British Forces mail
The British Army had had a resident presence in Egypt since 1882. From 1932 to 1936 special seals were attached to the rear of letters to show that the letter was covered by special forces postal services. The two issues of interest to GB Overprint collectors are those issued in 1935 for King George V’s Silver Jubilee and later in the same year for Christmas. These are stamps issued by the British Government, supplied by them for use by British people, and are therefore “British stamps”, two of which were overprinted as shown below.
For a time these stamps were regarded as “cinderella” items, as they were treated by the Army not as postage stamps but as a receipt showing that the serviceman/woman had paid the special reduced rate postage and was permitted to post this letter, but only in the special forces postboxes. At this point the distinction from a “postage stamp” gets rather philosophical. They were stuck on the rear of the letter, not on the front, and inscribed “Letter stamp”, “Postal seal”, “Xmas seal”, or “Letter seal”, so as not to confuse Egyptian postal staff.
For further information on these stamps, consult the Egypt Study Circle.
| (SG №) | denomination | colour | date of issue | number printed (sold) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A10 | 1P ‘JUBILEE COMMEMORATION 1935’ | Ultramarine | 06/05/1935 | 27,000 |
| (SG №) | denomination | colour | date of issue | number printed (sold) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A3 | 3m ‘Xmas 1395 3 Milliemes’ | Carmine | 16/12/1935 | 10,000 |
Images courtesy of Tony Ainscough of Silver Jubilee Stamps Study Circle
References specific to this and related chapters
GBOS GB Overprints Compendium edition 8, Dr John Gledhill (12/4/2020)
Particular thanks go to Stanley Gibbons Ltd, for permission to quote their catalogue numbers and numerous other contributors who are mentioned in the Appendix section.
All content is copyright, Dr John Gledhill and the GB Overprints Society, May 2025.