FORCES POSTAL HISTORY SOCIETY JOURNAL. Whole Number 281

Transcription

1 FORCES POSTAL HISTORY SOCIETY JOURNAL Whole Number 281 Autumn 2009 Vol XXVIII No 11 ISSN Forces Postal History Society and Authors See Why I like this cover at page 342

2 Contents Why I like this cover: Colin Tabeart 342 The NAAFI: Roy Gault Belgian Armoured Cars in Russia: Hans Vogel 345 Royal Marines in Haverford West: Bob Swarbrick 346 HMS St Sunniva: Nick Colley 347 French Airforce in Russia in WW2: Nick Colley and John Daynes Members Queries: Mackay, Redmond, Ball, Tabeart, Fowler WW2 Express and Priority Airmails from Nairobi to Pretoria: Jim Findlay The other hostilities in Iraq: Nick Colley Feedback: Messrs Ball, Kennedy, Hamlin, Gould, Proud, and Russell Iraq Postal History 1920s to 1940s Alistair Kennedy 368 A Naval Signals Book of 1746: Colin Tabeart 369 Operation Atalanta : Marc Parren Editorial Members may be pleased to hear that we were awarded a LARGE VERMEIL certificate at the 11 th New Zealand National Philatelic Literature Exhibition for issues of the Journal, including the Michael Sullivan special. We were awarded 80 points overall (equal with The Israel Philatelist) with only two others above us (one with 83 points and the winner with 88 points). Maximum points there were 18 entries altogether. Under Treatment of contents was the comment good in depth, interesting articles and a strong question and answer section. The Committee would like to thank all our authors for their invaluable contributions, including all those who help to make Feedback such a useful tool. The number of articles left in the locker after this edition will barely produce an eightpage Journal for the Winter edition, so I need contributions by the end of October latest please. Editor s Contact details: Colin Tabeart, 238 Hunts Pond Road, Fareham. PO14 4PG. colintabeart@btinternet.com ******************************************************** Why I like this Cover The cover illustrated on the front page is, at first sight, a pretty ordinary registered FPO item. However, the date of the FPO 169 stamp converts it into a far-from-ordinary item. I am much indebted to Alistair Kennedy for filling in the details, as follows. The Cunard liner Queen Mary, now converted to a troopship, left Gourock on 29 Jun Amongst the troops on board were the Deputy Assistant Director of Army Postal Service, Egypt, with No 5 Lines of Communication Postal Unit. They opened a Field Post Office aboard Queen Mary on 3 Jul 1940, using datestamp FPO 169, one of a number issued to the Postal Unit. Mails were put ashore for transmission to the UK at: Sierra Leone 8 Jul, Capetown 16 Jul, Simonstown 19 Jul, Colombo 1 Aug, Bombay 9 Aug. My cover, dated onboard on 27 Jul, was therefore put ashore at Colombo on 1 Aug. It was received at Aylesbury on 14 Sep 1940 as shown by the Registered datestamp of that town on the back of the cover. In the same convoy as the Queen Mary was the Cunarder Aquitania, also with some Army Postal Services personnel aboard, and again a Field Post Office was opened aboard, using datestamp FPO 309. Are these two instances of FPOs aboard troopships unique, or were there others? 342

3 The NAAFI Roy Gault [First published in the Bulletin of the Perfin Society] The catalyst for this piece is Derek Ransom who saw a request for more information regarding NAAFI perfins on G.B. Postage Stamps in his copy of the Forces Postal History Society Journal. Again, the internet has come up trumps in providing some basic background information. Although the provision of food for servicemen has always been taken for granted - An army marches on its stomach - the truth is that the quality was often sub-standard, particularly in Victorian times. The story can be traced back to 1894 when the Canteen & Mess Co-operative Society Ltd was formed specifically to improve the quality of Army food. In typical Co-operative Society fashion good quality food & other requirements were bought in bulk and then sold on to local canteens. No doubt spurred on by the outbreak of WWI, the Expeditionary Forces Canteens was formed in 1915 by combining the C&MCS and the resources of a trading partner. At home an official (rather than local) canteen organisation known as the Army Canteen Committee was set up on the 1 st of January The name was changed again in June 1917 to the Navy & Army Canteen Board when the Navy came aboard N N Based on the fact that there are no perfins known with the correct time frame on G.B. Postage Stamps with the letters CMCS, EFC, and ACC, it would appear that it was the Navy & Army Canteen Board who first used perfins. Two are known - NA/CB was used in Liverpool, and N.A./C.B. in London. The next (and last) name change came on the 1 st of January 1921, when the Royal Air Force (the merged Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service of WWI) joined the organisation. It became known as the Navy, Army & Air Force Institutes, giving us the now familiar NAAFI acronym. Strangely all five letters were never used on Perfins, being shortened to either NA/FI or NA/A. In contrast to the two early dies, which are quite rare, this next group of five are fairly plentiful N N a 343

4 N has been positively identified (Basil St, London SW3), whereas N a is only a suspected identity. For some as yet unexplained reason, around the start of WWII, J Sloper & Co embarked on a project to replace their old dies with 5-pin high letters, with 4-pin high versions. As a consequence we see the appearance circa 1939 of N bM. The Sloper m/s ledger indicates that this die was multiheaded, 12x1. However, it was probably destroyed in the Blitz on Sloper s premises in May 1941, and replaced almost immediately by another 12x1 multiheaded die, N M N bM N M N a Post WWII, Sloper s also used a single headed die to initial (mainly) large format stamps, which is catalogued as N a. The simplified NA/A format can be found on two dies, N /02, both of which were used in a German POKO Affixer using vertical delivery coils N N N N has been positively identified as having been used by the Navy, Army & Air Force Institutes at their head office in Imperial Court, Kennington Lane, London SE11. N is a suspected identity based on London SE11 postmarks. N has the usual four letters and may relate to the NAAFI. It is somewhat rare, having been reported on only one example, a 1d KGV Typograph, postmarked Dublin, 23rd February Catalogue No. Letters Die in use Earliest Date Latest Date N NA/A July Apr 1943 N NA/A N NA/CB Nov N N.A./C.B Oct N M NA/FI Aug July

5 Catalogue No. Letters Die in use Earliest Date Latest Date N a NA/FI N bM NA/FI Sep N NA/FI Jan Feb 1935 N a NA/FI June Aug 1939 N N/A/F/I Feb If anyone can extend our knowledge of this small group of Perfins by reporting earlier/later dates than those shown above, I would be pleased to hear from you via the Editor. ***************************************************** Belgian Armoured Cars in Russia Hal Vogel Nick Colley, in his article on the RNAS armoured cars in Russia in Journal 276, summer 2008, asked if anyone had seen any mail from the Belgian armoured car unit in Russia. I am happy to report that I have seen several, and the one (Arctic) item I have is illustrated here. The card is addressed to France and is postmarked on the day the unit arrived in Archangel, 3 October 1915, Julian date, (the 3 appears to be inverted and reversed), 16 October Gregorian date (i.e. the rest of the world). It also carries a Petrograd transit dated 13 days later. Of all the items I ve seen, this is the only one from Archangel not surprising, in a sense, since the unit was there for only 24 hours before moving south. The sender is Auguste von Roy, a person known to have been with the unit. I was told by someone in Belgium with knowledge of this unit during WW1 that they thought he was probably an officer. He was later (1928) a stockbroker in Brussels. 345

