Armed Forces

HUBERT WILKINS, OFFICER, AVIATOR, EXPLORER, & WAR PHOTOGRAPHER

Yet another philatelically-contrived Antarctic cover but with more than the usual historical interest. The purple 4d ‘Child Praying’ 1957 Christmas issue is postmarked HALLETT/ 13 FE 58/ SOUTH-AUST and is autographed by the sender Hubert Wilkins, and addressed in his hand ‘H. Wilkins, Gen Delivery, Hallett’. It has multiple hand-stamps, a small black circle denoting the Antarctic ‘Deep Freeze’ expedition; one large purple and one large octagonal International Geophysical Year

HENDON AMMUNITION FACTORY

I have seen other World War 2 illustrated comical Australian mail, but nothing to approach this one. The front of this red 2½d KG VI Letter Card has a roller cancellation of ADELAIDE/ 11-AM/ 19 APR/ 1943/ SOUTH AUST. It sold for THREEPENCE, had a red OPENED BY CENSOR label, a purple boxed A/ 10, a purple boxed ‘4 Passed by Censor. It was addressed to Lieutenant Chris Weske, Naval

HELEN BUDD HETHERINGTON, MATRON ROYAL PRINCE ALFRED HOSPITAL

The present cover appeared at an Australian auction site, but a scan only of the front was available. It was sent On His Majesty’s Service to Miss H.B. Hetherington, Matron, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Missenden Road, Camperdown, Sydney, N.S.W. It had a 1d Queen Mother stamp postmarked with an indistinct NAVAL P. O. HERNE BAY/ N,S,W,-AUST in 1945 (month not seen) and it was endorsed with a manuscript ‘Concession Rate’.

GOV. PHILLIP & CINDERELLA STAMPS for AUSTRALIA’S 150TH ANNIVERSARY 1937-38

Two covers appeared on Ebay displaying in total, on the two covers, the 15 different designs of the cinderellas stamps that are derived from a sheet of 30. The format of the sheet was six horizontally and five vertically, with the same order repetition of the first and last three stamps in each horizontal row of six (Figure 1). The first cover has nine of the 15 cinderella stamp designs

GENERAL SIR JOHN MONASH, SOLDIER, ENGINEER & ADMINISTRATOR

The designer of this home-made first day cover has provided an unique cover, but what a pity he could not spell and that he did not realise that the yellow colour would fade badly. It has a single copy of the 5d John Monash in uniform stamp and is postmarked with the familiar Philatelic Bureau Melbourne First Day of Issue 23 June 1965, the centenary of his year of birth. It

GENERAL JOHN FRENCH, HERO in the BOER WAR [SOUTH AFRICA]

This Boer War recruitment publicity postcard with ‘General French War South Africa’ has a portrait of the general on a medal, shows British flags, a crown and crossed swords, plus an inscription ‘We Conquer Step by Step”. It is postmarked with a partial squared circle ALDGATE/ 2/ JY 30/ 00/ S.(A). There is an additional faint circular cancel confirming the JY 30/00 date. The message dated 28th July 1900 reads

N. H. WRIGHT #2176, 8TH LIGHT HORSE, 3rd BRIGADE A. I. F., ABROAD in WW1

This well traveled cover with the 1d red KGV head was postmarked CROYDON/ FE 25/ 18/ VICTORIA had considerable trouble in finding this Australian soldier in Egypt, as shown by the multiple addresses in black and red ink, as well as blue crayon. The re-addressing has carried over to the reverse and unfortunately the 2 postmarks are illegible, and the manuscript 24/2/18 is puzzling for it pre-dates the posting date

MARSHALL MACDERMOTT, QUIXOTIC SOLDIER, FARMER & BANK MANAGER

The stampless cover was sent ‘By Steamer’ from London as evidenced by the red ‘tombstone’ cancel X/ PAID/ 31OC31/ 1846. There was a red ‘ms. 1/-’ and an arrival handstamp at Adelaide as shown by the G.P.O/ [Crown]/ 5 [Maltese Cross] AP/ 1847/ SOUTH AUSTRALIA. The cover was addressed tp Marshall Mac’ Dermott (sic) Esqre, The Bank Hindly (sic) Street, Adelaide, South Australia. There was an additional ms. overlying the GPO

LT. J. S. SUMMERS, PHILATELIST & SENIOR ASST SURGEON, R.I.M., BOMBAY

The Tasmania postal stationery cover has the green ‘TASMANIA POSTAGE/ TWO PENCE’ QV printed stamp uprated with a ‘sideface’ ½d stamp both cancelled with an indistict barred numeral ‘63′ as well as a NEW NORFOLK/ JY 20/ 1895/ TASMANIA cancel. It is addressed to J. Seymour Summers Esq., 33 Sassoon Dock Rd, Colaba, Bombay, India. The reverse was backstamped Tuticorin, India (Figure 1). Calcutta was the place from where philately

LORD BRASSEY, VICTORIAN GOVERNOR & R. FULLARTON, NAVAL BRIGADE

An undated On Her Majesty’s Service cover was addressed to Lord Brassey, Govt. House Melbourne by R. Fullarton, Commanding, Naval Brigade, and the MINISTER OF DEFENCE, FRANK STAMP, VICTORIA was applied in blue. This letter would have been sent during Thomas Brassey’s term as Governor of Victoria in the years 1895 to 1900 (Figure 1). Thomas Brassey,1st Earl Brassey was born in England on February 11,1836 at St. Mary’s Stafford,