I have received the following enquiry:

Hi, I'm looking for some information about the RAF air-mail service from UK to BAOR in 1919. I wonder is there anyone who might talk to me about postal covers from the service, or if there is a publication I could buy? Thank you.

I received the following response from Geoff Hanney:

There is amount detail in “The Postal History of British Air Mails” by Edward B. Proud; pages 31 to 50 – Covers RAF Services including BAOR during and just after the World War 1.

There is couple of pages in “History of the British Army Postal Service, Volume 2 1902-1927” by Edward B. Proud; 2^nd edition pages 36-37 although I believe this is just an abridged version from the Air Mail book.

Cover addressed to the 17th Stationary Hospital, Bombay, India sent from P. Robertson, Civil Detenus, Conception, Valparaiso, Chile. Chile interned a few German sailors, but Robertson doesn't sound very German. Any references to British or American internment of civilians in neutral Chile would be appreciated.

I have the original document awarding the rank of Flight Sub-Lieutenant in the Royal Naval Air Service, to a Joseph Francis Thomas Fenn, dated 1st May 1918, backdated to 30 January 1918. 'Signed' by George V.

I can find no reference to him on the internet. Can anyone help?

Cheers

Tony

The cover shown has APO 723 address so presumably the recipient is going to Greece where at some point he has become a PoW as per cachets.

Can any one tell me what the "G.M." mark is an abbreviation for and also the G.H.Q. 0.2.E. M.E.F. No 4 in the boxed cachet means. I can work out the GHQ and MEF bits, but not the 02E and No 4.

Help please. A scruffy cover from Kenya dated 18 November 1942. Where is APO 4330?

Michael

I am attaching a scan of a cover from Victoria, BC, to a Major and his wife in India.

This is a card given to new captured POWs by the Germans to enable them to inform the Red Cross in Geneva of their capture.  This card dated the 12^th of June 1944 was used by a Canadian Private Moffatt who had been captured on the previous day. 

I only collect items with a Canadian connection and this is the first of these cards I have seen.  Only about 9,000 Canadian POW s were held by the Germans so these specific ones used by Canadians must be fairly uncommon.  However there must have been many, many more used by other Allied POWs.

My main question is

How did this card come to be in the public domain.  Did the Red Cross dispose of their holdings at some time after the war and of so how.  Moffatt’s family in Canada were not aware of it existence?

This is a scan from a cover addressed to Canada with the FPO 634 date stamp for the 3rd April 1943. Sent to Canada with a 4 C.I.B. COY RCASC / ORDERLY ROOM hand stamp on the reverse.

Proud vol III lists this only as "Reported missing at sea Jan 43" which is obviously incorrect. 4 CIB the 4th Canadian Infantry Brigade. (assuming the the ID is correct) were training in England in April 43.

Canadian reference books (Sayles vol II and Bailey & Toop vol II) do not list this FPO number as being assigned to a Canadian unit.

The first item below is a replica of a RCAF Franking Stamp shown in Douglas Sayles' 2011 The BNAPS Catalogue of Canadian Military Mail Markings, Volume 2 The World War 2 Era 1936-1945. The second stamp appeared recently on eBay and differs from the first by the initials "KS" on either side of the crown.

High Johnson suggests that "KS" could mean "King's Service". This seems logical, but I would like to find a source to back it up. Any help appreciated. Thanks.

Mike Street