6 Royal Marines in Haverfordwest Bob Swarbrick I have a correspondence from a Royal Marine serving with the 1 st Battalion RM from his recruit days through to his final discharge at the end of the war. The letters are to and from this man and reflect the various moves, both in the United Kingdom, and later, his unit's move to India. On of the earliest pieces of ephemera is a ration card signed by Evelyn Waugh who, as a Captain, served with the battalion. Because of this lateral interest, I obtained a copy of his book, a trilogy, based on his experiences whilst serving with the Marines entitled The Sword of Honour that, in turn, lead me to examine the covers in detail. One particularly, dated 24 July 1940, intrigued me as it was addressed to c/o the Postmaster, Haverfordwest. This seemed a somewhat unlikely posting for, as far as I knew, there were no training facilities in the area, and the authorised history of the Royal Marines, written by JD Ladd makes no mention of the town. Subsequently I was able to purchase on E Bay a slim booklet of just 55 pages entitled To the War with Waugh, by John St John, and on page 31 the answer to the problem is given: it seems that the battalion was entrained with its stores and weapons to a secret destination, which in the event turned out to be Haverfordwest. The reason for this was the possible invasion by Germany of the then neutral Eire as it was suspected that it was their intention to establish bases for their U-Boats, and to act as a possible platform to invade Britain's flank. On arrival in Haverfordwest the men were billeted in empty shops and factories and after a week were marched to Milford Haven where they boarded an ancient Cross Channel steamer, which was already loaded with their stores and ammunition. After two days the men were allowed ashore as long as they stayed in sight of the ship, as they were at two hours notice to sail. After three days the ship cast off and sailed down Milford Haven, when the Company Commander issued maps etc, and explained their role was to thwart the enemy's intention by landing in Cork. However, after a very short time the ship turned around and returned to harbour, where yet another train was waiting to rush the battalion to Cornwall, where they were joined with other elements of the RM Brigade and deployed to defend the coast of Cornwall west of Plymouth. Thus ended a brief chapter in the history of the war, when there was a very real threat of its spreading yet further afield. Front and part back of the cover. Any offerings for the meaning of the initials DHILYA? 346

7 HMS St Sunniva, Daynes Type N213 Nick Colley HMS St Sunniva was a merchant vessel of 1368 GRT, built in 1932, and requisitioned in August 1939 by the Admiralty as a guardship. In September1940 she was converted to an accommodation vessel for the expanding examination service, an integral part of the blockade of Nazi Germany. It seems likely that she would have been stationed in the Orkneys, close to Kirkwall, or, possibly, the Shetlands. However, there is a mention of her in Reference 1 that she was used as a troopship to take troops to Norway in April As the Battle of the Atlantic progressed, and the need for sea-going vessels increased, she became a convoy rescue ship in September1942. She was last sighted on 21 Jan.1943 off Sable Island on a voyage from Greenock to Halifax. She was not seen again, and is presumed to have capsized in severe icing conditions. There were no survivors (references 2 and 3). The censor mark is Daynes N213. References:

8 The French Air Force in Russia, World War 2 By Nick Colley and John Daynes Introduction The brief venture of the RAF into North Russia in the autumn and winter of 1941 has been well-known to us for over 20 years, and an account has even been written and published (Ref 1). However, postal history relating to this has so far proved elusive. It is ironic, therefore, that the assistance that the French gave to the Russians was unknown to this writer (NC) until the cover illustrated here came to light via John. History 1 Six months after the Germans invaded the USSR in June 1941, talks aimed at closer cooperation between Free France and the Soviet Union resulted in setting up a special squadron with an initial core of twelve fighter pilots for service on the Russo-German front. De Gaulle officially promulgated the Groupe de Chasse GC 3 Normandie on September 1, 1942 with Commandant Pouliquen in command. Mechanics, pilots and hardware travelled by rail and air via Tehran (Iran) to Baku (now the capital of Azerbaijan). On 29 November the first quota of ten men under the orders of Commandant Pouliquen arrived at Ivanovo, a base-school located at 250 km in the North-East of Moscow where the personnel of GC 3 were to be trained. Commandant Tulasne and the last seven pilots arrived two days later (ref 3). They completed a period of training on the Yakovlev Yak-7 by end-january 1943, when Commandant Jean Tulasne took command of the groupe. On March 22, 1943, the unit moved to its new base at Polotniane Zavod, a hundred km in the southwest of Moscow with 14 Russian Yak fighter aircraft. (Ref 4). The first campaign of GC 3, equipped with the Yakovlev Yak-1 fighter-plane, lasted until October 5, and encompassed the area of Russia between Polotniani-Zavod and Sloboda/Monostirtchina. From an initial aerial victory over an Fw 190 on April 5, the tally rose dramatically and the squadron became the focus of much Soviet propaganda, so much so that Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel (himself executed in 1946 after the Nuremberg trials) decreed that any French pilot captured would be executed. Tragedy struck the squadron with the much-decorated Tulasne reported missing-inaction after combat on July 17, requiring Commandant Pouyade to take command. In spite of the loss, GC 3 started to receive many Soviet unit citations and decorations as well as French ones. On October 11, de Gaulle accorded the groupe the title of Compagnon de la Libération. By the time GC 3 relocated to Tula on November 6, 1943, only six pilots remained from the original groupe, which had accumulated 72 aerial victories since joining the fighting witnessed the expansion of the groupe to become a régiment, with a fourth escadrille joining its ranks. After completing training on the more advanced Yakovlev Yak-9D fighterplanes at Tula, the new regiment rejoined the front line for its second campaign. This lasted until 27 November, and took in the area between Doubrovka (in Russia) and Gross-Kalweitchen (in East Prussia, Germany). During this campaign Joseph Stalin ordered the regiment to style itself Normandie-Niemen in recognition of its participation in the battles to liberate the river of that name. On 16 October, the first day of a new offensive against East Prussia, the easternmost part of the Reich home territory, the regiment s pilots destroyed 29 enemy aircraft without loss. By the following month the regiment found itself based in Reich territory. By the end of the year Pouyade had been released from command of the regiment and he, along with other veteran pilots, returned to France. On 14 January the Normandie-Niemen regiment started its third campaign (from Dopenen to Heiligenbeil), concentrating in the East Prussian part of the German Reich, until the formal announcement of victory in the east on May 9, the day after V-E Day in western Europe. By that day the regiment had shot down 273 enemy aircraft and had received many citations and 1 From Google, mostly from Wikipedia (Ref. 2) 348

9 decorations. The USSR expressed its gratitude to the regiment by offering the unit s Yak-3s to France, whence the pilots returned to a heroes welcome in Paris on June 20, The Regiment s flag bore the testimony of its battle experience, with names such as Bryansk, Orel, Ielnia, Smolensk, Koenigsberg (later renamed Kaliningrad by the Soviets), and Pillau. It received the following decorations: from France: the Légion d'honneur, the Croix de la Libération, the Médaille Militaire, the Croix de Guerre with six palmes; from the USSR, it received the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of Alexander Nevsky, with eleven citations between the two orders. Individual pilots Marcel Albert, Marcel Lefèvre, Jacques André and Roland de La Poype were appointed Heroes of the Soviet Union. The Cover Clearly an item of Russian wartime postal stationary and endorsed F.M. (Franchise Militaire, ie. On Active Service ), it is from an Aspirant, the most junior rank, I think, in the French armed services. It is addressed to a Sous Lieutenant at the Air Ministry in Paris. There is no postmark, so precise dating is not possible, but the address suggests that this post-dates the liberation of Paris in August References: 1. Golley, John: Hurricanes Over Murmansk, Patrick Stephens, 1987, ISBN X Naissance de Normandie-Niemen, by Christian-Jacques Ehrengardt

