Censor Marks
Durham at War Researching First World War Postcards 4
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Censor Marks CM 1. Circular,
Used in France August – December 1914. Censor Mark Type 1, Circular was only in use for about four months from the outbreak of war in August 1914. This was the period of the original BEF of the Regular Army, supplemented by some Territorial Battalions as the casualties increased that autumn and the flower of the British Army almost was wiped out . As units were destroyed censor stamps were lost and replaced and the allocations of the later numbers are difficult to work out. The initial allocation of the stamps in this series show that the system had been prepared before the war as part of the mobilisation plan and clearly follows the divisional system of the BEF.
CM 2. Square,
Used in France December 1914 – April 1915, Middle East May 1915 – November 1915, East Africa February 1916 – September 1917, Balkans January 1916 - ?
CM 3. Triangular,
Used in France April 1915 – 4 January 1916, Middle East Apr/May 1916 – October 1916, East Africa, Mesopotamia, Salonika.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ You can download this work and share it with others as long as it is credited, but you can’t change it in any way or use it commercially © John Sheen. Email contact: [email protected]
Durham at War Researching First World War Postcards 4
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CM 4. Hexagonal,
Used in France, 4 January 1916 – 7 November 1916.
CM 5. Oval,
Used in France, November 1917 – October 1917.
CM 6. Rectangular,
Used in France, October 1917 – January 1919, Italy, November 1917 – January 1918, Germany, December 1918 – April 1919.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ You can download this work and share it with others as long as it is credited, but you can’t change it in any way or use it commercially © John Sheen. Email contact: [email protected]
Durham at War Researching First World War Postcards 4
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CM 7. Octagonal,
Used in Salonika, dates uncertain.
CM 8, Shield,
Used in Italy, 1918 – March 1919?
Indian Army Censor
British troops serving with Indian Divisions often had mail censored with Indian Army Stamps, examples are scarce.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ You can download this work and share it with others as long as it is credited, but you can’t change it in any way or use it commercially © John Sheen. Email contact: [email protected]
Durham at War Researching First World War Postcards 4
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The Censoring Officer’s signature The importance of the censoring officer’s signature cannot be underestimated; a good clear signature enables one to check against the Army List and can identify the censor stamp in use on the card or envelope, whilst a scribbled or undecipherable signature is no use to the researcher at all. J E Redding Commissioned 1/7th King’s Liverpool Regiment 22 August 1914, landed in France 7 March 1915. Seconded to the 35th Sikhs, Indian Army 28 September 1917. To be Acting Captain whilst commanding a company 16 March 1918, relinquished acting rank 31 May 1918. Promoted Captain 22 May 1919.
R W Palmer was commissioned into the Special Reserve East Lancashire Regiment in August 1914 and landed in France with the 1st Battalion East Lancashire Regiment on 23 August 1914 but was left at the base, re-joining with a draft of 100 men on 5 October 1914. On 17 February 1915 he was Mentioned in Dispatches and he ended the war as a Captain.
This scribbled signature offers no clues to the identity of the writer nor does it help identify his unit.
The Censoring Officer Patrick Robert Hardinge was a Territorial officer, who applied for a regular commission which was granted and on 14 May 1914 he was commissioned in to the 1st Battalion of the Scottish Rifles and he was soon promoted Lieutenant. He landed in France on 1 September 1914 and was promoted Captain on 13 August 1915. He became Second in Command of the battalion and was promoted Major on 28 November 1915. Later on he was wounded and evacuated and on his return to the front was posted to the 10th Scottish Rifles. On 17 June 1916 he was wounded again and evacuated to a CCS in Bethune where he died from his wounds. He is buried in Plot III, Row K, Grave 22 of Bethune Town Cemetery.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ You can download this work and share it with others as long as it is credited, but you can’t change it in any way or use it commercially © John Sheen. Email contact: [email protected]
1
Censor Marks CM 1. Circular,
Used in France August – December 1914. Censor Mark Type 1, Circular was only in use for about four months from the outbreak of war in August 1914. This was the period of the original BEF of the Regular Army, supplemented by some Territorial Battalions as the casualties increased that autumn and the flower of the British Army almost was wiped out . As units were destroyed censor stamps were lost and replaced and the allocations of the later numbers are difficult to work out. The initial allocation of the stamps in this series show that the system had been prepared before the war as part of the mobilisation plan and clearly follows the divisional system of the BEF.
CM 2. Square,
Used in France December 1914 – April 1915, Middle East May 1915 – November 1915, East Africa February 1916 – September 1917, Balkans January 1916 - ?
CM 3. Triangular,
Used in France April 1915 – 4 January 1916, Middle East Apr/May 1916 – October 1916, East Africa, Mesopotamia, Salonika.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ You can download this work and share it with others as long as it is credited, but you can’t change it in any way or use it commercially © John Sheen. Email contact: [email protected]
Durham at War Researching First World War Postcards 4
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CM 4. Hexagonal,
Used in France, 4 January 1916 – 7 November 1916.
CM 5. Oval,
Used in France, November 1917 – October 1917.
CM 6. Rectangular,
Used in France, October 1917 – January 1919, Italy, November 1917 – January 1918, Germany, December 1918 – April 1919.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ You can download this work and share it with others as long as it is credited, but you can’t change it in any way or use it commercially © John Sheen. Email contact: [email protected]
Durham at War Researching First World War Postcards 4
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CM 7. Octagonal,
Used in Salonika, dates uncertain.
CM 8, Shield,
Used in Italy, 1918 – March 1919?
Indian Army Censor
British troops serving with Indian Divisions often had mail censored with Indian Army Stamps, examples are scarce.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ You can download this work and share it with others as long as it is credited, but you can’t change it in any way or use it commercially © John Sheen. Email contact: [email protected]
Durham at War Researching First World War Postcards 4
4
The Censoring Officer’s signature The importance of the censoring officer’s signature cannot be underestimated; a good clear signature enables one to check against the Army List and can identify the censor stamp in use on the card or envelope, whilst a scribbled or undecipherable signature is no use to the researcher at all. J E Redding Commissioned 1/7th King’s Liverpool Regiment 22 August 1914, landed in France 7 March 1915. Seconded to the 35th Sikhs, Indian Army 28 September 1917. To be Acting Captain whilst commanding a company 16 March 1918, relinquished acting rank 31 May 1918. Promoted Captain 22 May 1919.
R W Palmer was commissioned into the Special Reserve East Lancashire Regiment in August 1914 and landed in France with the 1st Battalion East Lancashire Regiment on 23 August 1914 but was left at the base, re-joining with a draft of 100 men on 5 October 1914. On 17 February 1915 he was Mentioned in Dispatches and he ended the war as a Captain.
This scribbled signature offers no clues to the identity of the writer nor does it help identify his unit.
The Censoring Officer Patrick Robert Hardinge was a Territorial officer, who applied for a regular commission which was granted and on 14 May 1914 he was commissioned in to the 1st Battalion of the Scottish Rifles and he was soon promoted Lieutenant. He landed in France on 1 September 1914 and was promoted Captain on 13 August 1915. He became Second in Command of the battalion and was promoted Major on 28 November 1915. Later on he was wounded and evacuated and on his return to the front was posted to the 10th Scottish Rifles. On 17 June 1916 he was wounded again and evacuated to a CCS in Bethune where he died from his wounds. He is buried in Plot III, Row K, Grave 22 of Bethune Town Cemetery.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ You can download this work and share it with others as long as it is credited, but you can’t change it in any way or use it commercially © John Sheen. Email contact: [email protected]
