FORCES POSTAL HISTORY SOCIETY JOURNAL Whole … · FORCES POSTAL HISTORY SOCIETY JOURNAL Whole Number 265 ... My address is: 238 Hunts Pond Road, ... prevent the French using it to

FORCES POSTAL HISTORY SOCIETY

JOURNAL

Whole Number 265

Autumn 2005 Vol XXVII No 5

ISSN 9051 7561

Trafalgar 200 Edition

HMS Victory, 100 guns, launched 1765, still in commission 240 years later. Battle Honours: Armada 1588, Dover 1652, Portland 1653, Gabbard 1653, Scheveningen 1653,

Orfordness 1666, Solebay 1672, Schooneveld 1673, Texel 1673, Barfleur 1692, Ushant 1778 and 1781, Toulon 1793, St Vincent 1797, Trafalgar 1805, Baltic 1808.

Newsletter No 265 Autumn 2005

The Nelson Monument and Inscription, Portsdown Hill,

Hampshire.

10 August 1798. From Rear Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson to Captain Darby, HMS Bellerophon. Signed “Horatio Nelson” with his left hand, having lost the right arm at Teneriffe.

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Contents

Guest Corner: Lord Nelson Letters: Brian Brookes 130, 132-4 Letter from a participant at Trafalgar: Nick Colley 135-9 Guest Corner: The Naval Brigade and the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879: John Dickson 140-7 Sergeant Peverett – Royal Engineers’ Postal Section: Andrew Brooks 148-151 Book Review: APO in Conflict & Crisis, 1946-82 151-2 Members’ Queries and Replies 152-3 Feedback: Secret Writing Laboratory and Mission Forestière Britannique 153 The Seven Weeks War, 1866: Keith Tranmer 153-4 The Brazilian Expeditionary Force: Roger Callens 155-8 Code Numbers for HM Ships refitting in the USA: Bob Swarbrick 158-9 Officers’ 7d privilege rate from the Pacific, 1867 159

Editorial

Aficionados of this publication may have noticed a minor change to the title. I often wondered why it was called a newsletter; it may have been a newsletter in the dim and distant past, but it certainly is not now – the function of newsletter being carried out by the Supplement. The Committee agreed at the last meeting that it should be known as the Journal in future. At the same meeting it was agreed that a Volume should consist of three years’ worth of Journals, rather than ten issues as at present. This minor reform will be introduced at the appropriate time.

I hope you like the splash of colour in this issue. The way the Journal is printed the colour pages can be either at beginning and end, as in this issue, or in the centre. Any views welcomed.

No apologies are offered for the strong naval content in this Issue, partly on account of the anniversary, but also there was very little else to hand as the deadline for printing approached. Please send articles etc for the next issue to arrive with me no later than 10 October, and preferably much earlier. My address is: 238 Hunts Pond Road, Fareham, PO14 4PG. Please note my new e-mail address is [email protected] - I have invested in broadband, so there is no longer a size limit on files that you may wish to send. However, my new computer does not have a floppy disc drive, so please send any computer-generated files on CD or as an e-mail attachment. The preferred medium for illustrations is still high quality photocopies, NOT please NOT printed out on your inkjet or 3-in-one printer-scanner-copier, but done by a true photocopying process. If your cover would look good in colour, then please send high quality colour photocopies (they only cost about a quid in your local high street photocopy shop), as I hope to include 4 pages of colour from now on if the material sent in warrants it. Illustrations MUST please be separate items from the text - layout restrictions mean that I cannot always put them where you suggest they should go in the article, though I will try to do so, unless they merit being in the colour section. Please annotate clearly on the back as to where illustrations fit into the text.

Usually I send authors a draft of their item for comment or amendment prior to publication, unless it is very small and uncomplicated. If you would like your artwork or script back, please say so when sending in – it saves on postage if you do not need it back.

Would anyone like to have purpose-made binders for their FPHS Journals? These could be obtained for about £4 or £5 each, depending on size of order. Each binder would hold 12 copies, and be marked on the spine in “gold” blocking. Please let the Secretary know if you are interested.

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mailto:[email protected]


Guest Corner. Lord Nelson Letters

Brian Brookes

The letters that follow, plus that on page 130, show the four styles of signature used by Nelson, and are reproduced by kind permission of Mr Brian Brookes.

14 Sep 1796. From HMS Captain off Bastia. Nelson sailed that evening to occupy Capraja, to prevent the French using it to reoccupy Corsica. Signed Horatio Nelson with his right hand.

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Written at Naples 6 December 1798 to Lt General Stuart, congratulating him on his conquest of

Minorca, “an acquisition as a Sea Port invaluable to our Country.” Signed “Nelson”. He had just heard of his elevation to the peerage as “Baron Nelson of the Nile

and Burnham Thorpe.”

The picture most often seen of Nelson, painted by Lemuel Francis Abbott in 1800. The original is in the National Maritime

Museum.

The letter on the next page is dated on board HMS Victory on 26 Sep 1805, just 25 days

before Trafalgar, to the Commanding Officer of the bomb vessel Aetna. It is signed “Nelson

and Bronte”, the style he used since being created Duke of Bronte in 1800. The printed heading to his order sheet gives his various

titles and honours.

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A Letter From A Participant At Trafalgar

Nick Colley

This article describes a letter from a crew member of HMS Bellerophon at the Battle of Trafalgar to his brother, in which he describes the battle as he saw it. Also, and, perhaps more interestingly since it is so little documented, he gives a detailed account of what happened to him afterwards, when he was sent on board a dismasted Spanish battleship as a member of the prize crew. The writer is Hugh Entwistle: he is listed on the Trafalgar Role as an Able Seaman, but the quality of the handwriting, and his obvious literacy, indicates abilities and intelligence well above what we might perceive as the average for the lower deck at the time of the Napoleonic War.1 Indeed, fortuitous use of Google and the Internet has unearthed the presence of a Hugh Entwistle in 1851 settled at Marlbro Grange, Llanbleddian, in the County of Glamorgan. Aged 65 (that would mean he was 19 in 1805), his occupation(s) are listed as magistrate, retired naval commander (my emphasis) and farmer. He was born in Leeds (which tallies with other information on the Hugh Entwistle at Trafalgar), and his wife was born in Lancashire – one might irreverently speculate about more Wars of the Roses …

According to O’Byrne’s Naval Biography2, his naval career began on May 7th 1799 when he entered the Navy as a Volunteer, First Class, on board the Amethyst, 38, Captain John Cooke – the same individual who fell at Trafalgar as captain of the Bellerophon, as we shall see. While a Midshipman in this ship, he assisted at the capture of three French privateers, and, on January 27th and April 9th, 1801, the surrender of the French frigate La Dedaigneuse, 36, and corvette Le General Brune, 14. He served briefly as Acting Lieutenant on board the Cruizer, 18, in the summer of 1805 before joining Captain Cooke aboard the Bellerophon. As an aside, his rating as Acting Lieutenant aboard the Cruizer seems to conflict with his rating as Able Seaman on the Trafalgar Role. He obtained a firm commission as Lieutenant on January 28th 1806, and his naval career in the 10 years remaining of the Napoleonic War from is of some interest – if his correspondence from this period still exists and can be discovered, the letters would potentially be fine additions to any collection. He served in the Paulina, 16, from 1806-1812, and was present at Lord Gambier’s expedition to Copenhagen. He subsequently served in the Warspite, 74, Captain Blackwood, Channel Fleet, 1812-1814, the Bucephalus, troop ship, 1814-1815, and the Seahorse and Madagascar, both 38-gun frigates, in 1815. He was placed on half pay on August 20th, 1816.

The text is as follows. The only changes I have made are to the punctuation – he seemed too fond of commas, and allergic to full stops – and to one or two inappropriate capital letters. The phrasing and spelling are unchanged.