10 Yak-1b of GC-3 Normandy at Ivanovo early in Some carry inscriptions indicating that they were offered to the Red Army by the inhabitants of a Kolkhoz ******************************************************** Members Queries Query 330. From Jim Mackay I was most interested to read Peter O'Keefe s recent article on RAF Postagrams and David Barnes s reference to its operation in the Air Ministry Staff Handbook. I wonder if members are aware of any similar operational details of, or other references to, the Despatch Rider Letter Service (DRLS) and the Air Despatch Letter Service (ADLS)? Any information would be most appreciated. Query 331. From Jill Redmond The cover below was sent from Tristan da Cunha to England with Tristan mark Type V at the double airmail rate of 1/- with the request that, If touching at S Africa endeavour to forward by airmail. Unfortunately this did not happen, as the postmark is a London Paquebot for 30 Mar 37. Can anyone help me to discover on which ships the letter travelled from Tristan to South Africa (Cape Town I assume), and thence to England? By Editor: subsequent discussion has mainly answered Jill s question, but not completely. In particular the following very helpful message from Martin Crawford gets the letter to Cape Town: HMS Carlisle called at Tristan on 28/02/1937 ex Simon s Town and carried a HUGE amount of mail back with her - much of it philatelic souvenirs of the navy crew. This was the first mail carried from Tristan since August the year before. In most cases when one comes across a 1930s Tristan cover with a type V cachet, it is Carlisle mail. The date of the Cape Town Paquebot/arrival cds is the proof. She was at Tristan for a few days during which they did a Dental survey - this is reported on in the November 1938 National Geographic magazine. They carried the Rev Wilde, the returning island padre, back to Cape Town. It was Carlisle s second visit as she had also called in Mail from that visit is much scarcer. On this occasion Carlisle left Cape Town for Tristan on 23 Feb 1937, with 28 bags of overseas mail and 5 from Cape Town. She returned to Cape Town on 8 March, with the above huge mail The mail for UK seems not to have been handled in South Africa, but rather forwarded to UK in closed ship s bags as the cover above and that shown on p 355 from my 350

11 collection suggest. The following extract from The Times of London dated 30 March indicates that the letter arrived in UK per ss Winchester Castle: Letter mails due London from S Africa and Madeira 30 March per Winchester Castle. All we now need is confirmation that she left Cape Town after Carlisle arrived on 8 March. Can anyone help please? Query 332. From David Ball These Mourning Envelopes (see colour page 355) are very familiar to Maltese collectors. Malta Study Circle members are unsure whether they are peculiar to Malta or if they were made available to Servicemen elsewhere in the Empire. We cannot recollect seeing any examples and can find none in the Cavendish Catalogues of Military Collections (Brown 1996, Crabb 2000 and Firebrace 2001). Can any member refute our Peculiarity? Query 333. From David Ball and Colin Tabeart THE SEAL OF HIS MAJESTY S SHIPS We each have a cover with a fine wax seal reading as above. David s cover is from Malta in 1904 and is registered, whilst mine is not registered and from HMS Imperieuse, the Fleet Post Office of the Grand Fleet at Scapa in 1918 see colour page 356. We are surprised that we have only one example each of this seal, over quite a large date range, of what seems on the face of it a standard issue to HM Ships, possibly only to major warships. The Malta example, being registered, clearly merited a seal of some sort, but the Imperieuse cover was not registered, so why the seal? As it was sent to an assurance company maybe it contained cash, but then it should have been registered under the GPO regulations. Thoughts, comments, and further examples awaited with interest. Query 334. From John Fowler Although I know of the style of rubber datestamp shown at colour page 351 used for American vessels (I have one with Edinburgh in the bars at right) I've never seen this style used for British ships. I can see that this commemorates the Coronation Fleet Review, but my questions are: 1. Was it used on mail that went through the post? 2. How many ships used this style on this occasion? 3. Was it only used for Reviews, or was such a style used regularly? I haven't seen one in fifty years of collecting, but then I haven't been specifically looking for them (no doubt because I didn't know they existed!). 351

12 WW2 Express and Priority Airmail from Nairobi to Pretoria Jim Findlay First published in The South African Philatelist, April 2007; Vol. 83 No. 2, pp Introduction I have in my collection a cover from the Intelligence Section of the Chief Field Censor at the East African Forces Headquarters, Nairobi, addressed to the Deputy Director of Military Intelligence at Defence Headquarters, Pretoria, dated 10 November It has an oval cachet with the same date Express Letter Service Priority Nairobi (See Figure 1). I also have a letter from the Conference of East African Governors, Nairobi, which is undated and has an oval cachet Air Letter Service Office Priority Nairobi (See Figure 2) to the same addressee. The only Conference of East African Governors that I can trace was in August A second cover from Force Headquarters Central Registry (Nairobi) with the cachet Air Letter Service Office Priority Nairobi is dated 16 November 1941 and addressed to the Deputy Director Military Intelligence at Defence Headquarters. I have made appeals for information to various military mail and airmail collectors but it would appear that these two cachets are not common. Air Mail Postal Services During this period of World War 2 there were regular return flights by the S.A. Air Force from Swartkops Air Base to Nairobi, Kenya (Forward Base P.O. APO 2), and Cairo, Egypt (Base P.O. APO 29 and SAAF HQ APO 31). Later this service was extended to include mail to Rome, Italy (APO 23). Many, perhaps not all, of these flights were authorised to carry mail. On Active Service surface mail was postage free and airmail required 10 d. or 25 c. postage from East Africa. The introduction of the Active Service Letter Card with postage of 3 d had a major impact on the volume of airmail. The majority of mail items originating from South African units in East Africa is postage free and would have been transported either by sea via Mombasa (APO 4) to APO 1 at Durban or by air or overland from Nairobi to Broken Hill, Northern Rhodesia, and then by train to Pretoria (APO 20). When Italy entered the war on 10 June 1940 the decision was made to carry all civilian airmail for Africa, the Middle and Far East and Australasia from the United Kingdom to Durban by sea. From Durban it would be flown via the Horseshoe Route to Cairo and onward destinations. This route was Durban, Johannesburg, Bulawayo, Ndola, Tabora, Kisumu, Juba, Malakal, Khartoum, and Wadi Halfa, to Cairo flown by BOAC. The flying boat route from Durban was also a major mail route. As the influence of the military scenario changed, the airmail routes through central and West Africa developed to link up with Europe and the Americas. As from 17 December 1940 South African Airways flew a return route twice a week from Johannesburg via Bulawayo, Lusaka, Kasama, Dodoma, & Nairobi to Entebbe. Both these BOAC and SAA flights carried airmail items. Airmail Routes The following information is from an anonymous report South African Army Postal Services: Historical Record and certain of this information is also included in the Militaria article by North. At the outbreak of war about the only air connection to the outside world was by BOAC flying boat. Airmail on this service was charged at 1/3 d per ½ oz as the all up (Empire 1½d) rate was discontinued. This precluded this service from carrying low postage rate mail to the Union Defence Forces (UDF) in East and North Africa. The UDF established an airmail shuttle service but aircraft were in short supply. The first service was from Zwartkops Air Station (ZAS) on 29 May 1940 and continued as opportunity offered. A further service from Pretoria to Broken Hill by train twice a week commenced on 25 June 1940 for onward transmission by air 352

