 The postal services for garrison troops between the wars were dependant on the civil post offices with Egypt being one of the few exceptions. The troops were provided with a normal service, but it was run by the Camp Commandant British Troops Egypt, without Royal Engineers Postal Service (REPS). Despite the fact that it was not based on Post Office personnel, it provided a service to the Army which was better than that received by British civilian residents. It was based on a number of Stationary Offices, strategically sited, special seals and Army stamps sold in the NAAFI, and concessionary rates from 1932 onwards. A special office even went forward to the Libyan frontier in 1935-36 during the Italian invasion of Ethiopia. Elsewhere in the Middle East, British troops were required to use the civilian post offices until the 1st. Cavalry Division arrived in Palestine in early 1940. In 1939 the named datestampes were replaced by the 600 series in 1939 (E.601 to E.615). introduced by the desire to obscure the origin of the letter for security reasons. After Italy entered the war, the situation changed dramatically. The Mediterranean was closed to commercial shipping and the direct air service between Egypt and the UK was cut. Surface mails were sent via the Cape, and the air mail was sent by sea from the UK to West Africa, and then by air to Egypt via Khartoum. Transit times for incoming and outgoing mail were severely increased and surface mail arrived out of chronological sequence owing to trans-shipment at Durban and delays at the airports at Takoradi (Gold Coast) and Lagos (Nigeria). Since the air mail was expensive it was thought to be fast and efficient; it was neither. It had to be prepaid at 1s 3d per ½oz, and took three to six weeks to deliver; surface mail took three months. Not surprisingly, there was serious discontent among the troops and their families. In July 1940, the Army Post Office was asked for assistance, and the first contingent was sent to Egypt. A Base Post Office (BAPO 4) was established in the civilian GPO at Cairo and Lines of Communication services were also provided. Again, there was some conflict between the Army Post Office and the local civilian administration, who wished to retain control of the postal arrangements in their own country. It must have been clear to the civilian authorities that they would not be able to deal with the growing volume of military mail and this, for security considerations, would inevitably mean that the responsibility would pass to the British Army Post Office. In the end, General Wavell signed an agreement and, on the token payment of £1,000 each year, the British military authorities were allowed to run their own post office and collect the resulting revenue. Egypt Post Paid Datestamps British Forces Datestamps with the inscription EPP were used from May 1st 1941 to as late as 1945 by the military forces of Britain and the Dominions, with numbers that were randomly assigned and did not correspond to any identifying number of a military unit. On September 24, 1940 the REPS officially took over postal duties with the introduction pf the standard British F.P.0. cancels. These were in use until withdrawal in 1956. The current stationary offices were also redesignated i.e. E 601 became APO S.200. |
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