Bellerophon, December 14th, 1805 Dear Brother, I will give you an account of the Bellerophon’s proceedings in the action. The Monarca was the ship intended for us to engage. We bore down under her stern, raked her, and hauled up under her lee, which station we had not been in five minutes when L’Aigle came to her assistance, and attempted to board us, but they were soon repulsed. About twenty minutes afterwards, the St.John (sic) shot up on our larboard quarter and commenced a heavy fire. At this time we had three ships on us: the Monarca, St.John, and L’Aigle. Our men fell very fast: our gallant Captain, Master, boatswain, and one midshipman fell fighting with pistols in their hands, and several of our men. The Dreadnought, seeing with what a superior force we were engaged came to our assistance, and soon silenced the St.John. A few minutes afterwards, the Monarca

1 First Class Volunteers, aspirants for officer rank, were borne on ships’ books as Able Seamen for accountancy purposes. 2 O’Byrne, William R: A Naval Biographical Dictionary, 1849. Biographies of all Naval Officers in the 1845 Navy List

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struck to us, and we were in hopes of soon making L’Aigle do the same, but unfortunately she got clear of us, after having rubbed against our guns for one hour and twenty minutes. In attempting to make her escape, she fell on board the Defiance, and was soon taken. The Bahama being the next ship to us, we gave her a few broadsides, when she struck, having been a good deal cut up before. The last ships we fired at were the four that were afterwards taken by Sir Richard Strachan.3 As soon as the action was over, I was sent on board the Bahama with a Lieut. and 30 men to take possession of her. It coming on dark so soon, none of the prisoners were taken out of her, and in the morning, the Orion took us in tow, and staid with us till Wednesday night, when it came to blow so hard that it was impossible for us to keep her afloat. We made a signal of distress to the Orion, but there being so heavy a sea running, it was impossible for her to send any boat to our assistance. We had at eleven o’clock on Wednesday night nine feet of water in the hold, no pumps, no masts, no rudder, and five hundred Spaniards on board. We had only one English carpenter on board, and a little before twelve o’clock he came on deck and told me the ship could not swim ten minutes longer, but thank God the wind died away just at that time, and we kept her afloat till the morning, when we delivered the ship up to the Spaniards on condition that they should run the ship up on shore in the best place to save our lives, there being no English ship in sight. That afternoon there being less wind, we advised the Spaniards to anchor, which we did, as we knew that some English ship would be down very soon to look for us, or if it came to blow again we could very easily run the ship on shore before she would sink, being only four miles from the land. We remained at anchor till the Sunday following, when an English cutter came to our assistance. All the English men on board with the Lieut. and me lowered ourselves down from the driver boom, and into the cutter’s boat, their being such a sea the boat could not come alongside. We all got on board the cutter safe, and were sent to Gibraltar. When we got there, to my great mortification, I was informed the Bellerophon had sailed that very day for England. I immediately went on board the Conqueror for a passage to England, where I arrived on the 1st of this month, and the next day had the pleasure of joining the Bellerophon. I remain your ever affectionate brother, Hugh Entwistle.

Fig 1 - Opening few lines of the letter

3 Known as Strachan’s Action, fought on 4 Nov 1805. Sir Richard Strachan, with 4 British battleships, captured all four French battleships under Rear Admiral Dumanoir, a significant addition to the triumph of Trafalgar.

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Commentary The books by John Terraine and David Howarth on the subject of the Battle of Trafalgar

give detailed accounts of the movement and actions of the Bellerophon: she seems to have played a significant role. The diagram in figure 2 shows the disposition of each vessel in their respective fleets on the morning of October 21st 1805, as the British bore down on the combined fleets of the Spanish and French. The ships mentioned in the text are enclosed by boxes. The Bellerophon is 6th ship in the column led by Admiral Collingwood in HMS Royal Sovereign.

Both Terraine and Howarth confirm the statement in the letter that the Bellerophon passed astern of the Monarca, Terraine quoting the time as about 1pm. However, the causes of the meeting with L’Aigle are described rather differently by Howarth, who seems to have quoted from the ship’s log, (which, incidentally, is quoted verbatim by Terraine): “………(Bellerophon) hauled to the wind to fire (into Monarca) again, but over the smoke, she saw the top-gallant sails of another ship close on her starboard bow. She hauled all aback to check her way and avoid a collision, but she rammed the other ship and locked her foreyard into the other’s mainyard. She was the French L’Aigle…….” – hardly the same as “…. L’Aigle came to her (Monarca’s) assistance…” The deaths of the Master, Mr. Overton, and Captain Cooke, are described in Howarth’s book: the Master had a leg shattered – presumably by a cannon ball, and Captain Cooke was shot in the chest by a musket ball. This left the First Lieutenant, Mr. Cumby, in command. Howarth’s text describes how L’Aigle and Bellerophon were so close that the (starboard) gun crews fought hand-to-hand through the open gun ports. The Bellerophon perhaps had more than her fair share of luck when a hand grenade thrown from L’Aigle blew open the door to her magazine: however, there were two doors with a passage between, and the act of blowing one open blew the second shut, otherwise both vessels would have been demolished in the consequent explosion. (If only the same construction principle had been applied to the ammunition hoists in HMS Hood before she encountered the Bismark, and Beatty’s battle cruisers at Jutland …) However, on the upper deck, small arms fire had almost cleared the Bellerophon’s poop, quarterdeck and fo’c’s’le of men. It appeared that L’Aigle might try to board. Lt. Cumby mustered what men he could in anticipation of repelling such a manoeuvre, which they did by small arms fire, and when five Frenchmen climbed on to the spritsail yardarm, and started crawling towards the bowsprit, a Bellerophon had the presence of mind to let go the spritsail brace which supported the end of the yard: it tilted under their weight, and they all fell into the sea: a touch of slapstick in the middle of the battle. As the fighting raged, the superiority of the British gunnery eventually began to tell, and L’Aigle finally shut her lower deck gun ports. This left Bellerophon’s gunners free from attack: they elevated their cannon and fired upwards through the enemy’s decks. L’Aigle made sail and drew clear, but not before she had felled Bellerophon’s main topmast. Interestingly, Hugh Entwistle reports the duration of the engagement with L’Aigle as an hour and twenty minutes. The Bellerophon’s log records the duration of the encounter as one hour and five minutes. Given the natural uncertainty in the heat of battle, and/or possibly the haziness of memory, these two figures are fairly close. Meanwhile, the port batteries had been pounding the Monarca into submission, and she struck her colours at 3 p.m., according to Bellerophon’s log, 2 ½ hours after Bellerophon had opened fire on her. Lt. Cumby sent a boat with a party of men to take possession of her. While Bellerophon was battling with L’Aigle and Monarca, she was also exchanging fire with the Spanish battleship Bahama, and receiving fire from another Spanish two-decker, the San Juan Nepomuceno, and a French two decker, la Swiftsure. Considering the ferocity of the action around Bellerophon, it is hardly surprising her casualties were heavy, 27 killed, and 123 wounded. These were the third heaviest in the British fleet, after Colossus (40 and 160), and Victory, 57 and 102. The San Juan Nepomuceno is presumably the ‘St John’ mentioned in Hugh Entwistle’s text, and it is recorded that it was indeed the Dreadnought that took her as a prize. Speaking of prizes, Terraine states that the Bahama was taken by the Colossus while Hugh Entwistle, (and O’Byrne) report that the Bahama struck to Bellerophon. The remark “The last ships we fired at were the four that were afterwards taken by Sir Richard Strachan.” refers to the vessels in the van of the allied fleet, commanded by Admiral Dumanoir in Formidable. It took Dumanoir two hours to reverse course and another hour after

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that before his ships were engaged, initially by the vessels towards the rear of Nelson’s column, Ajax and Agamemnon, and a little later by the last two ships, Minotaur and Spartiate, who did not come into the action until after 3 p.m. (the Victory had opened fire shortly after noon). These were, as well as the Formidable, the Scipion, the Duguay Trouin, and the Mont Blanc. The Neptuno was taken by the Minotaur. The other four vessels made their escape, and tried to reach Rochefort, but encountered a division of the Western Squadron of the Channel Fleet, under the command of Rear Admiral Sir Richard Strachan on November 3rd. The fight lasted two and a quarter hours, and all four French ships were captured. Finally: the ‘Wednesday night’ he refers to is October 23rd, two days after the battle. From the narrative of the letter, it seems that the ship to which Entwistle had been sent as one of the prize crew was abandoned (on what sounds to be a lee shore) and left to the Spanish. One might assume that the chances of the vessel surviving were therefore rather slim. This might be hard to reconcile with the record that he’d been sent to the Bahama – which is recorded as having been taken into the Royal Navy, and therefore must have survived. The Monarca, however, is recorded as having been wrecked. Was it, therefore, this ship to which Entwistle was sent? History records that Bellerophon did indeed send a party to her (see above).