13 to Nairobi but this was totally inadequate to cater for the volume of mail generated by the buildup of the SA forces in East Africa. Indications are that mail was also transported by road from Broken Hill to Nairobi. Initially a Junkers aircraft was dedicated to the shuttle service for mail on 20 January This was followed by the introduction of Lodestar aircraft on the shuttle route on 28 February 1941 and the allocation of mail was 2000lbs (900kg) twice a week and 100lbs (45.5kg) of official mail on all other days of the week. This resulted in a daily official mail service between Pretoria (APO 20) and Nairobi (APO 2). The shuttle service was extended to Cairo, Egypt, on 8 July The allocation of mail was 2000lbs (900kg) twice a week and 100lbs (45.5kg) of official mail on two other days of the week. This was initially serviced by APO 35 at Amiriya but Base P.O. APO 29 was opened on 28 May 1941 to process all UDF mail. At the end of September 1941 the carriage of private mail by military aircraft ceased. This resulted in Active Service Letter Cards (3 d postage) and airmail letters (1/3 d postage per ½oz) being carried by BOAC flying boats twice a week. The shuttle service improved and in March 1942 all pre-paid airmail was conveyed by shuttle and the BOAC military mail service was discontinued. By September 1944 there were daily flights in each direction for mail. On 19 May 1945 the conveyance of private mail reverted to BOAC. Official Mail Official mail was handled at Defence Headquarters in Pretoria. Initially this was by APO 1 from May to November 1940 when APO 1 moved to Durban and then APO 20 opened on 2 November 1940 (although it is also reported as having opened in May 1940; North) to administer all official mail. It closed on 30 June 1947 (Proud). [The author has an example of APO 20 use dated 15 July 1947.] The main service was between APO 20 and South African Base Post Offices APO 2 in Nairobi, APO 29 in Cairo and APO 23 in Rome. APO 20 was under direct control of the Director of Army Postal Services, who was up to date on aircraft movement at ZAS. This ensured that a postal official was on hand to deliver or receive mail from flights at ZAS. A Secret Bag Registry was established for the disposal of secret and important letters but this was limited to a twice-weekly service only for mail marked Urgent or Important. Mail not marked in this manner was given more expeditious disposal and this is probably where Express Letter Service and Air Letter Service Office Priority mail was attended to quicker. Air Mail Categories It would appear that there were three categories of air mail service in use from Nairobi to the Union during the war. They were: (i) Express Letter Service, (ii) Air Letter Service Office Priority and (iii) ordinary air mail. Although there are various references to express and priority airmail during the war there does not appear to be an explanation as to the differences between these services. Both category (i) and (ii) mail items are regarded as Official Mail and would be part of the daily 100lbs mail allocation on the shuttle aircraft service. [The Post Office Guide Number 7 of 1983 classifies Express Delivery Service as delivery by a special messenger from a post office from which telegrams are delivered by telegraph messenger or the item may be placed in a post office private box for collection. Priority Postal Service is an overnight delivery to the specific post office for collection by the addressee. This is restricted to specific towns that are served by regular direct airmail.] My proposed interpretation of these airmail services is the following; (i) The Express Letter Service was for any official mail that was regarded as containing vitally important information that required action as soon as possible. If delayed then the information it contained would have greatly reduced importance and impact. This Official Mail mail would be handed to the captain of the first available flight from Nairobi to Pretoria, where he would ensure that it was handed to a postal official responsible for delivery from ZAS to APO 20 at Defence Headquarters. This mail 353

14 (ii) (iii) appears to originate from the Intelligence section at the Chief Field Censor s office in Nairobi. The Air Letter Service Office Priority mail would be of sufficient importance that it required special handling but contained information that did not have a time factor that could minimise its usefulness. It would be handed to the captain of the first available mail flight from Nairobi to Pretoria. The aircraft captain would ensure that it was handed to a postal official responsible for delivery from ZAS to APO 20 at Defence Headquarters. Ordinary airmail would be prepared for transport by the relevant army postal personnel at A.P.O. 2 in Nairobi. This mail was usually in bundles per destination and placed in canvas bags for bulk transport on the scheduled twice-weekly mail flights. This mail was collected by APO 20 staff at ZAS for normal processing. The author welcomes any additional information regarding the Express and Priority airmail services to and from East Africa in World War 2. Acknowledgements I appreciate the information supplied by George van den Hurk RDPSA regarding postal regulations and that supplied by Joh Groenewald RDPSA on the Historical Record of the South African Army Postal Services References 1. Anonymous report: South African Army Postal Services: Historical Record; National Archives, Pretoria; Archive NWH, Group Civil, Box North, JW: South African Army Postal Service ; published in Militaria, Volume 6 Number 2 (1970). 3. Proud, EB: The Postal History of the South African Army Postal Services; Stern, MF: South African Airmails; published for the Aerophilatelic Society of Southern Africa by the Philatelic Federation of Southern Africa (undated, records aerophilately up to 1968). Fig 1 (left). Express Letter Service Priority Nairobi cachet. Fig 2 (below) Air Letter Service Office Priority Nairobi 354

15 See Query 331 Every three years the Colonial Office arranged an official visit to the island. On this occasion the light cruiser HMS Carlisle left Cape Town on 23 Feb 1937 with mail for the island and carrying a pedigree Ayrshire bull, two pedigree pigs and two pens of pedigree chickens to improve the quality of the islanders stock. See Query

16 THE SEAL OF HIS MAJESTY S SHIPS - see Query 333 See Query 334 on page

17 A Naval Signals Book of 1746 see page

18 Some of the illustrations for the article The other Hostilities in Iraq at pp Above: Map 1 Left: Map 2 Below: Fig 12 Bottom: Fig

19 The Other Hostilities in Iraq: RAF Habbaniya, 1941 Nick Colley History and Background In 1930 Britain and Iraq signed an Anglo-Iraq Treaty of Alliance and Mutual Support. How we arrived at this point, 12 years after the end of World War 1, and the consequent reduction of Turkish influence in the country, is not of direct concern here. However, some of the consequences of the Treaty are very relevant. Iraq would permit Britain to station troops and aircraft in the country at two bases. In return, Britain would assist with internal security. (Many of Iraq s rural inhabitants still lived in tribes that intermittently became restive, showing reluctance to accept Iraqi government authority.) By the time war broke out in 1939, the two bases occupied by the RAF were at Shaibah, close to the head of the Persian Gulf near Basra, and at Habbaniya. This was 60 miles west of Baghdad, astride the desert road from the Mediterranean coast to Baghdad, and immediately adjacent to the Euphrates. This was home to No.4 Flying Training School (FTS) definitely NOT a front line combat unit. (see Map 1 page 358). The equipment of the School included venerable biplane trainers such as the Hawker Audax and Fairey Gordon, and a number of the more modern twin-engined monoplane Airspeed Oxfords. Fairey Gordon Hawker Audax Airspeed Oxford Returning to politics, and the events in the years preceding 1939, in 1936 there was a military coup d etat in Iraq, which resulted in the formation of a Nationalist Government, which tended to be anti-british. Even prior to this date, German influence in Iraq was being skilfully expanded through the activities of their Legation, and one can conclude the Germans were laying the groundwork for an anti-british uprising. This continued through the Italian Legation after the British had succeeded in forcing severance of diplomatic relations between Germany and Iraq after the outbreak of war. Speaking of diplomatic activities, as an aside, it is interesting to note that the British Ambassador in Baghdad, Sir Basil Newton, was replaced on April 2 nd 1941, just a few weeks before the outbreak of overt hostilities. It is reported that his farewell speech contained the remark although there was some discontent in Baghdad, it was minor and there was nothing to worry about In the light of what happened a few weeks later, this provides some (barely digestible?) food for thought. Considering, briefly, the political background in early 1941, while the country was nominally a monarchy, this was rather far from the reality of the situation. King Ghazi, a friend of the British, had been killed in a motor accident in 1939 at the age of 28. He was succeeded by his infant son, Faisal II, under the regency of his uncle, HRH Emir Abdullah Illah, also pro- British, but weak. The situation was therefore such that a strong character could effectively take the reins of power. Such an individual was Rashid Ali. He was a lawyer by training and a turbulent politician by livelihood. By an unfortunate set of historical circumstances, which need not detain us here, he was made Prime Minister in 1939 by the Regent. Rashid Ali was actively even rampantly anti-british. In such a position of power he was ideally placed to continue to foment anti-british feeling with active, if covert, assistance from the Axis powers. Matters came to a head on 2 April 1941, when the Regent lost his nerve in his dealings with Ali, and claimed asylum at the American Embassy. From there he was conveyed, via the 359

