INDIAN ARMY POSTAL SERVICE--China Expeditionary Force--British
Railway Administration in China--Somaliland--The Forbidden
City of Lhassa--Indian Expeditionary Force in France.
The Army Postal Service forms a highly organised branch of the Indian
Army organisation. It dates from 1878-1880, when, during the Afghan
War, a mail cart route was set up between Peshawar and Jellalabad, and
a horse post was conducted thence to Kabul, in all about 176 miles.
Jhelum and Peshawar were also connected by rail, a military transport
train being run by the Post Office between these points. Even earlier
than this date there were postal arrangements for Indian Expeditionary
Forces, including that operating in Abyssinia (1867-68), the type of
postmark being lettered F.F. (Field Force), as in _Fig._ 58.
[Illustration: 58]
The postmarks used on letters despatched from troops accompanying the
numerous Indian military expeditions form a very considerable range
for philatelic exploration. They include Egypt, Miranzi, Kurrum,
Hazara, Waziristan, Suakim, Tochi, Chitral, Malakand, Tirah, China,
Tibet, Somaliland, and South Africa. The system of the Indian Army
Postal Service is similar to that already described for the British
Expeditionary Force on the Continent. A base office is established at
each military base, and works as a head office, communicating with
India and with the field. Field post offices of 1st and 2nd class are
attached to brigades, divisional troops, and divisional headquarters,
and these fly a distinguishing flag by day and display a distinguishing
lamp by night. The establishment of base and field offices varies
according to the size of the force which they are to serve, but
ordinarily the establishment of a base office is: 1 postmaster, 2
deputy postmasters, 15 clerks, 2 khalassis, 6 packers, 1 sweeper.
First class field post offices are accompanied by 1 postmaster, 2
clerks, 1 packer, 2 tent khalassis, and 1 sweeper, while for second
class field post offices the establishment consists only of a
postmaster, a packer, and a sweeper. In addition there are supervising
officers for each division, and in the event of the post office making
its own arrangements for transport between the base and the field
offices, a number of overseers are required. The officers and men all
have the word "POST" in brass letters on the shoulders of their
uniforms.
Postage stamps of India (including postcards and embossed envelopes,
both ordinary and "official") are stocked by all field post offices,
and ordinarily a six-months' supply is sent out with the force, and is
distributed from the base office to the field post offices. It is part
of the duty of the base office to see that each field office maintains
a sufficient stock of stamps, in accordance with a minimum determined
by the chief superintendent in respect of each field post office.
In 1900, in connection with the Boxer Troubles in China, Indian troops
were despatched to assist with contingents from all the Powers in the
relief of the Legations, and with them went their Army Post Office.
Since the settlement of the troubles a permanent Legation Guard has
been maintained by the Indian Army in China. On reaching China, the
Indian Army Post Office established its base at Hong Kong, but this
was temporarily shifted to Wei-hai-wei on account of objections raised
by the Postmaster-General of the British colony of Hong Kong. The new
base did not prove satisfactory, however, and ultimately Hong Kong
became the permanent base, and the Army Post Office worked in
harmonious co-operation with the British Post Office and the Chinese
Imperial Post. Field post offices were set up at Pekin, Tientsin,
Shanghai, Stonecutters' Island, Wei-hai-wei, Tongshau, Matao,
Ching-Wang-Tao, Yangstun, Tongku, Sinho, Hanku, Shan-hai-Kwan, and
many other points, sometimes consisting of a couple of tents, but
often during this campaign in more substantial structures, and even
(according to Mr. Ashley C. Vernieux) in the Temple of Heaven at Pekin.
With the troops sent to China in 1900 the Indian Post Office started
the supply of specially overprinted Indian stamps, so that stamps
bought in China could not be subject to speculation and sale in India
by reason of varying rates of exchange. The Queen Victoria stamps
then current, values from 3 pies to 1 rupee were overprinted with the
initials C.E.F. (China Expeditionary Force), and the successive issues
of Indian stamps have been similarly overprinted for the use of the
troops still maintained in China (_Figs._ 59-61.).
[Illustration: 59 60 61 62 63]
The postmarks used on the expedition were _Fig._ 62 for the
base office, and _Fig._ 63 for the advanced base, similar marks
inscribed at top "_FIELD P.O. No._ ..." or "F.P.O. NO. ..." or single
line circular marks inscribed F.P.O. (_Figs._ 64, 65). There are also
a single-line circular date mark of the base office, and registered
marks (_Fig._ 66).
[Illustration: 64 65 66 67]
Fig. 67 illustrates the postmark of the present base post office of
the Indian troops in China, located at Tientsin.
On the suppression of the Boxer rising the troops of the Allies were
in occupation of Chihli, and the Pekin Shanhaikwan railway was divided
up between the English, Japanese, Germans and Russians. By February,
1901, the administration of the whole of the line was in the hands of
the British, but it was under the control of a Board consisting of a
British director and two deputies, one German and the other Japanese.
At this period the Allies had about 100,000 men in Chihli, but the
British troops were stationed at various stations on the line. To
facilitate the prompt delivery of the letters of these British troops,
the postal superintendent of the British force applied for a sorting
van to be attached to the train so that letters could be dealt with
_en route_.... To this application the reply was that no concession
could be given to the British which was not given to all the other
forces, and that as the service was then restricted to one train a day,
such a concession might result in the train consisting largely of mail
vans. But to meet the general convenience, subject to the British
postal authorities undertaking to receive and deliver the letters of
all nationalities posted at the stations or in a box attached to the
van, thus making the service international, a van was placed at their
disposal from April 20, 1901. The new facilities were announced in the
circular, of which a facsimile is given (_Fig._ 68), and the extra fee
was collected by surcharging and selling a number of 1/2 cent Chinese
stamps "B.R.A. 5 Five Cents" in black or green (_Fig._ 69). The B.R.A.
stands for British Railway Administration.
