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."
[Illustration: SOME HAPSBURG PORTRAITS
1 Karl VI 4 Franz Josef I in 1908 7 Ferdinand
2 Maria Theresa 5 Leopold II 8 Franz Josef in 1884
3 Joseph II 6 Franz I 9 Franz Josef in 1878]
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.
[5] Quoted from _Stamp Collecting_, December 5, 1914.
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.
[Illustration: STAMPS FROM THE "GREAT WAR" ZONE
1 Russia 6 Union of South Africa 11 Prussia
2 Belgium 7 France 12 Bavaria
3 Montenegro 8 Luxembourg 13 Austria
4 Great Britain 9 Portugal 14 Turkey
5 Egypt 10 Servia]
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.