20 RAF station at Habbaniya (ironically), to sanctuary on board a Royal Navy vessel in the Persian Gulf. This left the way clear for Rashid Ali. However the flight of the Regent forced the British to accept that all was not well in Iraq (in spite of what Sir Basil Newton was saying), a fact which Whitehall and Cairo (i.e. GHQ ME) had almost totally ignored and minimised in the preceding months (there s none so deaf etc ). Little could now be done to restore much balance to a situation becoming more and more out of control, given pressures elsewhere in the Balkans and in the Western Desert. However, the new AOC-in-C, Air Marshal Tedder, ordered six Gladiators (ageing bi-planes) to move from the Western Desert to Habbaniya. Perversely, this was overruled by Whitehall. India Command was more positive, and diverted a troopship that had left for Singapore with 400 soldiers of the King s Own Royal Regiment. They landed at Basra in mid- April. Rashid Ali, under the terms of the Treaty, was forced to allow them to land, but hedged his agreement with many conditions with which the British were unable to comply, giving Ali more excuse for acting as he subsequently did. Active Hostilities: 30April 31 May Clearly the key to the British military presence in Iraq was the lavishly equipped airfield at Habbaniya. During the early hours of 30 April Ali despatched his troops to surround the base, where they occupied the 200-foot high plateau that overlooked it. By dawn that day, there were more than 1000 troops with heavy guns and armour in position, a mere 2000 yards from the air base - see Map 2 on page 358. The response and activities of the station commander, Air Vice Marshal Smart, and the ensuing diplomatic exchanges over the next 36 hours need not concern us unduly here they are well documented in Reference 1. Needless to say, the tactical situation was disadvantageous in the extreme to the occupants of the base, where the heaviest armament available was some trench mortars. However, Smart eventually made a decision by which it might be considered he earned the right to his elevated rank: he concluded that he would have to attack the Iraqi troops on the plateau before they attacked the base. Fortunately for him, the foresight and ingenuity of some of the junior officers at the base in the preceding weeks had enabled many of the training aircraft with which the base was equipped to be adapted to carry small bombs as a Flying School it was not equipped to carry out hostilities. The extraordinary bureaucratic nonsense which these officers had to overcome to achieve this is described in detail in Reference 1 and makes highly entertaining reading. Needless to say, being a training establishment, most of the available aircrew were only partly-trained pupils, and many air-gunners and bomb aimers were taken from the ground staff. Not withstanding these resourcing problems, at 5 am on 2 May the adapted RAF trainers, ably assisted by ten Wellington bombers of 70 Squadron at Basra, began bombing the Iraqi troops, now numbering several thousand, on the plateau. This they did all day, returning to land at the base only to re-fuel, re-arm, and effect running repairs. Many aircraft and crews carried out six or more sorties on the first day. The Iraqi army defended itself, for the cost was high: 10 of the 39 available pilots had been killed, and 22 of the 64 aircraft had been lost. The runways were an easy open target for the Iraqi artillery. And so it went on, with casualties and the remaining civilians and women being evacuated by DC2s of 31 Squadron, detached from India, and based temporarily at Basra. On the third day of the Battle of Habbaniya, the 5 th of May, a flight of four twin-engined Blenheim fighters arrived as reinforcements, detached from 203 Squadron in Egypt. On 6 May the Iraqis withdrew from the plateau, only to meet reinforcements coming to join them from Baghdad. In the ensuing traffic jam on the road to Baghdad, the remaining RAF sorties wrought terrible damage. The Battle of Habbaniya was effectively won, but not quite over: the hostile Iraqi forces and government were still to be pacified. Also, the Germans were responding to Rashid Ali s demands for help. A small force of Luftwaffe aircraft Me110 fighters, He111 bombers, and Ju52 transports (21 aircraft altogether) under the command of Colonel Junck was despatched from Germany, staging through Athens, Rhodes, and (Vichy) Damascus. Their base was at Mosul, just over 200 miles NNW of Habbaniya, where they arrived 360

21 on 14 and 15 May. Colonel Junck despatched his first attack on Habbaniya on the afternoon of 16 May and severely damaged the hangars. He also paid attention over the next few days (but with little success) to the army force (known as Kingcol), despatched by Wavell from Egypt to relieve Habbaniya and start to restore order in Baghdad. Until reading Reference 1, I was not aware the Luftwaffe was ever in Iraq. They were not present for long: they left Mosul on 29 May after it had become clear that the Iraqi cause was lost. Does anyone have any knowledge of their postal arrangements? How, in fact, might we even recognise mail from Junck s force? To balance the arrival of the Luftwaffe, RAF reinforcements arrived on May 17 th : four Gladiators of 94 Squadron from Ismailia, and six Blenheim bombers of 84 Squadron from Aqir in Palestine. Returning to the hostilities between the British forces and the Iraqis, Kingcol arrived at Habbaniya on 18 May. Since the base no longer required relieving in the military sense, the next objective for it was to secure the only bridge on the Euphrates on the road to Baghdad at the small town of Fallujah, a few miles east of Habbaniya. This was secured with little difficulty by the column on 20 May, but only after 134 sorties by aircraft from the Flying School dropping 9 ¼ tons of bombs. They also performed a leaflet drop. (Has anyone seen one of these?! I d love to be have been able to illustrate one here.) More action followed on 21 May when aircraft from the school raided the Iraqi Air Force base at Raschid airfield in Baghdad, indulging in some lowlevel dive bombing. While all this had been going on, the main army force despatched to impose order on Iraq, Habforce, was slowly making its way across the desert, and arrived at Habbaniya a week after Kingcol on May. They reached the outskirts of Baghdad on the evening of 29 May. To encourage the Iraqis further to accept the British presence, on the following day, 30 May, the School combined with 84 Squadron now fully based at Habbaniya since 24 May (see Reference 2) - the detachment of 94 Squadron previously mentioned, and with the Blenheims detached from 203 Squadron to make two heavy bombing attacks on Raschid airfield and the Iraqi army s main barracks in Baghdad. On 31 May the Iraqis requested a truce, and terms were subsequently negotiated. The Iraq affair was over. Postal History. Fig 1 Fig 2 The period of interest extends beyond the end of May 1941, really. Up to and through April 1941, RAF mail passed into the civil Iraqi postal system, and thus bore Iraq stamps. After May, though, the change in postal arrangements is very marked, the mail proceeding through the British military postal service. Figures 1 and 2 (courtesy of Alistair Kennedy) demonstrate this. They are from a RAF nursing orderly at Habbaniya. Figure 1 is dated April 12 th 1941, and bears Iraq stamps pre-paying the airmail rate to the UK, postmarked at the civil office at Habbaniya. Figure 2 shows the change in status of Iraq from a passive theatre of operations, so to speak, to active, and thus qualifying for the free potage concession. It is also on airmail stationary, 361

