WAR STAMPS

Among the most interesting stamps which figure in our collections are those which owe their origin to the stern necessities of war. Stamps which fall into this division are of two main classes: those needed for the use of troops fighting outside their own territory, and those called into being by the subjugation of the enemy's country.

The Great War of Europe, as the conflict of 1914-15 has been called, has naturally provided many additions to the list of war stamps.

1. Germany has overprinted its own labels with the word "Belgien," and these are of some rarity when in a used condition.

2. Many of the German colonial issues have been overprinted with words suggesting British or French occupation. We have, for instance, the Togo yacht stamps bearing the inscription "Anglo-French Occupation," and the Samoa yacht labels stamped with the letters "G.R.I."

3. In cases where the German colonial issues have run short in the conquered settlements we find that labels of British or French origin have been pressed into service—for instance, New Zealand stamps have been overprinted for use in Samoa.

All these classes of war labels permit of many interesting varieties, but, whenever possible, used specimens should be preferred to those which have not passed through the post. We make this statement because certain belligerent countries endeavoured to replenish their exchequers by the sale, to philatelists, of uncancelled copies.

The stamps used by troops who are fighting outside their own territory are probably the most valuable of war labels. The British Expeditionary Force in France and Belgium was at the outset provided with ordinary English postal adhesives. These adhesives, when bearing such postmarks as "Army Base Post Office, France," or the ordinary cancel marks of Ostend, Boulogne, Paris, etc., are extremely valuable. When the British stamps ran short, letters were franked by postmarks alone, and these are well worth collecting. The circular and rectangular marks bearing the word "Passed by Censor" are also interesting.

Communications coming from the Fleet bear cancel marks formed by a number of concentric rings. The varieties of this postal mark should be prized.

In all cases the complete envelope or card must be placed in the collection intact, and not just the cut-out postmark.

Probably the most carefully planned army postal service is that possessed by our Indian troops. Adhesive stamps are generally used on correspondence, the ordinary Indian issues, overprinted with the letters I.E.F. being employed.

From a Field Service Manual[5] on "Posts and Telegraphs," we have been able to glean a few details respecting the organization and establishment of the Indian military post offices. In times of peace a stock of tents and equipment, sufficient for the supply of three base post offices, fifty first-class field post offices, ten second-class field post offices, and for the supervising staff, is kept in store at Lahore in the charge of the Postal Department of the Punjab.

On the outbreak of war the military postal service is organized by the Director-General of Posts and Telegraphs in India according to the requirements of the Army authorities.

The supervising staff is selected by him from a roll of European volunteers for such service maintained in his office, the full war establishment consisting of six Directors or Deputy Directors, eighteen Assistant Directors, twenty-four Inspectors, and fifty Postmasters. The rest of the establishment is selected by the Postmaster-General of the Punjab.

One Director or Deputy Director, two Assistant Directors, and four Inspectors constitute the normal postal personnel of an expeditionary force. They wear the ordinary field service uniform of the Indian Army according to their respective ranks, distinguished by the word "Post" on the shoulder straps.

The following extracts from the Indian Army Order, No. 619, dated November 10, 1913, are of interest:

"7. The Director or Deputy Director, or, in his absence, the Postmaster-General under whose orders he is to work, should, on receipt of the first intimation that a force is to be mobilized, take the earliest opportunity to consult the General Officer appointed to command the force as to the postal requirements of the force in respect of the number of field post offices, the classes of postal business to be undertaken, the establishment to be provided, etc. As far as possible, the wishes of the General Officer commanding should be carried out.

"23. The Director-General will arrange that the treasury nearest to the base office is supplied with about ten times its normal supply of ordinary postage stamps (including postcards and envelopes), and that a sufficient stock is maintained throughout the campaign. The base post office should thus be in a position to supply at once the postage stamps required in field post offices. If there is no treasury at hand, a sufficient supply of postage stamps of all descriptions must be kept at the base post office. The base post office will be supplied with an iron safe, or two, if necessary.

"24. The requisite stamps, scales, bags, and other articles of stock sufficient for six months' requirements, will be furnished to the base post office for its own use, and for distribution, under the orders of the Director or Deputy Director, to field post offices. Section 5 B shows the books, forms, stamps, etc., required for field post offices. All books, forms, and articles of stock should be packed in the prescribed mule trunks, each of which, when packed, should not exceed one maund in weight. The books, forms, and stamps required by the base post office will be the same as those used by a head office in India performing the same classes of business; but in addition to the ordinary stamps it will be supplied with a special 'postage cancelled' stamp."

Another form of war stamp is the charity stamps; these have been issued by various countries in order to collect money for Red Cross and other funds. The labels serve for ordinary postal work, but as a rule cost a halfpenny or penny above face value. A charge of three-halfpence, for instance, is made for a penny stamp, a penny of the sum being appropriated by the postal authorities, and a halfpenny being remitted to the Red Cross Fund. So far, France, Monaco, Belgium, Russia, Austria, and Hungary have printed charity labels, and other countries have such issues in contemplation. It may be mentioned that various bogus charity stamps appearing to emanate from Belgium have reached this country from Holland and elsewhere; all such labels, therefore, should be accepted with caution.

War stamps date back, at least, to the time of the Crimea. In this campaign the British forces instituted a military post office at Constantinople with branch offices at Balaclava and Scutari. No special stamps were given to the soldiers, the current British penny reds being used. The postmarks, however, were distinctive, and it is therefore possible to distinguish between the red labels used in the ordinary way at home and those used by the Expeditionary Force. The distinctive postmarks were:

1. A crown placed between two stars, with straight bars above and below, the whole forming an oval.

2. A star placed between two noughts; then as No. 1.

As few people know of this rare and interesting form of obliteration, it is quite possible to come across specimens when buying the penny reds in quantities for reconstructing plates.

Other war stamps are—(1) The Alsace and Lorraine issue, which was printed primarily for military use during the Franco-German campaign; (2) the overprinted issues of Peru, used during the occupation of this republic by Chilian forces; (3) the Egyptian issue overprinted with the word "Soudan," at the time when Lord Kitchener was carrying on the Soudan campaign; (4) the V.R.I. issues of the Transvaal; (5) the Italian issues bearing the overprint "Lybia," current during the Italian-Turkish War; and (6) the many issues which resulted from the Balkan War of 1912.

Before concluding this chapter, it may be well to speak of the Spanish stamps of 1874-1879, and 1898-99, which bear the inscription, "Impuesto de Guerra." These labels were not war stamps in the ordinary sense, but stamps issued to collect a war-tax. After the Carlist War, the insurrection of Cartagena, the Civil War in Cuba, and the Spanish-American War, the Government decided to impose a war-tax upon a number of articles, such as letters, telegrams, theatre tickets and railway tickets. The stamps bearing the above inscription were therefore issued to facilitate the collection of these taxes. When the used copies have done postal duty they may be looked upon as postage stamps, but collectors should avoid purchasing specimens which served for theatre, railway, and the various other uses.