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Peter Harvey
Peter Harvey

Censor or not a Censor that is the question - 1940 General Botha


Attached a South African cover cancelled 4 SEP B 40 SIMONSTOWN with the illustrated cachet to the reverse CERTIFIED CORRECT CHAPLAIN S.A.T.S. "General Botha".


The General Botha was a South African Navy Training Ship (SATS) (Previously HMS Thames), from 1922 used as a training vessel and took cadets for training from the outset of WW2 until commandeered by the Admiralty as a stores vessel.


Has anyone else recorded this cachet being used. The logic to me would be that the Chaplain censored outgoing mail, so would this class as a censor cachet?


Any help appreciated.


ree



24 Views

Hmm, good question. Is it simply a polite and inoffensive way of saying 'CENSORED'? Perhaps the Chaplain was a sensitive chap and and didn't want to invoke any perceived opprobrium that the explicit use of that word might invoke? If so, then the answer is, I think, yes, it IS a 'censor' mark.


chrs

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