22 endorsed by the sender On Active Service, stampless, but postmarked in Egypt with the EPP4 mark, 2 June Presumably it was flown back to Egypt on a service aircraft for onward transmission. Both carry the censor R9/92 of the RAF Hospital in Habbaniya (Reference 3). Fig 3 Fig 4 However, to give the lie to the free postage postulate, Figure 3 shows a cover posted through FPO 121 on 1 July This FPO may have arrived with Kingcol. The cover bears 4 x 3d GB stamps to pre-pay airmail back to the UK. The return address is Main W/T, AHQ, Habbaniya. It bears the censor R9/109. Figure 4 shows the same combination of FPO (dated 29/6/41) and censor, but stampless, so presumably surface mail. There is a contemporary (?) note on the back Sept 15 th Received, with a return address of SHQ, RAF Habbaniya. Figure 5 shows an early airgraph (Keeton ME/1D) dated six days after the cessation of hostilities, from the Sisters Mess, RAF Habbaniya. Rather irritatingly, the writer has nothing to say about her recent experiences. Figure 6 shows the front of, and Figure 7 the reverse of, an item from the RAF base at Shaibah, posted through the civil post office there on 22 April, less than ten days before the outbreak of overt hostilities. This carries an Iraqi censor label, and a Farsispeaking colleague of mine tells me that the printing on it says Raghib Gate (or Entrance), and the handstamp says the same, with the second line reading Basra. Perhaps a reader with more knowledge of Iraqi postal censorship affairs than the author has might care to respond and expand on that? It is the only example I ve seen on RAF mail and may indicate the increasing interest that Rashid Ali s administration was taking in what our armed forces were thinking, prior to the opening of hostilities. 362

23 Fig 6 Fig 7 Figure 8 demonstrates the reversion to the civil mail system, and depicts an honour cover (printing 576/PMEO, 5,000,000 3/41) postmarked Habbaniya 19 September 1941, bearing Iraq stamps to 80 fils to cover the airmail rate to the UK. This corresponds to 1/4d, when the correct rate would be 1/3d, ie 75 fils. Interestingly, it carries two RAF censors, R9/9, and R9/92. I m not sure why this has the extra censor (ie R9/9). All known recordings of this mark are connected with Iraq, covering the period March-September Fig 9 Fig 10 Figure 9 and its reverse, Figure 10, show a cover from RAF Durban dated 5 March 1941 to RAF Habbaniya. It was handled in Baghdad on 27 April, and reached the civil post office at Habbaniya on 29 April. It bears the most illuminating red ink manuscript Recovered from Post Office Presumably it had lain at the Habbaniya civil office during the siege. 363

24 Finally, Figure 11 shows the front, and Figure 12 the reverse, of a cover travelling in the opposite direction, to South Africa. (These figures are at colour page 358). It is postmarked Habbaniya, 29 April 1941, but did not reach Baghdad, 60 miles away until 18 July, and Basra the following day. Such a long (10 week) delay in handling within Iraq indicates that this item was also a victim of the conflict, as we might expect, considering the date of initial handling. It also depicts an interesting airmail rate (equivalent to 1/10d). References: 1. Dudgeon, AG, Air Vice-Marshal, CBE, DFC: Hidden Victory: The Battle of Habbaniya, May 1941; Tempus Publishing, ISBN Jefford, CG, Wing Cmdr, MBE: RAF Squadrons; Air Life Publishing, ISBN Colley, Dr N and Garrard, W: Censorship in The Royal Air Force, ; Chavril Press, ISBN ***************************************************************** Feedback The Battles of Narvik. From David Ball It surprises me that I can add anything to Nick's splendidly comprehensive article in FPHS Journal No 279 pp from a Malta collection, but perhaps I can. I too have been fortunate in securing two items of mail from HMS Cossack, already famous for her rescue of 300 Allied Merchant seamen from the German supply ship Altmark in Joessing Fjord, Norway, on 16 February Fig 1 As Nick has described at the second Battle of Narvik on April 13-14th 1940 Cossack was no less intrepid but less fortunate in running aground badly damaged, but she re-floated and withdrew safely. Subsequently she returned to Portsmouth Dockyard for repairs. Her Captain was Phillip Vian who enhanced his reputation further with long and very successful commands of cruiser and destroyer forces in the Mediterranean in 1941 to The two letters are from a Maltese crew member to his family in Rabat, Malta. The first is marked in m/s c/o G.P.O. London and has the D/R RECEIVED FROM H.M. SHIPS. MALTA cds dated MR and is identified by a m/s Cossack inside the flap of the envelope, in the hand of the sender. (Fig 1 above). 364

25 The second has a Naval Tombstone Censor signed WGW but struck out and replaced by m/s Uncensored WGW - the initials of Lt WG Wheeler RAN of HMS Cossack 2 It was then censored on arrival in Malta with the local CS-T2.47. (Other examples of this Censor are known on letters written in Maltese). (See Fig 2 below). Many Maltese enlisted, mostly as cooks and messmen, in ships of the peacetime Mediterranean Fleet. In the early months of the war they found their ships migrating North to less congenial surroundings in the Home Fleet. The RECEIVED FROM H.M.SHIPS MALTA cds was applied by the G.P.O. Malta on mail from the Fleet Mail Office which was usually for local delivery. In peacetime this was from ships in distant parts of the Mediterranean who gave their local mail to other ships returning to the island. These items of mail are different in that they are from a ship in Northern waters from whence no ships were returning to Malta. They bear no postal markings of London or elsewhere and I think the explanation is that they were accorded the privilege of inclusion in the Admiralty bag both to London and onwards to Malta. The other problem encountered with similar mail is that, like Lt Wheeler, few censoring Naval Officers read Maltese. These letters could not be censored at source and were examined on arrival by one of the Maltese-speaking censors, and they are relevant to Nick's article! Fig 2 The Driscoll Scouts. From David Ball Concerning the cover illustrated by Gordon Catto in Spring 2009, p 279, General Sir Leslie Rundle was Governor of Malta until February He would have known Lt WR Gatt who was one of a handful of Maltese Officers who volunteered for Active Service overseas. Gatt was mentioned in Despatches at Gallipoli and then served for 2 years in Egypt. He finished the war as Commandant of the Prisoner-of-War Camp in Malta. He completed his Military career as ADC to the Governor. Meanwhile his night job was as Stamp dealer and distinguished Philatelist; the author of many articles on Malta Philately. Both aspects of his career have been explored in recent articles in MELITA, Journal of the Malta Study Circle Vol 15 nos 11 to The Navy List, June

26 Q326. From Alistair Kennedy I would assume that the airgraph was specially printed for the troops arriving, possibly on board the ship? It was necessary to advise correspondents of the change of address, to India Command, because a different address would have been in use during the voyage - a four digit APO number. That address would have enabled the Home Postal Centre in England to despatch mails to an appropriate port for delivery to the ship. Q (not O16). From Alistair Kennedy This was as stated the British Post Office number allocated to Brockenhurst. The handstamp 1D/016 was a charge mark, not a paid mark, closely resembling a standard type of charge mark, although possibly rubber rather than the usual metal. Postage on mail from troops in hospital in the UK was payable at standard British postal rates, at that time 1d for a letter. However underpaid mail, if identifiable as from a wounded soldier, was chargeable at the single rate, instead of double. Hence the use of the Penny charge mark. That was the theory - in practice the charge was frequently not collected. See Kennedy & Crabb page109. And from Dr Michael Gould. If the mark is struck in red then it might signify a prepayment however, that would be unusual for this date. I expect the mark to be in black and it is the postage due mark of Brockenhurst (the date stamp is one of those with the R of RSO cut out). If two or more items were sent to the same address then the delivery office parcelled them together and put the total postage due on the top one. That may be what happened here. However I have seen other service mail apparently without the due collected and I do wonder whether some delivery offices simply ignored charges on services mail. Note that a single rate of 1d was charged a concession for unpaid service mail in the Great War. Query 313 (Journals 277, 278, 279). From Alistair Kennedy The Post Office Circular of 25 th April 1893 reported that a money order and savings bank office would open at Portsmouth Dockyard Town Sub Office on 1 st May The notice also indicated that access was restricted to persons with right of entry to the Dockyard. However this was not necessarily a completely new office, but could have been simply an upgrading of an existing sub office, possibly even a continuation of the Navy Post Office. The Post Office Guides of the period included lists of post offices, but excluded town sub offices which were not money order offices; it would therefore involve considerable research in Post Office Archives to trace whether there was a continuing office, but even if there was, there would have been no postmark between 1860 and A straight line NAVY POST OFFICE handstamp was issued to Portsmouth on 9 July 1847 (GPO Stamp Impression Book, Vol 9), followed by an undated double arc name stamp with the same inscription in December 1852 (Steel Impressions Book Vol 11). A brief note on British postmarks might be helpful. In 1860 postmasters were ordered to withdraw all stamps (postmarks) from offices that were not money order offices. Thereafter sub offices were only issued with datestamps on becoming money order offices, or, later, transacting savings bank or telegraph business. On introduction of postal orders in 1883 rubber datestamps were issued to smaller offices transacting postal order business. In the twentieth century metal datestamps began to be supplied to all offices regardless of status. A metal datestamp would therefore have been supplied to Portsmouth Dockyard in time for 1 May 1893, for counter use, but may also have been struck on the back of envelopes posted. In the twentieth century it would have been used to cancel stamps on registered or express mail. As a matter of interest an office opened at Portsmouth Naval Barracks on 28 March 1904, transacting money order, savings bank and telegraph business. 366