Figure 2. Ship positions at the commencement of the battle.

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Figure 3. Address Panel etc. The item bears a poorly struck Plymouth 218 mileage mark, and a London circular transit date stamp. It was initially rated at 10d, for 218 miles Plymouth to London. London added on the

mileage to Cambridge and amended the total sum due from the recipient to 11d.

Fig 4. HMS Bellerophon

References:

Howarth, D., Trafalgar: The Nelson Touch. World Books, 1970 Pivka, Otto von: Navies of the Napoleonic Era. David & Charles, 1980, ISBN 0-7153-7767-1 Terraine, J., Trafalgar. Sidgewick and Jackson, 1976, ISBN 0283 98236 5 Cordingly, David: Billy Ruffian – The Bellerophon and the Downfall of Napoleon. Bloomsbury 2003, ISBN 0-7475-6537-6

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Guest Corner – articles by non-members

The Naval Brigade and the Anglo-Zulu war of 1879

John Dickson

This article owes its origin to a display given by Gerald Ellott RDP at a meeting of the Society of Postal Historians in Bristol on 11 September 2004 and to a folder (see Ellott), which I obtained from him at that meeting.

A first version of this article appeared in the Natal & Zululand Post, v. 9, no. 1 (33), of March 2005. After that version went to press I obtained a copy of a recent reprint of The Naval Brigade in South Africa during the years 1877-78-79 by Fleet Surgeon Henry F. Norbury of HMS Active. This is a first-hand account of the activity of the Naval Brigades in the Eastern Cape and in Zululand written by the principal medical officer of the naval forces landed in South Africa during those years. The original edition of this book was published in 1880 and is extremely rare; no copy was available for sale or on inter-library loan at the time I was writing my original article. A reprint of this work has recently been published and has encouraged me to add to the story, which appeared in the Natal & Zululand Post. Despite the contents of General Order No. 12 of 21 July 1879, given below, neither the Royal Navy nor the Royal Marines have been well represented in the published histories of the Anglo-Zulu war, so that the availability of Norbury’s book is significant.

In general works on the war the most prominently reported naval presence was that of Lieutenant A. B. Milne, R.N., aide-de-camp to Lord Chelmsford throughout the war.

The essential movements of the Naval Brigades and their involvement in the war is presented here together with the few items of postal history which I have been able to find relative to the navy’s participation in the campaign. Summary: Naval involvement in the war

HMS Active landed a brigade in November 1878; HMS Tenedos landed a further contingent in January 1879; HMS Shah and HMS Boadicea landed naval contingents at Durban in March 1879.

According to Norbury, HMS Active’s brigade landed at Durban on 19 November and “consisted of 172 officers and men, with a Gatling and two other guns, and two rocket-tubes ... Capt. H. F. Campbell in command.” The brigade immediately set off for the Zululand border, reaching the Tugela on 24 November. Here they worked on strengthening the defences of Fort Pearson and on the construction of a floating bridge across the Tugela.

A detachment of “forty blue-jackets” (Morris) from HMS Tenedos under Lieutenant Anthony Kingscote landed at Durban on 1 January 1879 and joined the Active’s force at Fort Pearson on the 4th of January. Norbury gives the Tenedos contingent as 61 men. They were thereafter engaged in completing the construction of “Fort Tenedos” on the Zululand side of the Tugela. Morris comments that many of these sailors were “veterans of the Perie Bush”.

On the 18th of January the brigade from HMS Active moved into Zululand as part of Colonel Pearson’s column. They crossed the Inyezane River on the 22nd and were immediately attacked by a Zulu force of about 5,000 men, driving them off at what is known as the battle of Nyezane. The following day they reached the mission station of “Ekowe”, now known as Eshowe. Here the Zulus laid siege to the column and maintained a strict blockade until the first week of April.

Meanwhile HMS Shah and HMS Boadicea arrived at Durban. Morris states that the Shah landed “394 of its own men” on 7 March and the Boadicea landed “228 sailors” on 18 March, figures that match those given by Norbury. Morris states that this brought the naval brigade presence up to 863 - a figure that I have been unable to reconstruct.

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Two officers from HMS Flora, a vessel then apparently quarantined at Simon’s Town, also managed to reach the front and these, together with two members of the “Royal Naval Artillery Volunteers”, joined the Active’s brigade (Clowes).

On 28th March a relief force under the Commander-in-Chief, Lord Chelmsford, crossed the Tugela and moved into Zululand. This force included the men from HMS Shah, HMS Tenedos and HMS Boadicea. The naval brigades took part on 2 April 1879 in the battle of Gingindlovu where they manned the corners of the square. As described by Norbury:

“... the Naval Brigade [was] represented by the contingents of HM ships Boadicea, Shah, and Tenedos with four 24-pounder rocket-tubes, two gatlings, and two 9-pounder guns, under Commander Brackenbury, R.N., the Marines being commanded by Capt. Philips, RMLI, both of HMS Shah...”

The troops then moved on to relieve Eshowe on the 3rd of April. Norbury reports five deaths from sickness among the naval contingent at Eshowe during the siege: Midshipman L. C. Coker, and four others. The Naval Brigades then retired to the Tugela for a time. Norbury reports the naval strength on 7 April as:

Officers Men Commanded by HMS Active 10 158 Lieut. Hamilton HMS Boadicea 10 218 Commander Romilly HMS Flora 2 0 HMS Shah 16 378 Commander Brackenbury HMS Tenedos 3 58 Lieut. Kingscote In Toto 41 812 Capt. H. F. Campbell

The brigade from HMS Tenedos was withdrawn at the beginning of May and retired to Durban “to rejoin their ship” on 8 May - though there is no record of HMS Tenedos in Durban at this date. The remaining brigades re-entered Zululand on 17 June and, joining up with Crealock’s force, they marched to the Mlalazi River.

Meanwhile Lieut. Sidney Smith commanding HMS Forester had reconnoitred parts of the Zululand coast and had established the feasibility of a landing place at the mouth of the Mlalazi at what became known as Port Durnford. He made contact there with elements of Crealock’s force on 24 June. The naval brigades moved to Port Durnford to prepare landing facilities and on 30 June the Forester, together with “two large steamers laden with stores”, arrived and the landing of stores was commenced. Altogether over 2,000 tons of supplies were transported through the “port” over the course of a couple of months.

On 2 July HMS Shah arrived at Port Durnford with General Sir Garnet Wolseley on board, intending to land the general but the weather prevented this and the Shah returned to Durban on the 5th of July.

The final engagement of the Zululand campaign took place on the 4th of July 1879 at Ulundi. According to Clowes “It was ... a matter of great disappointment to both the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines that they were not represented at the battle of Ulundi, save by Lieutenant AB Milne who still served as Lord Chelmsford’s aide-de-camp.” There are echoes of this regret in Norbury’s text. However four seamen from HMS Active, in addition to Lieutenant Milne, appear on the casualty list of 4 July 1879 at Ulundi (see Tavender), so that perhaps elements of a Naval contingent took part, though they have not generally been credited with an involvement in that engagement.

In addition to the above vessels the troop transport HMS Tamar arrived at Durban from Ceylon on 11 March 1879 and another troop transport, HMS Orontes, arrived on 4 June 1879 from Portsmouth. Other naval vessels at Durban during the period of the war included HMS Encounter, HMS Juno and HMS Tyne; the last named brought troops from Mauritius in October 1878.

