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I have a couple of covers I would like some help with please ;

A) A PPC from Ceylon,address side shown with this post.

London machine cancel but date not decipherable. Unboxed RECEIVED FROM... handstamp. Undated but clear censor's signature handstamp looks like P? de B Lockyer.

Can anyone identify him and possibly the ship he was on?

B) A neat cover with standard 8 barred circle dumb cancel with triangular censor mark PASSED / BY / CENSOR inside, addressed to J N Masters, Hope Stores, Rye, England. No date

The censor mark measures 26mm along the bottom line and 20mm down each side. Very similar to Gould 8A0 on page 118 of his Volume 2 but his dimensions (45 x 25mm) appear larger. He says 6 WING RNAS

I am attaching a scan of a cover addressed to an officer with the above unit. The franking is FPO SC3, HQ Canadian Reinforcement Units, Aldershot.

I am endeavouring to understand what the initials stand for. I imagine the C is for Canadian and the R is for Reinforcement, but cannot find anything to confirm what the S stands for except a reference to the Canadian Signals Reinforcement Unit. Does this make sense?

I have had request in whether anyone knows about the cachet below and confirm the the units it was associated with?

When I saw the item initially at Midpex thought is was 5th Wing but looking at the scan could be 6th Wing.

The ‘ARS’ I had not managed to find a definite answer but would suggest it stands for ‘Aeroplane Repair Section’ or ‘Aircraft Repair Section’ and would part of the of the Aircraft Park which was split into several different Sections and kept records and reports on aircraft, personnel, engines, etc. in service with the Squadrons within the Wing. I would suggest the envelope was waxed / Oiled to help keep the paperwork clean and dry as being used in the open on an airfield

It measures appx 263x136mm with a flap 48mm deep

Any thoughts on the attached cover would be appreciated....

It appears to be FPO 59 dated Mar 1983 in the Falkland Islands - am I missing something?

The Derek Ransom's list does not have FPO 59 recorded, I checked FPO 69 this is not recorded this date. Also if you look at the date configuration on the date stamp the MR (March month) is not correctly placed, it is in the year position.

It seems strange that someone would go to any lengths to forge a cheap item like this, it is clearly philatelic.

HMS Cardiff was in the Persian Gulf and redeployed to the FI in the June of 1983 - this cover does not make any sense on that basis? 

Comments?

I am attaching a scan of a cover from an officer with the Canadian army in France. The franking is FPO AC1 dated Jul 20 44. This relates to the 1st Canadian Army Headquarters. Units of the 1st Canadian Army landed on Juno beach on D-Day, but the Headquarters itself didn't arrive in France until mid-July and only became fully operational on the 23rd July. This would tie in with the date of the franking.

On the reverse of the cover, the officer gives his address as Cdn Army Overseas - BWE Forces. Am I right in assuming that this stands for British Western Europe Forces or something similar?

I have been approached by an East Africa Study Circle member with the following query:

I wonder if you may be able to shed some light on two covers I have that seem to show an anomaly. These were sent from Kiganjo to the UK in 1955 & 56 and both bear an oval hand-stamp, ostensibly to authorise the forces concession, with 'ADJUTANT'S OFFICE / Royal Garhwal Rifles'. Though this was a bona fide Indian regiment, I have been unable to find any evidence that it was involved in the Kenya Emergency. Therefore, though the covers look genuine, I have to be a bit suspicious.

My view is:

These official and ordinary covers sent to the Moscow Red Cross Committee in Copenhagen are quite common and have been available for as long as I have been collecting. Thy are always unsealed (to allow censorship before leaving Germany) and always sent by Russian POW officers. Does anyone know if it was only the officers who could ask for aid and has anyone seen an article on these covers?

Not being a WW2 collector I would like help with a FSPC. It is clearly dated 29 My 40. My query is - would this have been applied on the beaches at Dunkirk or when the soldier landed at Dover?