps 40, 41, 42 and D14. Initial arrivals in Ireland had "free postage" but this was soon changed and soldiers had to pay postage as they were still in the UK. Peter O'Keeffe showed various items connected with the Royal Air Forces and its predecessor the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service including a postcard RFC WW1 p/c showing Exeter College, Oxford; a reply paid card from a POW camp in Germany; a 1918 p/c cancelled FPO SZ12 from No 3 Cadet Wing RAF in Egypt and two p/c's with Passed Naval; Censor triangular marks of the Royal Naval Flying School in France 1917/18. Alistair Kennedy had a second showing and this included items connected with the campaign in Syria from the John Daynes collection. This was the five week campaign in 1941 against the Vichy French in Syria and the display covered both Australian and British FPOs. After the fighting British troops remained in Syria and Lebanon and there were covers from British forces from this period. Albert Coles also had a second showing which included a ppc of HMS Challenger at Brisbane, a 1909 letter to 1st Battalion Tasmanian Rangers; 1940 cover from No 1 ATS Cressy and cancelled with RAAF Cressy, Victoria, a 1941 cover from RAAF Geraldton with registration label and RAAF Post Office cachet and a 1940 cover cancelled MIL PO NAVAL BASE - despite the wording this was not a forces postmark as the location was a heavy industrial suburb of Perth. |