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The packet companies also ferried troops to and from Natal, as did troopships in the Indian service and other steamers engaged by the Admiralty for the purpose.

On completion of the Naval Brigades’ service in Natal and Zululand the following General Order was issued:

General Order No. 12.

Port Durnford, 21st July, 1879.

As the Naval Brigade is about to embark, General Sir Garnet Wolseley wishes to place on record his very high appreciation on the services it has rendered when acting on shore. The conduct of the men has been admirable, and their bearing in action in every way worthy of the service to which they belong, while they have worked hard and cheerfully on those laborious duties which constitute so important a part of all military operations. In returning to their ships they will have the satisfaction of knowing that all recollections of the Zulu war will ever be associated with the Naval Brigade, which has taken so distinguished a part in it. By Order, (Sd.) G. Pomeroy Colley, Brig.-Gen. Chief of the Staff.

Covers to and from Naval Officers during the Anglo-Zulu war Figure 1 shows a cover addressed to London by Midshipman the Hon. Stanley Colville

of HMS Boadicea, back-stamped in Durban on 15 July 1879 and London on 12 August. Probably carried by the Union Steamer German leaving Durban on 15 July for Cape Town, thence by the Union Steamer Arab leaving Cape Town on 22 July and arriving in Southampton on 11 August. Colville was present at the battle of Gingindlovu on 2 April 1879. The sixpenny charge that appears on this cover is commonly found on officers’ letters of this period from Natal and is supposed to have been applied in Durban. It is one of two types of “6d” mark that appear on unpaid letters from Zululand campaign mail. There is no firm evidence that these are Natal marks, but the balance of probability favours that hypothesis.

Fig. 1. Cover from Midshipman Colville, HMS Boadicea. On reverse, embossed “HMS Boadicea”, Durban and London date stamps. (Courtesy of Gerald Ellott)

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Figure 2 shows a cover addressed to Bristol by Commander John William Brackenbury of HMS Shah, reported to carry a back-stamp of Durban dated 18 April 1879 and Bristol on 21 May. The addressee is Miss Frances Mary Francklyn, who became Mrs Brackenbury in 1880. If the Durban date is correct it is difficult to identify the vessel that took the letter to Cape Town. If the Durban date was the 16th or 17th of April the letter would have been carried by the Castle Line steamer Lapland which left Durban for Cape Town on the 17th of April. From Cape Town the letter was carried by the Union Steamer Pretoria on 29 April, arriving in Southampton on 20 May. This cover is endorsed “Stamps not procurable” and, as it was despatched prior to June 1879, is not stamped with the typical 6d charge mark associated with unpaid Zululand mail. Commander Brackenbury was in charge of the Naval detachments at the battle of Gingindlovu on 2 April 1879 where the Naval Brigade and the Royal Marines manned the corners of the square.

B

O“H

(C

postedback-sarrivedby Nav

Fig. 2. Cover from Commander

rackenbury of HMS Shah.

n the reverse, embossed MS Shah” and Durban

datestamp (indistinct). ourtesy of Gerald Ellott. Illustration reduced)

Figure 3 shows a cover from Miss Francklyn to Commander Brackenbury of HMS Shah, in Bristol on 24 April 1879, and addressed via Plymouth and Madeira to Cape Town, tamped in Plymouth on 25 April 1879 and carried by the Union steamer Anglian which at Cape Town 19 May. Forwarded to Simon’s Town and presumably taken on to Natal al vessel, possibly the Orontes.

Figure 3

Cover from Bristol

addressed to Commander

Brackenbury of HMS Shah.

(Courtesy of Clive Sergay.

Cover reduced at left; illustration

reduced)

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Figure 4 was addressed to Commander Brackenbury of HMS Shah, posted in Bristol on 12 June 1879, from Miss Francklyn and probably in reply to the letter sent in the cover illustrated at Fig 2 above, back-stamped in Durban on 12 July and probably brought from Cape Town on the Castle Line coaster Melrose arriving on that day. Although directed to be sent by Plymouth and Madeira it appears that this letter went via Dartmouth and was carried from England by the Dublin Castle from Dartmouth on 12 June, reaching Cape Town on 6 July.

Fig. 4.

Bristol to Commander Brackenbury

of HMS Shah.

(Courtesy of Gerald Ellott)

Fig 5

(Courtesy of Colin Tabeart)

Figure 5 is another cover to Commander Brackenbury of HMS Shah, also from Miss

Francklyn, posted in Bristol on 10 July 1879, addressed via Plymouth and Madeira, stamped in transit in Plymouth on 11 July and in Cape Town on 8 August. The Plymouth and Cape Town

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dates correspond to no known packet sailing, though the letter was probably carried from Dartmouth on 11 July by the Walmer Castle, arriving at Cape Town on 6 August. The letter was taken on to Durban where an unreadable back-stamp was applied. The letter was then returned to Cape Town where it was received on 18 August. The letter was probably carried to Natal by the Castle Line coaster Melrose, leaving Cape Town on 7 August and reaching Durban on 11 August, and sent back to Cape Town by the Union steamer Anglian on the following day, transferring to the Pretoria at Port Elizabeth and reaching Cape Town on the 17 August.

Fig 6 (Courtesy of Clive Sergay)

Figure 6 shows another cover that may well be a naval cover from the Anglo-Zulu war. It carries the Admiralty Whitehall cachet. It is probable that this cover reached the Admiralty in London among naval dispatches and was stamped by the Admiralty and put into the post in London. It was also struck with an “Official Paid” date-stamp “W.C. - S.M.P” (St. Martin’s Place) with the date of 12 July 1879, and back-stamped in Windsor on that day. The free post to Windsor would have been justified by the Admiralty handstamp. This letter or these dispatches, if not carried by a naval vessel, may have been taken from Durban by the Castle Line steamer Dunkeld, leaving on 10 June and brought on to England by the Castle Line packet Taymouth Castle from Cape Town on 17 June 1879 arriving at Dartmouth on 11 July.

A notice in the Natal Witness of 1 October 1878 refers to Lieutenant Edward HM Davis, RN, First Lieutenant of the Active, having been specially promoted to the rank of commander for service on shore with the Naval Brigade. Possibly ‘Davies’ was intended.

Movements of H.M. Ships in and out of Durban during the Anglo-Zulu war period.

HM Ship Commanding

Officer Arrived Durban

from Arrival Date

Durban Left Durban Destination Notes

Active Cdre FW Sullivan Simon’s Bay 6 Aug 1878 15 Aug 1878 St Lucia Bay East London 20 Aug 26 Aug St John’s St John’s 2 Sep 2 Sep Simon’s Bay Delagoa Bay 14 Nov 4 Jan 1879 East Coast 1 East Coast 8 Jan 1879 13 Jan East Coast Cape Colony 21 Jan 8 Feb St Lucia St Lucia Bay 16 Feb 18 May Simon’s Bay 2

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HM Ship Commanding Arrived Durban Arrival Date Left Durban Destination Notes Officer from Durban

