postal dates ww1

[edwardo]

Hello i hope that this question will be ok to this boad.as i am new i was unsure were to

place it? My father was wounded i think at wipers (but not sure)i have some enverlopes addressed

to him from the pensions committee dated 23 sep ???? the stamp saying 23 sep is strong and clear but the year seemes to be just a black mark.there are three envelopes one other 29 aug again year just a black mark.if i had the year it would help me knowend.was the year date censord.??has anyone seen this sort of thing befor.also as an aside he was in moor park hospital preston.but i can't find any info on that.best wishes

to all.edwardo

[DaveBrigg]

Welcome to the forum Edwardo

If you can give your father's name, and if possible his regiment and battalion, it may be possible to work out when he served at Ypres. I've never come across censorship of year dates, and this seems unlikely for something written by the pensions committee. Low quality ink and working in a hurry seem a more likely explanation

[edwardo]

Welcome to the forum Edwardo

If you can give your father's name, and if possible his regiment and battalion, it may be possible to work out when he served at Ypres. I've never come across censorship of year dates, and this seems unlikely for something written by the pensions committee. Low quality ink and working in a hurry seem a more likely explanation

Hello Dave my father was Frank Freeman Liverpool regiment 4354 private.& Liverpool regiment 331655 private. he was wounded i'm almost certain that he told me in the big push at ypres.i have downloaded his medal card.and i have his medals and silver wounds badge the s w b No is B190146 and is in a small blue cardboad box and the two medals have 4354 liverpool reg stamped in the edge.thank you for your reply edwardo

letter1.bmp

[DaveBrigg]

The two numbers tell us that he was a territorial soldier, who enlisted before the start of 1917. In the first months of 1917, the territorials were renumbered. 331655 was allocated to the 1/9th Battalion of the Kings Liverpool Regt.

If your father was wounded in the push at Ypres, this would have been the 3rd Battle of Ypres, 1917, often known as 'Passchendaele'. The 3rd Ypres took place over several months, but within this battle, the 1/9th Battalion were part of the 55th (West Lancashire) Division, and fought at Pilkem Ridge (31st July - 2nd August 1917) and at Menin Road (20th - 25th September).

The date stamp on the letter is puzzling. It looked like 1916 to me, but this doesn't fit with the facts above; perhaps the last digit is '8'?

More infomation can be found by following the 'Long long trail' link at the top of this page. You could also try another post that mentions the Kings Liverpool Regt in the title, or ask if someone can trace the date of issue of the Silver War Badge from its number. Good luck.

[edwardo]

Hello Dave my father was Frank Freeman Liverpool regiment 4354 private.& Liverpool regiment 331655 private. he was wounded i'm almost certain that he told me in the big push at ypres.i have downloaded his medal card.and i have his medals and silver wounds badge the s w b No is B190146 and is in a small blue cardboad box and the two medals have 4354 liverpool reg stamped in the edge.thank you for your reply edwardo

Dave. thank you very much for your reply.soe information at last.i hope that you can understand

why it is at the back of my mind and has been for a long time.My father did not talk very much,and most of the time if asked about the war he would say."All for a shilling a day" a peace of shrapnel hit him in the muscule of the left leg and they wanted to remove his leg from the knee.but my father refused,in hospital over here he worked on his leg untill he had removed over time all bits of shrapnel.one thing that i remember him telling me was,As he lay on a strecher along with hundreds of others. the big guns came through at top speed and along over a line of wounded waiting to be seen to.The guns where more important than the poor ******* on strechers. once again thank you for your help.edwardo.(ted)

[Terry_Reeves]

Edwardo

I think the letter may have been posted in the UK There appears to be no sign of an APO or FPO post mark, and looking at the franking on the right hand side, it appears to have been posted in Liverpool. Another piece of evidence to support this , is the 1d stamp. On 31 August 1914, the Postmaster General made this statment in the House of Commons:

"It has...been decided by the Government that in future all letters written by soldiers on active service may be sent to this country without any prepayment being made upon the recipient of the letter. In other words, correspondence written by the soldier on active service to his relations or friends will be carried free of charge."

Prior to this, the rate of of 1d per ounce applied to letters sent by men of the BEF, and a surcharge was raised on the recipient if no stamp was attached.

Terry Reeves