27 Sorry, I have written far too much on this. The essential information is that there might have been a sub office at Portsmouth Dockyard prior to 1893, but it would not have had a postmark between 1860 and APO SAM (Journal 279). From Alistair Kennedy One further recording: 10 June 16 censor 3/2758 signed KM Jones to a commercial address in London (illustrated in Charles Entwistle s list no 321). I attach a scan of the SVW variety of 31 MY 16. This variety was recorded by Rev P E Raynor. Q 322 (Journal 279). From Alistair Kennedy I can confirm the Royal Naval Division connection. The Royal Naval Division had served on Gallipoli, then provided Aegean garrisons. On 29 April 1916 the Division was transferred from the Admiralty to the War Office. It was sent to France, where, on 19 July 1916, it was redesignated 63 rd (Royal Naval) Division, the two surviving Naval Brigades becoming 188 th and 189 th Brigades, which retained their Naval and Marine personnel. The Division was completed by a newly formed 190 th Infantry Brigade plus artillery and other army support units. FPO DW4 datestamp was used by 63 Division HQ FPO during the period approx February to July See Kennedy & Crabb p 224. On 26 July 1918 the Division was probably in the area of Toutencourt. Q 324 (Journal 279). From Alistair Kennedy FPO 188 datestamp was used by the 1 st Cavalry Brigade during the period approx August 1918 to early February 1919, before the correct datestamp FPO C1 was restored. (Source personal research, see Kennedy and Crabb p 107, 236, 245). On a recent visit to the National Archives at Kew I looked at the War Diary of 1 st Cavalry Brigade (ref WO95/1108). On Armistice Day, 11 th November 1918, the Brigade was in former German occupied Belgium, on the Laton Canal (E of Peruwelz) It advanced through Namur and Xhouris in support of Canadian Corps, reaching the German frontier on 29 December, HQ being then at Wanne. The frontier was crossed on 1 December and the march to the Rhine continued, via Amel, Euskirchen, and Duisburg (where Brigade HQ was located 8-11 December). The Rhine was crossed at Bonn on 12 December, and units reached the 30 kilometre perimeter from Cologne the next day, by the 16 th moving back to the Cologne area (East bank), then to winter quarters near Zieverich, West of Cologne, where the Brigade remained until the end of March. Re Query 328. From Jim Hamlin I can confirm that the marks on the letter from the High Commissioner for New Zealand sent to the International Commission for the Red Cross in Geneva are the products of the Munich Censor Office. The cachet on the sealing strip was in use from Oct 1944 to April 1945 according to Karl-Heinz Riemer s work on censors published in Riemer, Karl-Heinz: Die Überwachung des Auslandsbrief-Verkehrs Während des II. Weltkrieges Durch Deutsche Dienststellen: Handbuch und Katalog,

28 This period of censorship marked the removal of the Wehrmacht s supervision of censorship and its replacement by the SS Hitler was annoyed at the involvement of the Wehrmacht in the assassination attempt on him. Riemer was unable to find the purpose of the SS and Edelweiss marks, but they are common on mail from Poland to Portugal They are thought to be a form of Post Office check and do not have any SS involvement. Query 329. From Dr Michael Gould There are a couple of books that show a range of undelivered cachets from WW2. Some time back I raised the question as to whether it was worth trying to run a study in order to list these but the concensus then was that we had little chance of getting anywhere near a full coverage. Such a study might start with some articles in the Journal but would then be very reliant on members submitting details of other marks. Re the article Bermuda or London? in Journal 280. From Edward Proud The Postal History of Bermuda published in 2003 confirms that both the marks are from Hamilton, Bermuda. Re Query 328. From Neil Russell The two marks queried by Brian were both applied in the ABF or Auslandsbriefprufstelle (Foreign Mail Examination Centre) at Munich. The boxed number is that of the actual censor associated with the label and handstamp at the left. The double S is a mark used by the Sorting Group. There were three sizes of this mark, namely: 5mm high used Dec 42 to Mar 43, 8mm high used Nov 43 to May 44 and 11mm high used Jun 44 to Jan 45. Brian s example appears to be the last type. May I also comment on the cover shown at the bottom of page 325? It is well known that civil censorship insignia can frequently indicate the routing of a cover in wartime. To send mail by ship from South Africa to Dublin via Australia is somewhat incredulous, but I agree with the original conclusion that this cover was inadvertently thrown into the wrong mailbag and ended up on the wrong ship which went East instead of West and North. ***************************************************** Iraq Postal History 1920s to 1940s By Douglas Armitage and Robert Johnson Review by Aliastair Kennedy 328 pages, published by The Stuart Rossiter Trust, Price 38 + p&p from D Tett, PO Box 34, Wheathampstead, Herts, AL4 8JY. The authors have carried out a great deal of research into postage rates, particularly airmail, from Iraq, and the bulk of this book is a tabular presentation of the rates, and routes available, to every country. The period 1921 to 1926 when the Royal Air Force carried mail between Cairo and Baghdad is included, with details of rates to Iraq from selected countries, including Egypt, UK and USA. There is a chapter on Forces mail and censorship in the Second World War, but the authors admit that this is a very incomplete token reference only. To sum up this is an excellent book for collectors interested in airmail and Iraq, but not for forces mail, which is covered in other books. The review copy has been donated to our library for anyone wishing to see it. 368

29 A Naval Signals Book of 1746 Colin Tabeart Communications within fleets prior to the wireless age was simple enough when the ships were in harbour orders and other communications could be made by letter, copied out by the Admiral s Secretary, and rowed round the fleet to individual commanding officers. At sea it was more difficult: captains could be called aboard the Flagship for discussions and orders, but only when weather conditions and time allowed: at other times visual modes of signalling had to be employed. During the hours of darkness even this was not possible and a very simple system of gun signals was evolved for basic manoeuvres. In daylight hours the principle means was by signal flags, various codes being devised over the years by various navies. Recently I was lucky enough to become the custodian of a slim volume of about 1746, the title page of which is shown here. It appears to have been printed in 1746, and contains a table of 16 signal flags, hand-coloured, with explanations of their meaning when flown from various masts. A sample page is shown in colour at Page 357. As well as the signal code the book also contains fascinating details such as the number of small arms, swords, etc to be issued to each class of ship, type of anchors to be fitted, and a table of ranges for each type of cannon according to experiments by a Mr Anderson. His table recorded that, for example: a demiculverin of 10 foot barrel length could throw a 4 inch diameter ball 4886 paces of 5 feet each (c.f. the Roman measure of a double pace of about 5 feet) with a charge of 7lb 5oz of gunpowder; a 12 foot long Canon Royal threw an 8 diameter ball 3298 paces with 27lb 14oz of gunpowder probably enough powder to demolish a pretty large building. But perhaps the most interesting double page of all is that showing the signals for the squadron under the command of the Duke d Anville, 1746, also shown in colour at page 357. This very powerful French force of some 73 ships and transports, carrying 13,000 men, set out in June 1746 to recapture Louisbourg, Nova Scotia, and thereafter to harass the British colonies of the American seaboard. A Google search for Duke d Anville will readily provide details, but essentially the expedition was ravaged by gales and sickness and achieved nothing. The inclusion of this page in a British signals book does, however, pose the interesting question: was it put in before the French sailed so that British commanders could know the French Commander s intentions, or was it added as an example of French signalling that might still be relevant to a future engagement? If included beforehand it suggests a pretty good espionage system was in operation. 369