Boadicea Cdre Simon’s Bay 15 Mar 1879 11 Jun? Simon’s Bay 3

Encounter Simon’s Bay 13 Apr 17 Apr Simon’s Bay

Forester Lt SG Smith Algoa Bay 8 Apr 8 Apr? Algoa Bay 4

Cape Colony 21 Apr 22 Apr East Coast 5

East Coast 27 Apr? 27 Apr? East Coast

Zulu Coast 1 May 3 May Port Durnford

Zulu Coast 16 May? 16 May Zanzibar

Zulu Coast 26 May

Zulu Coast 24 Jun 29 Jun Port Durnford 6

Port Durnford 22 Jul 30 Aug Port Durnford 7

Juno Capt JA Poland China? 24 Jul 25 Jul Simon’s Bay 8

Orontes E Seymour? Queenstown 3 Jun 6 Jun Simon’s Bay 9

Shah Capt Bradshaw St Helena 6 Mar 1 Jul? Port Durnford 10

Port Durnford 4 Jul 24 Jul Simon’s Bay

Tamar Capt WH Liddell Simon’s Bay 10 Mar 18 Mar Cape Colony

Simon’s Bay 30 Mar 31 Mar Cape Town

Simon’s Bay 11 Apr 12 Apr? Simon’s Bay 11

Tenedos Capt ES Adeane Simon’s Bay 20 Dec 1878 4 Jan 1879 East Coast 12

East Coast 8 Jan 13 Jan Tugela Mouth 13

Cape Colony 21 Jan 8 Feb Simon’s Bay 14

Tyne Cdr Solly England 27 Sep 1878 2 Oct Mauritius

Mauritius 28 Oct 30 Oct England

Cape Colony 19 Nov 20 Nov England

Notes

1. Landed a Brigade on 19 Nov 1878 for the Lower Tugela. 2. Remained Simon’s Bay many months. 3. Landed a Brigade on 18 March 1879. Took the body of the Prince Imperial from Durban

to Simon’s Bay. 4. This ship is not regularly reported at Durban. 5. Fired on a body of Zulu and shelled the bush [on 24 April?] 6. Established landing at Port Durnford. 7. Ferrying supplies between Tugela and Port Durnford. 8. Embarked invalids. Left Simon’s Bay for England on 10 Aug 1879. 9. Left for England 15 Jun 1879 with the body of the Prince Imperial from Simon’s Town.

Arrived Spithead 19 July. 10. Flagship of Rear Admiral AFR de Horsey. Landed a Brigade 7 March. Re-embarked all

naval forces 24 July. Left Simon’s Bay for England 19 Aug 1879. 11. Sailed for Portsmouth 6 May 1879. 12. Landed a Brigade 1 Jan 1879. 13. Ran aground with severe damage 14. Sailed from Simon’s Bay for England 21 Jun 1879. Brigade “re-embarked on 8 May

1879.” The withdrawal of the naval brigades

The retirement of the naval brigades from Natal is documented summarily by Norbury and scrappily by others. It appears that whole of the naval contingent, that is those from the Active, Boadicea and Shah, embarked on the SS City of Venice at Port Durnford on 21 July and were ferried to Durban, arriving there on the 22nd of July. The brigades from the Active and the Shah, and some men from the Boadicea, were then transferred to the Shah, which sailed for Simon’s Town on the 24th. The Natal press had expected that HMS Boadicea would come to Durban to

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pick up her contingent but the larger part of her brigade was taken on to Cape Town by the City of Venice sailing from Durban on 1 August 1879.

A report in the Cape Argus indicated that HMS Shah arrived at Simon’s Bay on 29 July bringing “147 of the Active’s crew and forty-two of the Boadicea’s” in addition to her own brigade.

At the end of the war, according to Morris “eleven hundred men of the Royal Marine Light Infantry, sent in answer to an earlier request of Chelmsford’s, were still embarked at Cape Town. Wolseley sent them back to England...” Acknowledgements

This article owes its origin to Gerald Ellott’s presentation at Bristol on 11 September 2004, to the covers carried by HMS Shah and HMS Boadicea that he then displayed, and to the data he provided to me at that meeting.

My thanks also to those quoted for copies of covers and to Colin Tabeart for helpful comments on the first draft of this paper.

My thanks to Jenny Duckworth for preparing lists of ship movements at Durban for the years 1874 to 1880. The table of ships’ movements is also based on a reading of the microfilms of the Natal Witness, the Natal Mercury and the Cape Argus, together with other reports cited below dealing with the history of the Anglo-Zulu war. All these sources have been merged and compared with Norbury’s history to reach a reasonable conclusion; the many omissions in these records individually and the several evident inaccuracies of particular sources have been ignored. Bibliography

Clowes Sir Wm. Laird Clowes 1897-1903: The Royal Navy, a history. London 7 vols. (Vol. 7, pp 303-307 deals with the Zulu war.)

Dickson John Dickson 2005: The Royal Navy and the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879, in Natal & Zululand Post, v. 9, no. 1, (33) of March 2005.

Ellott Gerald J. Ellott 2004: The Zulu war 1879 - HMS Boadicea and HMS Shah. (A folder containing illustrations of covers and related materials.)

Laband/Thompson JPC Laband and PS Thompson 1983: Field Guide to the war in Zululand and the defence of Natal 1879. Pietermaritzburg, Pp 124 + vii.

Morris Donald R. Morris 1965: The washing of the spears. New York, Pp 655. Norbury Henry F. Norbury 1880: The Naval Brigade in South Africa during the years

1877-78-79. London, Pp 307. Facsimile reprint 2004 by The Naval & Military Press, Uckfield.

Rothwell JS Rothwell 1881: Narrative of the field operations connected with the Zulu war of 1879. Reprinted London 1989, Pp 174.

Smail JL Smail 1969: With shield and assegai. Cape Town, Pp 172. Tavender IT Tavender1985: Casualty role for the Zulu and Basuto wars South Africa 1877-

79. Polstead, Pp 53 + ii. Auction Harmers’s sale of 25 September 1996: Zululand, the Wilson Wong

collection.

HMS Shah was a 6,250 ton armoured frigate built at Portsmouth in 1873. She mounted 2 x 9 inch, 16 x

7 inch, 8 x 64-pounder guns and 2 torpedo tubes. She was the first RN ship to fire a torpedo in anger - it

missed. The picture is of HMS Raleigh, a contemporary armoured

frigate of similar size.

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Sergeant Ernest John Peverett, M.S.M. Royal Engineers Postal Section

Andrew Brooks

The following cards and their associated postmarks have been selected from a group of more than forty items recently acquired by the writer.

Ernie, as he signed himself, died on the 24th June 1919, only a few days before the Peace Treaty with Germany was signed at Versailles (28th June). As no trace of his service papers was found in WO/363 – 677 and mis – sorts (WW1) or in PIN/26 – Widows (Ministry of Pensions), it is not possible to make any comment at the moment as to the cause of his death. Perhaps the most likely cause would have been from the influenza pandemic that swept across Europe during the later stages of the war and into 1919. In the New Year’s Honours 1919 he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal and his Medal Index Card states that he was given the 1915 Star, Victory and British War medals. It also gives the information that he entered France on the 16th January 1915.

The messages on the cards are fairly mundane and only a few provide any insight into his army life. Occasionally he gives his address and indications of expected leave.

The earliest card in the group (Fig.1 – in colour page 160) was written on 18 January 1915 and has a French civilian postmark dated Hazebrouck, 20 January 1915. Struck across this is A.P.O. 80 for 21 January 1915. (Cavalry Corps Railhead). According to Kennedy and Crabb, this postmark was used for a short time between December 1914 and January 1915. In fact Proud gives 21 January as the last known date used. The censor mark (CM) 2 No. 1988 is ascribed by Daniel to the 128th Indian Field Ambulance. Struck over the top of the censor mark is the cachet “Improperly Posted Delayed”. Proud has this cachet used at Le Havre from the 22nd of January 1915. This is almost certainly the first postcard that Ernie sent from France. He describes how he spent “41 hours on the boat, 24 in a train and then a walk from 5pm until midnight with the wagons”. He writes that he can hear the booming of guns in the distance (Hazebrouck is about twenty miles away from the front line at Ypres). It seems he must have crossed over to France as part of 28th Division, one of the Divisions made up of troops hurriedly returned from India and other parts of the British Empire. It left Southampton between the 15th and 18th of January, disembarked at Le Havre between the 16th and 19th and by the 22nd of January the Division had concentrated between Bailleul and Hazebrouck.

A run of cards sent by Ernie between January 1915 and September 1915 all have similar postal and censor markings i.e. F.P.O. D28 (28th Div. H.Q.) and (CM) 3 No. 40 (also 28th Div. H.Q). Various officers have censored these cards but the only one that can be identified from the Army List is Capt. H.C. Cumberbatch. He was in the Yorkshire Regiment and probably fulfilling a Staff appointment at 28th Div. H.Q. One of the cards sent to Ernie at this time gives his address as:

Sapper 29301 E.J.Peverett Postal Section R.E. 28th Division British Exped. Force.

