Tuesday 10 July 2012

British Field Post Office Postmarks of the Boer War

How Many Are There?

The British Field Post Office postmarks of the Boer War are a fascinating area of study, and they pop up quite frequently in mixed lots and GB collections.

I'm yet to discover which book is "the" reference for these. I also have no grasp on just how many Field PO's were used during the conflict (the highest number I've seen to date is 38), or where they were based. The information I have for these pictures came from the previous owner. UPDATE - changes made to the listings thanks to Alex Green (see comments)

I'm posting these here for reference purposes and, hopefully, comments and information.

Number 1 - Rustenberg- on GB 1d lilac SGZ1


Number 2 -  Aliwal North, Middleburg (Cape Colony) & Victoria Road West - on GB 2d grey-green & carmine SGZ5, and 3d purple/yellow SGZ7


Number 3 - Platrand - on GB 1d lilac SGZ1


Number 4 - Braamfontein - on Transvaal 1d rose-red & green SG239


Number 5 - Nylstroom & Lindley- on GB 6d purple/rose-red SGZ11


Number 8 - De Aar - on GB 1d lilac SGZ1


Two examples of Number 9 - Vereeniging- on GB 2d grey-green & carmine SGZ5


..and Transvaal 1d rose-red & green SG239



Any information received will be greatly appreciated, and will be acknowledged if requested!

4 comments:

  1. These are the Base Office (B.O.) date stamps, which were numbered between 1 and 11. Used only between March 1901 and October 1902.
    Correct allocations are:
    1. Rustenburg
    2. Aliwal North, Middleburg (Cape Colony) & Victoria Road West
    3. Platrand (Transvaal)
    4. Braamfontein
    5. Nylstroom (Transvaal) & Lindley
    6. De Aar
    7. Frederikstad
    8. Warm Baths & Volksrust
    9 Vereeniging
    10. Pretoria Middelburg Northern Line TPO & Pietersburg
    11. Belfast

    Another Base Office cancel had small numbers 84 and this was used by TPO East.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Excellent info Alex, thanks for sharing it. I'll amend the blog to be accurate (with thanks :) )

    What is the source of your info? Is it in Robson Lowe?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Coincidentally I have written on my blog about this very subject.

    You can read all about the best book for finding out about British Army Postal Cancellations of the Anglo-Boer War 1899 to 1902 here...

    http://thenewphilatelist.com/?p=43

    ReplyDelete
  4. I just did, and gave you a re-Tweet for your trouble. I looked at the Boer War Society website to order the book, but to say it's non-intuitive would be a compliment!

    ReplyDelete