[Illustration: 68]
DIRECTOR OF RAILWAYS: CIRCULAR No. 15 d/ 15: 4: 1901.
BRITISH RAILWAY ADMINISTRATION.
RAILWAY POSTAL SERVICE.
1.--In order to allow of letters being posted up to the latest
possible time, it has been arranged, with effect from the 20th
April, 1901, to open post offices at the Railway Stations
at Peking, Tientsin, Tongku, Tongshan and Shanhaikwan. These
offices will open an hour before the advertised time of
departure of the trains carrying the mails and will close ten
minutes before the trains leave.
2.--Only ordinary letters will be accepted at these post
offices. Registered or insured letters cannot be accepted, nor
can newspapers or parcels.
3.--The letters should in all cases have affixed to them the
same stamps, or be franked in the same manner, as if they
were going through the post in the ordinary way. The Railway
Postmaster will therefore accept letters stamped with the
stamps of any nationality with post offices now in Northern
China, and the stamp will indicate the nationality of the post
office to which the letter will have to be handed over for
delivery, or further transit, at the end of the railway
portion of the journey. Unpaid, underpaid, and unfranked
letters will be accepted, but they will be liable to all
penalties now existing, and unpaid and unfranked stamps will
also run the risk of misdelivery.
4.--The letters must be handed, _together with a fee of five
cents for each letter_, to the Railway Postmaster at any of
the stations above named. This five cents is a late letter fee
and is in addition to the ordinary postage.
5.--The Railway Postmaster will then affix the Railway stamp,
and will retain the letter for posting in the train. The
Railway stamp will not be issued to the public to affix
themselves, nor will the Railway Postmaster accept any letters
with the Railway stamp already affixed.
6.--This service can be used for letters to Europe or any
country over sea.
The trains carrying mails leave the stations as detailed
below:
Peking to Tientsin 8.28
Tientsin to Peking 12.00
Tientsin to Tongku 7.20
Tongku to Tientsin 9.10
Tongku to Tongshan 9.50
Tongshan to Tongku 8.30
Tongshan to Shanhaikwan 7.30
Shanhaikwan to Tongshan 8.47
J. R. L. MACDONALD.
[Illustration: 69]
About the same period India had military post offices with the troops
engaged on the Swat frontier and against the Waziris. Field Post
Office No. 25 was the office at Camp Khar on the Swat Frontier, Nos.
5A and 22 were respectively at Zam and Jani Khel in connection with
the blockading of the Mahsud Waziris (_Type of Fig._ 70).
[Illustration: 70]
Indian stamps were also used by the forces engaged in the Somaliland
campaign of 1903-4, at first without overprint, of which the following
are types of the postmarks (_Figs._ 71, 72):
[Illustration: 71 72 73 74]
and during 1903 stamps of India appeared overprinted for use in
British Somaliland (_Fig._ 73).
Colonel Younghusband's mission to the Tibetan Government was
accompanied by army postal service which set up its base in the Chumbi
valley, and during the occupation of the forbidden city a field post
office was set up at Lhassa. Indian stamps used on this mission are
recognisable by the postmarks of Lhassa, including two mis-spellings
of the name LAHASSA (_Fig._ 74), and LAHSSA (_Fig._ 75).
[Illustration: 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 85A]
The Indian forces in South Africa also had their own postal
establishment, with a special series of postmarks.
In the present campaign the Indian forces are accompanied by
fully-equipped field postal arrangements, and following up the
precedent of the China Expeditionary Force, the Indian Expeditionary
Force in Europe is furnished with a set of current Indian postage
stamps, cards, etc., overprinted I.E.F. (_Figs._ 76-85). The Indian
troops enjoy free postage on unregistered letters and postcards posted
to the United Kingdom, France, and India, but correspondence to all
other countries, such as Switzerland, Holland, Scandinavia, and the
rest of the world has to be prepaid with I.E.F. stamps, as also the
parcels and registered letters for all countries.
The next figure (85A) illustrates the type of base post office mark
used in France, and no doubt similar marks are being used on these
stamps supplied to the Indian forces engaged in Egypt and elsewhere
during the present war. _Fig._ 85B although not definitely identified
is probably an Indian army postmark in use in France.
The first instalment of the "I.E.F." Indian stamps issued to troops
included:
3 pies, grey (Fig. 76), 230,400 stamps.
1/2 anna, green (Fig. 77), 768,000 "
1 anna, rose-carmine (Fig. 78), 422,400 "
2 annas, mauve (Fig. 79), 204,800 "
2-1/2 annas, ultramarine (Fig. 80) 51,200 "
3 " orange-brown (Fig. 81), 51,200 "
4 " olive (Fig. 82), 51,200 "
8 " purple (Fig. 83), 25,600 "
12 " dull claret (Fig. 84), 25,600 "
1 rupee, green and brown (Fig. 85), 9600 "
and the following supplies of postcards and envelopes.
1/4 anna inland postcard, single, 1800 reams
1/4 anna inland postcard, reply, 700 "
1 anna international single postcard, 100 "
1/2 anna envelopes, small size, 1100 "
[Illustration: 85B.]