Ernie left the Division after the Battle of Loos. They sailed from Marseilles, heading for

Salonika, as he was sending a card home dated 28 October 1915 from 6th Brigade, 2nd Division. The card has no censor mark and no officer’s signature and his short message says to expect him home within a few days! Another card dated 19 November 1915 is postmarked A.P.O. 3 (Boulogne) with (CM) 3 No.1116. Daniel has not identified this, but the card was censored by 2Lt. E.B. Athawes of the R.E.P.S. Was Ernie returning from leave and joining a new unit who were on their way to Italy?

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The British Adriatic Mission was formed at the end of 1915 with a view to supplying the Serbian Army who were being pushed out of their own country towards Montenegro and Albania. On the 1st December 1915 the H.Q. of the Mission was set up in Rome. When the B.A.M. ceased to exist in March 1916, most of the staff returned to England.

His first card home from Italy is dated the 1st of February 1916 and postmarked F.P.O.W1. This coincides exactly with Proud’s earliest date for the F.P.O. in Rome. It seems to suggest that when Ernie arrived the F.P.O. opened. This card has (CM) 2 No. 3227, which Daniel lists as being used by the Paymaster of the B.A.M. in Rome. The most interesting card (Fig 2) sent during this period again has F.P.O.W1 dated 5 March 1916. The censor is (CM) 2 No 3239, unidentified by Daniel, and a cachet, in red, of “Casa del Soldato”. It is 35mm. in diameter with two rings (outer ring being split into a thick and a thin ring). The message thanks his family for sending his ‘stripes’ and as a slightly later card from home is addressed to him as a Corporal in the R.E.P.S., B.A.M., c/o GPO. Was this when he was made up from Sapper to Corporal?

Figure 2

FPOW1 and

Casa del Soldato

After Ernie returned from Italy, I would guess he enjoys another period of leave before

reporting to the Home Depot and being reassigned to a new Division heading for active service. He went with 40th Division that embarked for France on the 1st June 1916 and disembarked at Le Havre between 2nd and 6th June. They concentrated in the Lillers area by the 9th of June and shortly afterwards Ernie started to send cards home. Three of them are interesting as they show the first phase of the “Security Switch” in operation. A card posted on the 14th of June is postmarked F.P.O.121 i.e. 121 Bde 40Div. The second and third cards are both postmarked F.P.O.100 and they were sent on the 20th and 21st June i.e. after the switch when 121 Bde used the 100 Bde postmark. All the cards I think were bought in Boulogne and are of French ships entering harbour (Invincita -a packet boat, Holland - an excursion boat and Au Revoir- a steamer). None of the cards are censored, either by handstamp or an officer’s signature. The messages are unhelpful apart from “…the wind blows the dust about this grimy mining village”.

When the cards sent from 121 Bde cease there is a long gap in the correspondence before we hear from him again. I think it is possible that during this time he returned to work at the Home Depot in London and travelled in to work every day from the family home in Earlsfield.

When he reappears he is back in Italy. Two photographic postcards which are dated in manuscript (no postal markings) “June 1917 Italia Redenta” show Italian soldiers and R.E.P.S. together. The R.E.P.S. are all wearing the slouch hats and I would like to think that Ernie (now a

149


Sergeant?) is sitting in the middle of the front row (Fig 3). A run of cards follows with the earliest being dated the 19th of July 1917 and the last dated the 15th of September 1917. They are all postmarked A.P.O. PP1 and censored by the handstamp “VERIFICATO PER CENSURA”. The same officer, Lt. A.E. Homewood, also of the R.E.P.S., censors each card. It is well documented that the British sent out heavy artillery units to Italy in April and July 1917 to help the Italians who were short of this type of hardware. The postmark A.P.O. PP1 came into operation in July 1917 and continued in use until October of the same year. As this is now the fourth military unit that Ernie has been posted to, I wonder if he was sent out by the Home Depot to help set up the postal operations. The only address given on any of the cards is:

Raggruppamento B Zona di Guerra Italy

Figure 3

The two remaining cards in this small selection were both sent home in 1918. On the 8th

of June 1918 he sent a card home to his wife, Bunnie, (Fig 4). In the message he says that he thinks the card is one of the new French military official types and that he rather likes it. In fact it is catalogued by Sinais and Weingarten as No. 66 “Statue de la Liberte”. There were two types of this card depending on whether “Russia” is to be found along the right hand margin or not. At some time after the signing of the Peace Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, the word “Russia” was removed from the card and “Costa Rica” added! This card is the first type with “Russia” still written in the margin. The postmark is a French T.P.O. – Mont Cenis to Paris. The cachet is the square-type used by the British Military from 1918 and has R.T.O. Modane in the top half of the square and the standard No. and Date in the lower part. The date has been added by a handstamp in the lower section 8 JUN 1918. Modane is situated at the French end of the Mont Cenis Tunnel, the first of the many great Alpine tunnels to be built. It was opened in 1871. Ernie must have been stationed here and not just passing through because he gives his address as c/o R.T.O. Modane and his last postcard is also sent from the same place. On the 13th September 1918 a card postmarked A.P.O.L13 is sent home. It is censored with (CM) 6 No. 5007 and the officer’s signature is again unreadable. This postmark is known used at Modane from September 1918 until July 1919.

It would be interesting to find out more about Ernie and given time it will be possible to search the local papers in Earlsfield for the account of his death. Other cards and letters may turn up eventually because I am sure that he would certainly have sent letters home.

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Figure 4. The date, 8 Jun 1918, may just be seen lower left. Bibliography A. Kennedy & G. Crabb The Postal History of the British Army in World War 1. E. Proud History of British Army Postal Service Vol. 11. F.W. Daniel. Field Censor Systems of the Armies of the British Empire 1914-1918 B. Sinais & A. Weingarten. Catalogue des Cartes Postales de Franchise Militaire 1914 -18 Army List 1918.

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Book Review

The British Army Post Office in Conflict & Crisis Situations 1946 to 1982

by Charles Entwistle Available from the publishers; Chavril Press of Bloomfield, Perth Road, Abernethy,

Perth, Scotland PH2 9LW, price £10 (free postage inland, overseas add £2) or from Peter High. This 36 page book is packed with useful information in the same format as previous

Chavril Press publications. In the introduction the author sets out the criteria for the various deployments being excluded from the book - mainly those resulting directly from the Second World War. The postal arrangements are discussed before the conflicts are detailed in chronological order starting with the Arab-Jewish conflict in Palestine of 1946-8. The political background and details of the troops involved are often given followed by details of the Field Post Offices and the addresses used.

Palestine is followed by Malaya, Korea, Egypt, and Kenya, then one of the lesser known events - the Buraimi Oasis occupation of 1952 to 1955. There is good coverage of Cyprus, Suez, Aden, and the Brunei Revolt and Confrontation. Northern Ireland and the Liberation of the Falkland Islands are the last two major events included in the book. Other crises covered include British Guiana, Muscat and Oman, Jordan, Kuwait (1961), Anguilla, Mauritius and New Hebrides. Illustrations of a few FPO covers are included in the book.

The checklist explains the basis for the valuations followed by a list of the Field Post Offices from all the areas covered by the book in numerical order, including the dates and locations, and the value. A second list includes Forces packet or Blackwell postmarks, again in

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numerical order, followed by a list of three BFPO marks (one machine mark and two meter marks). Finally there is a list of BFPO numbers and locations. I feel this last list would be improved by the inclusion of appropriate MELF and MEAF numbers from the early events.

