3rd Anniversary Postal History Corner

On June 9, 2010 I began posting on the Postal History Corner blog. Today marks the third anniversary of this endeavor. In recognition of this day, here are postings that take us through two hundred year and fifty years of Canadian postal history:

1. Postal Service 1763

2. Canada's First Stamps

3. Prestamp Town Postmarks

4. Prestamp Domestic Rates

5. Province of Canada : Stamps of 1851

6.  Queen Victoria Part I : 1868 -1875

7. Queen Victoria Part II :1875 - 1897

8. Queen Victoria Part III : 1897 -1903

9. King Edward VII : 1903 - 1911

10. King George V Part I : 1911 - 1928

11. King George V Part II : 1928 - 1930

12. King George V Part III : 1930 -1932

13. King George V Part IV : 1932 - 1935

14. King George V Part V : 1935 - 1937

15. King George VI Part I : 1937 - 1942

16. King George VI  Part II :1942 - 1949

17. King George VI  Part III : 1949 - 1953

18. Queen Elizabeth Part I : 1953 - 1954

19. Queen Elizabeth Part II: 1954 - 1962

20. Queen Elizabeth Part III : 1962 - 1967

21. Queen Elizabeth Part IV : 1967 - 1973

22. Queen Elizabeth Part V: 1973 - 2005

23. International Postal Rates : 1999 - 2013

24.  Canada Postal Indicia 2013

WWII Auxiliary Services

On September 10, 1939, Canada declared war on Germany. Early in October, 1939, the Canadian government accepted the offers of four "National Voluntary Organizations" to provide services for troops in Canada and overseas. The Canadian Legion War Services, the Knights of Columbus, the Salvation Army and the Y.M.C.A. entered into a contract with the Minister of National Defence, becoming official auxiliaries operating under the Directorate of Auxiliary Services.

The auxiliary services provided invaluable sports, recreation, social and educational programs which contributed to the welfare of the members of the forces and helped preserve morale. Since correspondence to and from family and friends was important in maintaining morale, the auxiliary services  provided envelopes to forces personnel in Canada and overseas. This post shows various envelopes produced by the volunteer organizations of the auxiliary services.

1. Salvation Army

Salvation Army corner (lower left) cards

Canada 

 Ottawa M.P.O. 301 (Landsdowne Park), March 17, 1943

 Niagara Falls MPO 203, March 15, 1942

 United Kingdom

4 Canadian Infantry Brigade (Royal Hamilton Light Infantry)

FPO C 4 (British  Field Post Office) , Aldershot, April 22. 1941

 Army Distribution Centre No. 5 (British F.P.O. 488)

Canadian Forestry Corps, Scotland, February 21, 1942

2. Knights of Columbus

Knights of Columbus corner cards

 Canada

Camp Borden M.P.O. 202, July 16, 1945

 Mountain View M.P.O. 309 (RCAF  6 Bombing and Gunnery School), May 26, 1945

Newfoundland

C.A.P.O. 3, Botwood, July 26, 1943

United Kingdom

Headquarters 2 Canadian Corps

FPO HC 2 ( British F.P.O. 640, January 8, 1944)

Headquarters First Canadian Army

 FPO AC 1 (British F.P.O. 585), Southern England,  April 24, 1944

3. Canadian Legion

Canadian Legion corner cards

Canada

 Windsor, N.S., M.P.O. 620, May 31, 1944

Jamaica

 "Y" Force, Jamaica, September 30, 1942

 United Kingdom

A Group, Canadian Reinforcement Units

 FPO SC 4 (British F.P.O. 248), Witley, Surrey, September 2, 1941

Canadian Reinforcement Units, C Group

F.P.O. S.C. 6, Borden, September 24, 1942

4. Y.M.C.A.

 YMCA corner cards

Canada

 M.P.O. 301 (Ottawa), November 30, 1939

 Rivers, Man. MPO 1006, November 25, 1944

 Portage la Prairie MPO 1012, July 7, 1945

United Kingdom
 

 B Group Reinforcement Units

FPO SC 5 (British F.P.O. 247), Hampshire, August 30, 1940

Netherlands

CHRISTMAS GREETINGS

Headquarters First Canadian Army

F.P.O. A.A. 1, Tilberg, Netherlands, December 6, 1944

North West  Europe 

 

 1 Canadian Army Base Post Office

FPO SC 758, January 5, 1945

 
Navy

 From H.M.C. Ship, 8/12/41

  From H.M.C. Ship

N.P.O. 1113 Esquimalt, B.C., August 20, 1943

5.  On Active Service Envelope: All Auxiliary Service Organizations Listed

In addition to envelopes produced by each of the volunteer organizations of the Auxiliary Service, an envelope listing all four organizations was produced for troops "On Active Service".


United Kingdom

Canadian Reinforcement Headquarters, Borden

FPO SC 3, May 29, 1945

ON ACTIVE SERVICE envelope corner card

Netherlands

 2 Canadian Infantry Division
FPO TC 2, Groesbeek Area, Netherlands, November 17, 1944

Reference

Bailey,W.J. and Toop, E.R., The Canadian Military Posts Volume 2, Edited by Edward Proud, 1985

Canadian Postal Indicia

Postal indicia are markings on mail showing that postage has been prepaid by the sender. This post deals with the indicia Canada Post customers can currently use on their mailings.

  
Postal Indicia Requirements (Canada Post May 1, 2013)

Bilingual

Since Canada Post is subject to the Official Languages Act, postal indicia must be bilingual. For any mailing with a return address in the province of Quebec, the main information contained within the body of the indica must appear French first. In all other provinces, English must appear first.


1. Generic Postal Indicia

2. Perforated Edge Design Postal Indica

3.  Parcel Services Postal Indicia

4. Customized Postal Indicia

Canada Post ad promoting "Customized Postal Indicia"

AIR MILES

Received August 29, 2013

The Lung Association I

Received October 16, 2013

The Lung Association II

 Received November 22, 2013

Shoppers Drug Mart

Received December 7, 2013

The Retired Teachers Of Ontario (RTO)

Customized postal indicia can be used for "Addressed Admail", "Lettermail" and "Publication Mail" items. The RTO mailing shown below is an example of a  Publication Mail postal indicia.

Received, January 17, 2014

Canadian Wildlife Federation

Received March 11, 2014

Share Life

Received March 17, 2014

........................................................................................................................................................

CUSTOMIZED POSTAL INDICIA (Canada Post, May, 2013)