Q84 August, 2010   member 636 1914 STAMPLESS PICTURE POSTCARD FROM ALEXANDRIA TO AUCKLAND, NZ. The reverse bears a purple oval "N.Z. MILITARY POST OFFICE /TROOPSHIP No 12 / EXPEDITIONARY FORCE" datestamp, being that of the S.S. Waimana. The NZEF accompanied the Australian contingent in the first convoy, arriving in Egypt on 3rd December 1914. They carried with them rubber datestamps for use on the troopships, but when the need was seen to be immediate after disembarking, the same datestamps were used in Egypt after removing the inscription "Troopship No......". This cancel would seem to indicate that some mail was processed on arrival in Egypt, prior to the "immediate" removal of the inscription. Could you confirm that this was indeed the case? REFERENCES: Peter A.S. Smith, Egypt - Stamps and Postal History, A Philatelic Treatise, 1999 The John Firebrace Collections of Military Postal History Auction Catalogue, 16 May 2001 Major G.J. Clayton RNZAEC, The New Zealand Army, A History from the 1840's to the 1990's, 1990 A St. John Adcock, Australasia Triumphant 1916