Pollexfen Posted 3 January , 2020 Share Posted 3 January , 2020 An Old Boy of my former school (Birkenhead Institute) was writing his anticipated (correctly) last letter home on the eve of the opening day of the Somme and passed it his commanding officer to post for him. The story was recorded in F P Crozier's memoir, "A Brass Hat in No Mans Land". He specifically mentioned that it was a, "green envelope". Can anyone tell me what this means and what any criteria was for such coloured envelopes (or any others for that matter)? He was 2nd Lieutenant William MacKenzie Campbell and I suspect that he was trusted to send such letters uncensored? Many thanks in advance. Alun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Clifton Posted 3 January , 2020 Share Posted 3 January , 2020 The green envelopes were used for letters which were not censored within a man's unit before being sent. The soldier had to sign a declaration to the effect that nothing which would be of assistance to the enemy was included. A proportion of these were opened by censors at one of the base ports, with dire consequences for the author if prohibited matters were mentioned. Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pollexfen Posted 3 January , 2020 Author Share Posted 3 January , 2020 40 minutes ago, Ron Clifton said: The green envelopes were used for letters which were not censored within a man's unit before being sent. The soldier had to sign a declaration to the effect that nothing which would be of assistance to the enemy was included. A proportion of these were opened by censors at one of the base ports, with dire consequences for the author if prohibited matters were mentioned. Ron Thanks Ron. It all adds to the mass of small details of army life. Alun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Clifton Posted 4 January , 2020 Share Posted 4 January , 2020 Here are some pictures: http://www.worldwar1luton.com/object/green-envelope-mail-active-service Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pollexfen Posted 5 January , 2020 Author Share Posted 5 January , 2020 On 04/01/2020 at 13:55, Ron Clifton said: Here are some pictures: http://www.worldwar1luton.com/object/green-envelope-mail-active-service Ron That's even better. Thank you so much. I wonder if anyone still has that letter? Alun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Clifton Posted 6 January , 2020 Share Posted 6 January , 2020 According to the website whose address I quoted, it seems to be in a "private collection" in Luton. No other details are given but if you contact the website it is possible that they could give you more info. Good luck! Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now