30 Operation Atalanta (2008-9) The European Union s first ever Naval Operation Marc Parren During the year 2008 Somali pirates attacked dozens of ships which, in 42 cases, led to successful hijacking of ships off the coast, the biggest trophies being a Ukrainian vessel with several tanks on board and a Saudi Arabian super tanker. Deeply concerned by the outbreak of acts of piracy and armed robbery off the Somali coast, the European Union launched a military operation effective from 8 December 2008 to help deter, prevent and repress acts of piracy and armed robbery off the coast of Somalia. This military operation, named EU NAVFOR Somalia - Operation ATALANTA, was launched in support of UN Security Council Resolutions 1814, 1816, 1838 and 1846, adopted in 2008 by the United Nations Security Council. Its aim is to contribute to: the protection of vessels of the World Food Programme (WFP) delivering food aid to displaced persons in Somalia; the protection of vulnerable vessels sailing in the Gulf of Aden and off the Somali coast and the deterrence, prevention and repression of acts of piracy and armed robbery off the Somali coast. This operation - the European Union's first ever naval operation - is scheduled for an initial period of twelve months. During this period more than twenty vessels and aircraft will take part in EU NAVFOR, i.e. more than 1,500 military personnel. At any one time EU NAVFOR will include up to 6 frigates and 3 maritime patrol aircraft. At the time of writing, five EU member states are making a permanent operational contribution to the operation: France, Germany, Greece, Italy and Spain. They should be joined by Sweden, Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands in the near future. Contributions from third countries such as Norway and Switzerland are also expected. Accordingly on Friday 27 February the Norwegian Government decided to send a Nansen-class frigate to be deployed in August. Cypriot, Maltese and Finnish military personnel supplement the team at the Operational Headquarters at Northwood, UK. Greece contributed the frigate Psara with its helicopter that formed the Force Headquarters, which was present in Djibouti as of 16 December 2008, while the British frigate HMS Northumberland (F-238) joined the flagship. HMS Northumberland was the first ship in this force to safely escort World Food Programme (WFP) ships and had to be at high alert for long periods of time to stop the humanitarian aid from being taken by pirates operating in the region. During this period the ship escorted ships along the 1,500-mile length of the Somali coastline delivering food to the ports of Mogadishu, Boosaaso and Berbera. HMS Northumberland returned to Devonport on 24 March 2009 after being deployed for 6 months on humanitarian duties and on the counter-piracy mission Operation ATALANTA. On 19 December 2008 the German frigate FGS Karlsruhe (F-212) joined Operation ATALANTA. She carries a wide mix of equipment, including two Sea Lynx MK 88 helicopters, for a multi-role capability (Fig 1). Early in February 2009 Karlsruhe was relieved by her sister ship Rheinland Pfalz after a handover ceremony in Djibouti to mark the occasion. Initially France participated with the frigate Nivôse (F-732) and a maritime patrol aircraft of the Bréguet Atlantique 2 type, as well as logistical support provided from her permanent base in Djibouti where she has 3,000 military personnel stationed. The Nivôse assisted until 15 December 2008 after which she was relieved by the frigate Premier Maître L'Her (F-792) until the end of December (Fig 2). This was followed by the participation of the French frigate Floréal (F- 730), normally based on the island of Réunion, which sailed on 7 January from Djibouti to join the British frigate HMS Northumberland and the German frigate Karlsruhe to carry out anti piracy 370

31 duties off the Somali coast and assist with the coordination and protection of the merchant vessel group transits through the Gulf of Aden (Fig 3). Fig 1. Cover of the German frigate FGS Karlsruhe (F-212) posted on 27 January 2009 just before being relieved by the frigate Rheinland Pfalz. Fig 2 (below). Cover from the frigate Nivôse (F-732) posted on 23 December 2008 at the island of Réunion after being relieved by the frigate Premier Maître L'Her (F-792). Spain initially contributed a P3- Orion maritime patrol aircraft based in Djibouti. At the end of January the Spanish cabinet gave approval for the Santa Maria Class frigate Victoria (F-82), a 4,000 tonne warship with a 76mm gun, anti-ship missiles and two Seahawk Lamps III helicopters on board, to join Operation ATALANTA.. Accompanied by a supply ship they joined the operational theatre in the second week of February. The Italian corvette Comandante Bettica, which saw service before with the United Nations UNIFIL Maritime Task Force off the Lebanon coast, joined the Force on 7 March The vessel is one of four light combatant ships that were built for the Italian Navy in 2003 and are ideally suited to anti-piracy operations. With a crew of 70 they displace 1500 tons and are equipped with surveillance radar, a number of guns and a Bell Augusta helicopter. The military personnel involved in the operation can arrest, detain and transfer persons who are suspected of having committed or who have committed acts of piracy or armed robbery in the areas where they are present. They can seize the vessels of the pirates or the vessels captured following an act of piracy or an armed robbery and which are in the hands of the pirates, as well as the goods on board. The suspects can be prosecuted, as appropriate, by an EU member state or by Kenya under the agreement signed with the EU on 6 March 2009 giving the Kenyan authorities the right to prosecute. The European naval force operates in a zone comprising the south of the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and part of the Indian Ocean, which represents an area comparable to that of the Mediterranean. Several naval forces are present in 371

32 this zone and provide permanent or temporary backup to the action conducted by the European naval force. The EU NAVFOR operation is in permanent liaison with these forces (CTF-151, NATO Maritime Group, Russian, Indian, Japanese and Chinese vessels). Each merchant vessel wishing to transit through the Gulf of Aden or off the coast of Somalia is requested to register in advance on the website of the Maritime Security Centre-Horn of Africa ( which was set up at the beginning of the operation to facilitate the coordination of maritime traffic. This initiative, which was welcomed by the whole community of ship owners and merchant navies, makes it possible for vessels that observe EU NAVFOR recommendations to know what arrangements are being deployed, receive in some cases close military protection, and thus reduce the risk of attacks or capture. Between the start of the operation in December 2008 until the end of February 2009 some 15 escorts were made enabling the delivery of more than 81,000 tonnes of food under the World Food Programme into different Somali ports. On average more than 1.6 million Somalis are to be fed on a daily basis. Since the start of the operation the number of attacks by pirates has greatly diminished. This is linked to the dissuasive presence of the vessels of the EU NAVFOR ATALANTA force and to the self-protection measures that have been put in place for merchant shipping at the recommendation of the European naval force. Fig 3. Cover of the frigate Floréal (F-730) posted on 25 January 2009 at the French military base in Djibouti. The cancellation 610 BUREAU POSTAL INTERARMÉES (BPI) came into use in Djibouti on 1 January ************************************************************* Printed by: Colourgraphic-Arts Ltd 43 Woolmer Way BORDON GU35 9QE ************************************************************ 372