1943 WWII HAIFA cover to Jewish soldier postmarked in EGYPT by British Army

Description: Egyptian postmark cancelling Palestine coil stamp: 28 Oct 1943 postmarked WWII era civilian cover sent from female relative in HAIFA to soldier (a "sapper" - elite combat engineer) serving in the 524 Palestine Field Survey Company (Royal Engineers) of the Middle East Force; franked 10 mils per domestic (and Trans-Jordan) letter postage rate using a machine-vended coil stamp of the type made produced as continuous roll - several years after the latest documented date for their order (though per this cataloguer's research the purchase orders in the specialist literature are very incomplete). The letter was likely entered uncancelled into a letter box and as such was processed unpostmarked, transferred this way to the British army postal service: it was transferred to Egypt where the cover was censored by the Deputy Chief Field Censor at general headquarters in CAIRO, then transferred to the postal unit servicing the addressee's military unit - here EPP 118 (the Qasr El Nil Bridge / Khedive Ismail Bridge in CAIRO) - the device is Benians Type II at 27mm, though unlisted as such by him for any 3-digit EPP post office; British forces in Egypt used Egyptian-supplied "Egypt Postage Prepaid" ('EPP') index-numbered postmarks as military post office cancelling devices rather than the standard British "Field Post Office" double ring/bar devices. Here the army post office may have cancelled the frank on 28 Oct 1943 as a matter of habit as it was possible for army mail in Egypt to be franked with foreign British Empire stamps, including Palestine (per Benians) - short-paid in principle for the 15m surface rate to Egypt but domestic civilian senders would not have known the precise destination of military addresses and these under-paid letters are observed tolerated and not taxed for the deficiency. Backstamped by the unit's circular censor mark + officer's signature in blue crayon; torn open at left, vertically folded (but under the circumstances unlikely to have been a couriered cover solely due to this hallmark of couriered covers). The 524 Palestine Field Survey Company was created in June 1942 and assigned to the British 8th Army, engaged in surveying territories and map-marking; the unit was assembled in Egypt, then served in Tripolitania-Tunisia, again in Egypt, then in south Lebanon in 1943, Syria in 1943, then Italy in 1944 by which time the unit was part of Central Mediterranean Forces - hence the estimated year-dating of this cover. --- Most of our merchandise ships out from Israel | orders are combined | additional items are charged 75c: DOMESTIC services available are Registered mail (default) and courier mail. Please contact us if you desire courier mail. BUYERS IN ISRAEL: eBay does not recognize Israel as being a "domestic" mailing destination - please contact us to be invoiced and charged $5 for registered mail. --- OVERSEAS services available are Priority ECO Post registered airmail (default - $15 flat fee) and express EMS mail (3-day / 5-day to-door delivery - $40 flat fee). These options can be selected on check-out. We recognize that the shipping overseas is expensive - only ECO Post shows tracking up to delivery; for less expensive purchases on the understanding of the customer that tracking is not available we can user $5 standard registered mail overseas - please contact us so we can invoice you at this rate. --- Prospective buyers in countries without postal relations with Israel can receive orders via a third country. Please contact us for this option. --- To see higher end specialized philatelic items + materials from countries which cannot be displayed on ebay, add d o t com to our our handle name

Price: 399 USD

Location: Jerusalem Israel

End Time: 2024-12-10T13:41:17.000Z

Shipping Cost: 12 USD