The book usefully brings together details of field post offices connected with conflicts after 1946 up to 1982, is good value, and is highly recommended to all Forces Postal Historians. John Daynes

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Queries from Members Please reply direct to the editor, who will pass the reply on to the member making the

enquiry. Replies will be published in the next edition of the Newsletter for the benefit of all Members unless the respondent specifically asks for the reply not to be published. Query 282. From NR (Tom) Handley

On the cover shown below the indistinct strike top left reads, in part, AMBULANC. Tom has another example of this Hospital cachet on a postcard of Amiens Cathedral, addressed to Scotland. He asks: what was an Anglo-Ethiopian hospital doing in France in WW1, when Ethiopia was not involved in the war, and had almost no medical facilities of its own anyway?

Query 283. From Tony Walker

The following handstamp, in purple, has been seen, applied to a PPC from Constantinople dated in m/s 7 Feb 1919, with London RFHMS/NCTBR machine cancel March 3? 1919. Can anyone tell me what it means? Someone suggested ‘Depot of Scientific Research’, but what about the “(F.)”’?

ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER D.S.R. (F.) BRITISH ADMIRALTY. CONSTANTINOPLE.

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Replies to Query 281 Nick Colley writes that 450 Squadron was stationed at Falerium, some 20 miles N of

Rome, between 23 June and 9 July 1944, thus accounting for references to Rome and the Vatican. The Squadron was equipped with Kittyhawk IV planes at the time, and there is a photo on page 237 of Jefford4 of such a plane of 450 Squadron on the ground in what seems to be typically Italian hill country. FPO 167 is located by Proud in the Termoli area – this is trickier to explain, since it is on the Adriatic coast, a fair distance, and across the Apennines, from Falerium and Rome. Mac McConnell writes that the number 15325 on the airgraph is an identifying number on the reel of film, allowing rapid recovery should a reprint be required.

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Feedback – Secret Writing Laboratory Graham Mark reports that all the records he has gathered of the use of the green ink

label, 15 in total, were addressed to the Netherlands, so he is not surprised that the item reported by Tony Walker in the last issue was also so addressed.

Feedback – Mission Forestière Britannique

Maurice Tyler writes that the initials NCC stand for Non-Combatant Corps, and mentions that many details can be found on the internet – a Google search under “Canadian Forestry Corps” producing many hits.

Mac McConnell gives the same explanation, and goes on to say that these men were Conscientious Objectors who had faced a military tribunal and agreed to wear military uniform, but only in a non-combatant role. Usually they manned food depots, served with medical units, or with forestry units in remote places. Obviously they were formed only after the Conscription Acts came into effect. Those who did not agree to these terms were imprisoned, many in Dartmoor. In WWII the same thing happened, but conscription started in Sep 1938. The men also were allowed to serve in the RAMC and were an important element in Parachute Field Ambulances and Commando Field Ambulances, some being decorated for bravery in the field. From WWII they can be distinguished by having service numbers beginning with 9700 ****. They were not allowed to hold any rank.

********************************************************** The Seven Weeks War

June to August 1866. Austria, Prussia and Italy

Keith Tranmer

Count Otto von Bismarck, aided by Napoleon III of France, concluded an offensive and defensive alliance with Italy in which Italy would join Prussia if war broke out with Austria in the next three months, with a promise of the Province of Venetia as a reward, knowing that this war would be the outcome of Bismarck’s foreign policy.

The Austrian Army was faced by a war on two fronts. The Northern Army was under Field Marshal von Benedek, who had no experience commanding a large army in the field, and the Southern Army was commanded by Field Marshal Archduke Albrecht. The Italians were defeated on both land and sea at the second Battle of Custozza on 24 June 1866, and the famous sea battle of Lissa (Admiral Teggethoff) on 20 July. The Austrian flotilla on Lake Garda played their part by bombarding the roads along which Garibaldi’s troops had to march to the front and scattered them. 4 Jefford, Wg Cdr CG, MBE: RAF Squadrons; Airlife Publishing Ltd, 1988. ISBN 1-85310-053-6

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The Austrian Northern Army was supported by Saxony, and faced three Prussian Armies marching separately into Bohemia. The main battle was fought on the 3rd of July at Königgrätz (Sadowa) where the Austrians had the better of the battle until early afternoon when the Second Army of Crown Prince Frederick arrived on the scene on the Austrian left flank and decided the outcome in favour of the Prussians, who were much advantaged by the breech loading needle gun, permitting their infantry to fire from the prone position at standing Austrians using muzzle loaders.

As the Austrians fell back, part of the Southern Army was marching to Vienna to form a united army on the Danube. Fighting still continued, but mediation by Napoleon III for his own political advantage eventually brought a standstill to the conflict, and saw the formation of a new North German Confederation, which excluded. Austria, whilst the South German States remained separate, so ending some 500 years of Austrian influence in Germany.

The cover illustrated was from K.K. Feldpost Expositur (Expos) No.10 of the Northern Army, dated 1 August 1866, and was sent to the Austrian Polish Province of Galicia. The sender was Feldwebel Karpinski, 5th Company of Graf Mazzuchelli - 10th Infantry Regiment of the Line, Brigade North. It was written from the area of Aspern, Wagram and the Floridsdorfer “Schanzen” where some of the ancient fortifications remain and where, in 1809, Archduke Karl defeated Napoleon’s Army, being defeated in turn at Wagram. The details Karpinski provides of events of the fighting at Blumenau in his letter, only part of which remains, is unusual in detail because seldom does one find such letters from this war.

The first part of the letter is missing. The surviving portion commences with comment on the Prussians that they had captured. “During the whole of the battle cannon shot whistled constantly over our heads, the enemy rifle bullets whizzed several times about my ears. The word is that about 100 Austrian soldiers have fallen, especially the bedienungs mannschaft who have lost a third of their number. Our artillery have lost their horses but the enemy has lost 7 to 800 men.”

“After a hard battle the Prussians have pulled back towards Mähren5, but we foreigners were in Vienna two days later, the Galicians under Oberst Mandl are known as the Iron Brigade.

“After 3 days’ rest we march again northwards over the Danube in the direction of Aspern and Wagram and around the Floridsdorf defences (schanzen). If it comes to another collision who knows if I should be so lucky again. After the battle at Blumenau it was a horrific scene that in 7 hours so many fine men should be dead and our artillery are almost gone but from where I was what I observed of the battle was an interesting and beautiful sight. Letters to and. from the army are postage free in both directions.” (signed) “Karpinski.” 5 Moravia

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The Brazilian Expeditionary Force

Roger Callens

It is not generally known that Brazil played a role in the Allied victory in WWII. Following the revolution of 1930, Brazil came under the dictatorship of Getulio Vargas, who had a strong affinity with the European dictators. His chief of staff openly sympathized with the Germans, as did many personalities of Brazil’s political life. With the outbreak of war Vargas stood for neutrality. An important group of civilian officials, however, was profoundly against these pro-fascist manifestations, and so played an important role in the decision to join the Allies. After summits between the US president Roosevelt and Brazilian representatives, they agreed on limited cooperation. This would include the establishment of a US air base at Natal with the Brazilian army maintaining coastal defences in the area. Soon German and Italian reprisals would be heard of. In the period 1941 to 1943, along the Brazilian coast, 32 Brazilian vessels became victims of U-boats. Brazil broke off relations with the Axis powers in January 1942 and declared war on Germany and Italy (but not on Japan) in August 1942. Patrolling was the task of the Air Force and Navy. A part of the fleet escorted convoys along the Atlantic and in 1943 occupied the island of Fernando de Noronha, 100 Km off the coast of Pernambuco. The Brazilian air force, equipped with P-40s, managed constant patrolling of the Brazilian shores. American instructors started to train Brazilian troops and supply equipment to the Brazilian army, navy and air force. Brazil, the only country in South America who fought alongside the Allies, entered WWII before any significant Allied victories had occurred. Then came the mobilization of men to form the F.E.B. (Força Expedicionaria Brasileira). It took two years to get those men ready to join the war effort against the Axis forces. Later in 1944 the Brazilian troops joined the Allies in Italy. The first Echelon left for Europe in the first days of July 1944 aboard the US ship General Mann, in total 5,081 men. On July 22 1944 two more ships, Gen. Mann and Gen. Meigs, left for Naples, Italy, with 10,369 men. The last two Echelons with another 4,722 men and 5,128 men left Brazil in the last days of November 1944 and the first days of February 1945, totalling 25,300 men. The Brazilian troops used US G.I. equipment and moved to Tarquinia, 350 Km north of Naples, where the Fifth US Army, commanded by General Mark Clark, was based. The Brazilian forces were incorporated to the IV US Army Corps, commanded by General Crittenberger. The component elements of the 1st Brazilian Division were: 1st, 6th and 11th Infantry Regiments, 1st Artillery Regiment with 1st, 2nd and 3rd Bn’s 105mm Howitzer and 4th Bn 155mm Howitzer, 9th Engineer Combat Bn, 1st Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop Mechanized, 1st Brazilian Infantry Division Band and a number of supporting units. Commanding officer was Major General Joao Batista Mascarenhas de Moreas. By the end of July 1944 all French troops, the majority of whom were Muslim, had left the Fifth US Army, but the arrival of the Brazilian troops in August 1944 would give the army’s C-4 little relief from long time problems of providing rations acceptable to several different dietary customs. The Brazilian menu included considerably more sugar, lard and salt than did the

