A military post office opened in Cairo in April 1943, with the task of supporting troops stretching out from Tripolitania to Syria, via Egypt, Palestine and Lebanon. At the beginning this office used the double-circle datestamp with the number 4 (Fig. 9), which the expeditionary force had used in Nigeria for the Middle East and came via the Cape. The datestamp became confused with some postmarks used by some Free French units so the British authorities decided to allocate a distinctive type of datestamp to the contingent which was intended as the first in a recognizable series. This new datestamp, manufactured in Cairo, was put into use in June 1943. It is rectangular, measuring 41 x 22mm, and divided into three horizontal section of different heights. On two lines in the top part is the text POSTE MILITAIRE / No101; in the middle section the date, month in letters and the year; and in the lower section the words CONGO-BELGE (Fig.10). The Cairo office was issued with two cachets: one with the initials B.P.M 101 M.E.F. on one line, the other with B.P.M. 101 / M.E.F (Fig. 11) on two lines in larger lettering (Bureau postal militaire 101 – Middle East Force). These different postmarks of the Belgian colonial troops in the Middle East were withdrawn from service after the closure of the office in November 1944. The office most likly operated from the British Base Office 4. 
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