Canadian Forces In S. E. Asia - WW2 - Nickelling Operations ??

Without providing a scan of the cover mentioned in the initial posting it's also my opinion that this thread would have been incomplete and of limited interest on this forum. In the end I'm pleased the cover was illustrated to add context to the post about these interesting air raids. Joy added some valuable and interesting information as did Robert. All's well that ends well and we hope that future posters take note- Please provide scans to illustrate your post...

In general there are a number of good reasons to use images including;
- this is a visual medium and images will always attract more attention
- by putting in the extra effort to post an image you encourage others to also take the time to offer input
- always best to supply as much information on hand as you can, images do this in a more efficient way than trying to type out the info
Don

Remember, scans count..

It is like seeing a wolf in your back yard..And just posting words..Pictures of the wolf better than a thousand words.

Robert

Joy Daschaudhuri

Thank you very much for the additional information. I do not have access to those books at the moment but I will see what the large and extensive library of my Philatelic Soc holds when I go to the next meeting.

I have a few more covers from this command with similar but different postmarks I would like to post (WITH FULL SCANS - I do learn if asked nicely !!!). You may be able to fill in some more information

I was wondering if this topic could be renamed to something more general like "Canadian Forces in S. E. Asia - WW2" That would make it easier for future reference by anyone who has not seen this now.

Are there any objections to this - if not I will ask the staff to see if it can be done.

AQ

My field is RAFPOSTs in India.
I can help if the extensive philatelic society library fails.

And call me only Joy. I am he, my first name is of Indian origin, not English.

My Dad was with the RAF in India and Egypt during WW2 so looking forward to the scans and interp.!

I have always been curious as to this RAF Pmk, (appears mute) if it were genuine, or just used to cancel souvenir gifts.
Bottom of ring not discernible.
Hyderabad.

OK next cover SE Asia command

On the Front
Postmarks dated 8/???/43. Number 35 at the top and apparently nothing in the bottom half of the double circles. Two strikes of the UNIT CENSOR / INDIA / W 125 censor cachet in purple.
Paid at 24 Anna and marked for air mail but airmail cancelled with two red bars so sent by surface mail. I assume that it was underpaid for airmail.

Joy Do you have the airmail rate to Canada in late 43 ??



On the reverse
Senders name and service number. I am not sure what the octagonal B / 10 cachet is. The manuscript date in pencil 27/10/43 is almost certainly the date it arrived in Hamilton.



The cover was opened for censorship in the UK and resealed with a UK PC 90 type 1A (sub type 1) resealing label. One of 2 sub types printed by G&F Ltd and the more common of the two. Only about 5% of the type 1 labels used were produced by G&F Ltd. Censor 2255 worked in London.

P/O Lehman was awarded the DFC in January 1945. My notes say he flew with 681 squadron of the RAF a P.R.U. but I cannot find the reference for that at the moment.

AQ

Joy

Other than the link I originally posted
http://www.rquirk.com/357oper/357%2...n%201945.pdf
I have yet to find any on line sources listing the Canadians who served in the SE Asia command. I keep looking but do you know of any information sources.

I will post another cover tomorrow from 436 Squadron

AQ

Another cover from a Canadian airman serving in India but one I know less about than the last one I posted.



Service men could send mail by surface transport free of charge. "Screw head" post mark dated 23rd November 1944. With the number 4 at the sides. light strike of the RAF censor with the censor number #96 signed by the censor. Octagonal C 11 censor cachet. There is no indication of which unit he was serving with.

The senders mane is not clear but the service number R 91608. What I thought was interesting is that it is addressed to an RCAF sergeant serving in Torbay Newfoundland. The RCNH #1 (Royal Canadian Naval Hospital ) is possibly a redirection to the Hospital in St. John's Newfoundland.

AQ

Datestamp: The Proud type D5 4 RAFPOST 4 SOUTH EAST ASIA datestamp dt. Nov 28,1944 is of 4 Base Postal Unit/RAF Base PO 4 which was located in New Dilli from Sep 3,1943 to May 1,1947 in its entire period of functioning.

4 BPU controlled the RAF postal service in Pa#241;jab and the United Provinces thru 21 RAF POs.

Proud type D5 datestamps of 4 BPU/4 RAF Base PO is recorded used by Proud from Apr 18,1944 to May 1,1945.

Forces Censor Mark: The bisymmetric concave hexagonal R.A.F. CENSOR 396 rubber stamp is Garrard & Colley/FPHS type R35 censor mark, used in Palam (28.5901¢XN 77.0888¢XE), now located in South West Dilli district of the Union Territory of Dilli.

Civilian Censor Mark: The octagonal C11 steel stamp is Morenweiser type 7A censor mark of Mumbai Censor Station (official records show date of opening as Sep 9,1939 but covers are recorded censored there as early as on Sep 1,1939) with station code C (code allotted in 5/1940) and 11 is the examiner's chop number, applied to indicate that the cover was not opened or censored in Karachi.

This mark is recorded used at Mumbai CS with chop number range 3-76, from Apr 1943 to Sep 1945.

Postal Rate: From Jun 1942, Indian forces on active service in India were granted free postage on intra-FPO/BPO mail and on surface mail.

The benefit was later extended to the RAF personnels on active service in India, from Oct 1943.

Process of Censoring of RAF Mail in India in WW2: Commissioned officers of RAF were authorized to censor their own mail who after censoring, signed on the cover and the censor stamp was applied over the signature.

RAF personnels of non-commissioned rank on the other hand, haded over the covers without closing, to the designated RAF censor which after censoring, closed the cover and put the RAF censor mark over the signature of the officer who censored, before sending it to the nearest forces/civil post office as the case might be for further movement.

So, here first Garrard and Colley type R35 RAF censor stamp was struck over the signature of the officer who censored the cover.

Then it reached to the nearest RAF post establishment i.e. 4 BPU which struck the Proud type D5 datestamp.

Then it went to Mumbai as all westbound surface mail from India was routed via Mumbai where it was censored at Mumbai CS where the Morenweiser type 7A censor stamp was struck.