American, while excluding tomato juice, dried beans and rice. The first engagement of the F.E.B. began in October 1944, when the 6th Infantry Regt. attacked a sector held by the Italian Monte Rosa Alpine Division. Crossing the Lima Creek, 12 miles north of Lucca, the Brazilians advanced northward against light resistance. On the 11th the Brazilians captured the town of Barga, and at the end of the month the operation came to an end. During this period, the Brazilians created the F.E.B. symbol, consisting of a badge with a snake over national colours (Green and Yellow), with a smoking pipe in mouth (Fig. 1 at left). There was less action on the Fifth US Army’s left flank where some Brazilian units received their baptism of fire. In February

1945, the Brazilian Expeditionary Force, now at full size, entered the fight to protect the US 10th Mountain Division’s right flank by seizing Monte
Fig 1
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Castello. The Brazilian Division took part of the race for the Po River in rounding up the remnants of the German LI Mountain Corps trapped between the Apennines and the Po River. At the end of April 1945 the 1st Brazilian Division and the US 34th Infantry Div. and 1st Armoured Div. rounded up those Germans still south of the Po River. The F.E.B. had lost 443 men killed, 2064 wounded and 34 MIA’s. On the other hand they captured 20,573 prisoners prior to the end of the war. The 443 soldiers buried in the F.E.B. cemetery in Pistoia were later removed to the mausoleum and monument built in Rio de Janeiro. In November 1944 a fighting group of the Brazilian Air Force arrived with some 350 crew and 43 pilots joining the 350th US Fighter Group (62 Fighter Wing) and operating from the Tarquinia air base. The F.A.B. (Força Aerea Brasileira) actually formed one of the 20 Squadrons of the XXII Air Tactical Command flying P-47Ds. The Group was divided into four flights (Red, Yellow, Blue and Green). The flight letter code and aircraft number was in white letters over the cowling. The letter codes were A, B, C and D starting with flight Red code letter “A”. The 1st GAvCa (Grupo de Aviaçao de Caça) 1st Brazilian Fighter Squadron went into action for the first time on November 1944. Although the Brazilian pilots were trained as fighters, the 1st B.F.S. became a fighter-bomber unit giving air support for the US Fifth Army. The pilots were highly praised for air-to-ground operations. By April 1945, the group of pilots had been reduced to 24, some were killed in action, some injured, and others were taken POW. Mail from and to the Brazilian troops was handled by the F.E.B. postal system, using date stamps “F.E.B. ESTAEAO POSTAL”, and “F.E.B. CORREIO REGULAO # 1” (regulating station). Air Mail was free from postal charges. The censor marks used were:

- Large boxed mark of the F.E.B. with “Serviço Postal da Força Expedicionaria Brasileira F.E.B. Aberta Pela Censura”.

- Boxed with F.E.B. “Censurada” and the number of censor. - Small box with “CRB 1” and number of field post of the Brazilian forces in Italy,

C(Correio), R (Regulator), B(Brasileira). - Small box with “CCBS” and number of censor on field post of the F.E.B. C(Correio),

C(Coletor), B(Brasileira), S(Sul). - A resealing label “Servico Postal Da Forca Expedicionaria Brasileira F.E.B.”, several

varieties known. References : Cassino to the Alps by E. F. Fisher Jr published by Centre of Military History US Army Washington D.C.1977. The US Army Order of Battle edited by Victor Madej Game Publishing Co Allentown PA 1984. Civil and Military censorship during WWII by DR H.F. Stich, W. Stich and J. Specht. Website: Forgotten Battles, Brazil goes to war.

Fig. 2.

Air Mail cover to Sao Paulo sent

“free” F.E.B. Field Post Office No1 Aug 15, 1944 and Correio Regulao No1 (Regulating station) Aug 16,

1944. Large boxed censor mark “F.E.B. (59)

CENSURADA”. (reduced)

156


Figs 3 & 4 Front and relevant part of back (reduced)

of cover from Sao Paulo 30 Apr 1945 to medical doctor. F.E.B. Resealing label

“Servico Postal da Forca Expedicionaria Brasileira” and small boxed “CCBS 28”

Fig. 5. Air Mail cover to Brazil sent “free” FPO No1 Dec 8, 1944. Large boxed censor mark “F.E.B. (50) CENSURADA” and small boxed mark “C.R.B. 1” No 14.

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Fig. 6. Back of figure 5 with regulating station December 11, 1944 and arrival hand stamp December 22 and 24, 1944. Large boxed censor mark “Servico Postal de Forca Expedicionaria

Brasileira F.E.B. Aberta Pela Censura”.

*******************************************

Code Numbers for HM Ships refitting in the USA

Bob Swarbrick

In the early part of the war, whilst the USA was still neutral, British warships needing major repairs or refits were sent to Halifax, Nova Scotia for appraisal, and repairs if necessary. Ships requiring major work beyond local capabilities were sent to the US naval dockyard at Brooklyn where, to hide the vessel’s identity, each was given a number. This helped to maintain the secrecy of the ship and her crew, all mail being sent through the Fleet Mail Office in Halifax for onward transmission to Brooklyn if necessary. Any mail in transit intercepted by the enemy could not easily be connected to a particular ship, and at the same time political capital could not readily be made of America’s breach of her neutrality.

The cover at Figure 1 was addressed to No 82, traced as being HMS Rodney – she required extensive boiler repairs in July 1941. Since the letter from the addressee’s father in India was not re-directed the writer clearly knew about the numbering system either from his son or through some form of official publication. Can any member please explain the meaning of the endorsement “Per SS Express”? It cannot mean “steam ship”, as the letter went by air, and in any case the writer was in Assam, so unlikely to know the name of a specific ship so far in advance of posting. Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

Also, I have been asked if I can identify HMS 75. Again can anyone help with this specific enquiry, or more generally with a complete listing?

158


T“NH

Figure 2

Crest and picture of HMS Rodney

***************************************************************

1867/8 cover from Lt RA Edwin, HMS Falcon, at Auckland

Showing the very rare 7d Officers’ Privilege Rate, only in force 1865-70, from thCarried by the ss Rakaia to Panama, then overland to Colon, whence by Royal MSt Thomas, and Douro to Plymouth. Ironically, had the writer posted his letter

have cost him only 6d! Privileges are not always what they seem

159

Figure 1

he cover to o 82”, alias

MS Rodney

(Reduced)

******

. e Pacific to UK. ail ships Tyne to

ashore, it would .


Figure 1 for the article by Andrew Brooks, p 148-151

************************************

Courtesy of Alan Rawlings Esq.

160

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FORCES POSTAL HISTORY SOCIETY JOURNAL Whole … · FORCES POSTAL HISTORY SOCIETY JOURNAL Whole Number 265 ... My address is: 238 Hunts Pond Road, ... prevent the French using it to