Meeting Report May 2025

17th May 2025 – From the collection: Members to display from 1 to 15 sheets

This was an opportunity for members to show anything from their collection, be it one sheet or up to 15.  Before we started our President (Geoff Hanney) took the opportunity to present to Richard Berry his Certificate for winning The John Daynes Plate (15-sheet competition) at our meeting on 15 February.  The following seven members have submitted a brief report on what they showed.

Geoff Hanney's display was of the Japanese Forces in China from about 1937 to end of the war. It was made up nearly entirely of forces picture postcards. The attraction was the quality of the pictures as Japanese Mark's are difficult to decipher. The Japanese did not control the whole country and was split into North, South and Central areas.

Richard Berry showed a newly acquired small correspondence as a precursor to his forthcoming display in September to the Society to commemorate the 80th anniversary of victory over Japan.  The pages shown related to a soldier captured in Singapore who was sent to work on the Siam-Burma Railway - the ‘death railway’. He survived and shown was a list compiled by the soldier of the eight camps he was held in during the railway’s construction with a brief description of the horrific conditions in each. More will be revealed in September.

Michael Dobbs showed a selection of ARMY TELEGRAPHS / ARMY SIGNALS covers.  He started with a summary of the Army Signals then showed a Sudan Military Telegraphs form with an Army Telegraphs datestamp from 1898, a DRLS cover from WW1 and also a Message Form used on an exercise in 1937.  There followed a selection of covers with ARMY SIGNALS datestamps from WW2 using various location or unit codes, some of which he had been able to identify (e.g. ECS = Eastern Command Signals, HQLD = HQ London District).  There were also a couple of Despatch Riders Docket’s with datestamps applied.  Finally, after starting the display with Sudan, he ended with a cover from Sudan in 1953 with ARMY SIGNALS datestamp S/DO which is thought to be for Sudan Despatch Office.

A Despatch Rider Letter Service (DRLS) envelope (AF W.3310) used during WW1 which shows ARMY TELEGRAPHS datestamps from both the forwarding and receiving offices on 22.XII.16. The identity of these two offices is not known.

A Message Form (with various form numbers depending upon the Service!) sent during manoeuvres in 1937 with ARMY SIGNALS datestamp -Z/F- dated 17.X.37 sent by HQ 6th Infantry Brigade (part of 2nd Infantry Division).

The third items is a Signals Despatch Rider’s docket from WW2 - the receiving unit being 10 Chemical Warfare Group RE.

Simon McArthur showed 15 sheets of late war German Feldpost all sent within the Reich with some mail sent by the normal Reichspost service which by this time was more efficient than the internal military mail system. The contents of the items reflected the difficulties of everyday life by this time; allied air raids, the death of family members, military evacuation and the perennial soldier's topics - food and cigarettes. 

Two items from Simon's display. 

With many programmes on TV commemorating the 100th Anniversary of VE Day, Lorraine Maguire was moved by the elderly people who read out letters sent from the Front etc. telling of what it was like, and bringing back many memories. She then felt it was time to look back at her own family and their involvement in New Zealand and overseas during WW2. She showed covers, from Egypt, Xmas cards, Cablegrams, Telegrams and postcards sent by her older brother and several cousins. Put away in a drawer she had 6 letters sent by her brother Bob when he served in the 2nd NZEF from early 1941 till his death just a year later in Egypt.  She had never read these but decided now was the time to type them all up for the family records. Not an easy job as the writing was very small, on very thin paper, and now much faded. With much patience, she is now slowly bringing them to life, and hopes to finish it all by Xmas. Lorraine and her younger brother are the last alive of her generation so it is important that these memories are recorded for future generations. "

Below are three items sent by Lorraine’s brother Bob (Robert Fairbairn) who served with 6th Field Regiment NZEF in the Middle East:, a Cablegram with birthday wishes to Lorraine received in Petone, NZ on 11 FE 41; a YMCA cover with letter header sent by her brother “somewhere in camp” in Egypt on 28 February 1941 (postmarked with an unidentified Indian postmark using Indian stamps - I believe that this was postmarked in India during the voyage to Egypt; Lorraine states soldiers were not allowed to say in letters where they were, even when on board ship, instructions were to say “somewhere in Egypt”. Bob disembarked in Egypt 24 March 1941 and that would be at the NZ Base Camp at Maadi, outside Cairo. The letter states that good trip across the seas, ocean like a mill pond and received in NZ on 26 March 1941) and a 1941-42 Christmas card from 2nd NZEF.

Nick Colley showed some unusual WW2 RN items: he started with examples of mail from two FAA officers interned by the Vichy French in Algeria, they were held initially at a lunatic asylum for Arab women at Aumale, then at a purpose-built internment camp at Laghouat 275 miles south of Algiers, in the Sahara Desert. Next up was a cover from Captain Portal, the CO of the heavy cruiser HMS York, not long after she was damaged beyond repair by an Italian explosive motor boat while at anchor in Suda bay, Crete. It was postmarked with the scarce FPO 192.  This was followed by a cover postmarked from Montevideo in Uruguay in March 1942. It bore a naval tombstone censor AND a two line PASSED BY / CENSOR. The only RN vessel to visit Montevideo in March 1942 was the AMC HMS Cilicia. Then he showed an air letter from Naples in November 1943 (FPO 300) from an individual signing himself as Commander Burns RNVR. The return address was Naval Party 874, which at this time was engaged in repairing war damage in Naples. Nick professed ignorance of how he could be simultaneously a civilian and a Commander RNVR. Robert Hurst pointed out that a civilian could not issue orders to naval personnel and suggested that Burns had been given the nominal (temporary) rank of Commander so that he could do exactly that in order to get the work done. Last up was an invitation issued by the Russians in Archangel to Allied convoy crews to attend the May Day celebration at the Archangel Seamen’s club on 30^th April 1944. It states the Programme is: concert at 9pm, Dance and games until 4am!  For illustrations and additional information please see Nick’s display under meeting reports on our website.

From Lt Dawson, Fleet Air Arm, interned at Aumale.

From Lt Cmdr Hare while he was in America, standing by HMS Stalker in early 1943.

The cover from Captain Portal, HMS York, bearing FPO 192 of Suda Bay in Crete, April 1941.

Here is an invitation issued by the Russians in Archangel to Allied convoy crews to attend the May Day celebration at the Archangel Seamen’s club on 30^th April 1944. It states the Programme is: concert at 9pm, Dance and games until 4am. (!)

Peter Burrows showed part of his collection of WW1 Naval Censored covers and post cards with ship or officers names or initials. He started with May 1917 cover with “Passed censor / HMS Agadir” cachet, then a post card from Malta dated July 1917 with “Censored / In HMS Foxhound”. Post card of Naval Hospital, Devonport, with boxed “Passed by Censor / RN Hospital, Plymouth”.