Friends in Need - Postal History Sunday

Welcome to the 93nd entry of Postal History Sunday, featured weekly on the Genuine Faux Farm blog and the GFF Postal History blog.  If you take this link, you can view every edition of Postal History Sunday, starting with this one (the most recent always shows up at the top).  

This week, in honor of Memorial Day in the United States, I'm going to be presumptuous and tell you to push your own personal troubles out of the way so you can ponder what it means for individuals to serve in the military for their country (it does not matter which country) or for people to be injured, displaced, and terrorized by war.

But, even as we ponder, I hope we can also learn something new and still enjoy as we explore the postal history hobby.  And, if these words sound familiar, maybe you recall some of last year's post titled Unforgotten.  That post received some excellent feedback and may well be worth another read if you feel like it.

This week I am going to leave the time period with which I have the most comfort and look at something a bit more modern.   Yes, I know, World War I might not be considered to be all that recent by many people, but it is about a half century later than most postal history I study.

Before I get too far into the postal history part of this item, can you see why I was attracted to this particular cover in the first place?  Yes, it is a clean enough.  And, yes, it is a piece of mail between two countries (the US and England).  Also, as we shall see, this letter illustrates a proper postal use of the time (1916).  

In my mind, these are all good things if I am considering an item.  Yet it was the address panel that caught my attention.

"Mr. J.R. Little, Friends Ambulance Unit, 8 Weymouth St. London W, England"

I must admit that, while I was aware of the ambulance units run by the Quakers in World War II, I was not aware of their involvement in the first world war.  The gap in my knowledge makes some sense since WW II has received more historical coverage in the US given their extensive involvement as compared to the first conflict.  And, even if you weren't aware of these ambulance units, you may recognize the movie, Hacksaw Ridge, that followed the story of an American conscientious objector who served heroically as a medic in the second war.

The Postal History Part

The post marks on this particular cover tell the story in a clear fashion.  A boxed marking on the front was placed over the postage stamp (so it could not easily be re-used) that reads New Rockford, N. Dakota.  And the markings on the back are as follows:

• New Rockford N. Dak Registered Jun 7, 1916
• New York Rec'd For'cn Jun 10, 1916
• Liverpool June 19, 1916

The postage stamp has a 12 cent denomination and depicts Benjamin Franklin.  You can see, if you look closely that the stamp itself is actually partially covered by some paper tape on the right.  And, if you look even more closely (click on the image to see a bigger version), you might notice in pencil the numbers "138" have been written on the stamp itself.  I will make an educated guess that there just might be a "6" after the "8," but it is under the tape.

What's the "138" thing about?

The numbers in pencil on the stamp aren't something I have noticed before, so maybe someone else who knows more about this period of time and postal history can help.  However, I can do a little sleuthing and point you towards THIS part of the envelope.  It explains my reason for thinking there is also a penciled in "6."

Registered mail of the time from the US to the United Kingdom had a few characteristics that we can spot on this particular envelope.  First, some sort of "registered" marking or label is placed on the front.  A tracking number, or ledger number, is included with the marking.  I do not think it is coincidence that the three numbers visible on the stamp match up with the first three numbers here.

The next couple of pieces of evidence to show that this was a registered piece of mail include the blue cross marking applied with a pencil on the front.  This alerted the British postal service that this item was registered and extra security/tracking was to be provided.  And, all of the dated postmarks appear on the reverse of this envelope, all carefully placed so they overlap the flap - with the idea that it would show that the contents had NOT been tampered with.

But, was this mail "tampered" with anyway?

I find it interesting that some of the processes for registered mail was supposed to provide evidence that the contents had not been disturbed or taken.  However, the paper tape was neatly adhered to the right side of this envelope simply because it HAD been purposely opened and inspected.

This is one way we are reminded that there was a war on.  While it would be almost a full year before the United States entered that conflict, the United Kingdom was certainly very much involved.  As a result, incoming mail was inspected with the intent of checking for contents or information that could either serve the war effort or, perhaps, harm that same effort if it were allowed to be received unaltered.

Once the item was passed by a censor, tape was applied to reseal the envelope.  A censor number "1521" was included on the front side to provide some accountability for the process.

If you would like to learn more about censorship during World War I, I suggest this online article provided by the International Encyclopedia of the First World War.  The following was taken from that site on May 28, 2022:

"In the Allied countries, postal control was also extended to correspondence between civilians. In Britain, all mail was controlled in special censorship offices either in London or in Liverpool, and in 1918 between 4,000 and 5,000 persons were occupied with this... As the blockade authorities controlled all ships, censors opened all letters and parcels between neutral countries as well. As a result, they closely surveyed the correspondence of German agents and even replaced German propaganda with their own."

Needless to say this slowed the arrival of mail, but the absence of a receiving marking in London means this letter will provide us with no evidence as to how much it was delayed.  The Liverpool marking tells us when the letter left the steamship and arrived at the exchange office there.  Based on the description above, it isn't hard to imagine that this was processed by the censors there rather than those in London.

How much did this cost in postage?

Registry mail services cost 10 cents, effective Apr 1, 1879 to Nov 30, 1925, which was paid by the postage stamp.  This leaves us with 2 cents for postage.  But the postage rate for letter mail to other countries was 5 cents for the first ounce of weight (Oct 1, 1907 - Oct 31, 1953).  That certainly doesn't seem to add up now, does it?

Well, maybe this will help.  Here is another letter that was sent in May of 1916 from Utica, New York to Huddersfield in England.  This letter only bears a 2 cent stamp and it is not a registered letter.

It turns out that the United States made some special agreements that provided discounted rates with certain nations, and the United Kingdom was one of those nations.  In essence, the United States domestic rates applied to mail being sent to the United Kingdom beginning Oct 1 ,1908.  This rate was increased to 3 cents on Nov 2, 1917 to help fund the American war effort after they joined the fray.

Mexico and Canada also enjoyed these postal rate discounts from the normal Universal Postal Union rates.  Shown above is a 1918 letter where the 3 cent "war rate" was required.  This envelope was featured in one of the earlier Postal History Sundays and can be found here.

The Social History Part

I started the process by doing some reading on the Friends Ambulance Unit just to get a feel for what I was getting into and found this overview to be worthwhile on the Quakers in the World site.  Rather that try and craft a summary, I took excerpts from the first few paragraphs to give us all a feel for what the Friends Ambulance Unit was in WW I.

"Philip (Noel) Baker appealed for volunteers [and] Early in September the first training camp took place at Jordans, in Buckinghamshire, for about 60 young men. Initially neither the British Red Cross nor the army wanted to involve a group of independent and pacifist volunteers, but the situation changed dramatically when the Belgian army collapsed in late October. The FAU was provided with equipment and supplies, and a party of 43...left for Belgium.

A few miles out they met a torpedoed and sinking cruiser, rescued the victims, and carried them back to Dover.  Setting out again, they came to Dunkirk, and worked for three weeks in the military evacuation sheds, looking after several thousand wounded soldiers until they could be evacuated on hospital ships.  The Unit set up their administrative headquarters nearby, at Malo les Bains. There was a terrible typhoid epidemic that winter, and this led to the establishment of the first of four hospitals, the Queen Alexandra, at Dunkirk.

The FAU expanded as the needs grew, and many non-Quakers joined.  There were two sections:  the Foreign Service and the Home Service... the Foreign Service started on a programme of civilian relief [and] were soon noticed by the French army medical headquarters, and this led to the staffing and running of French ambulance convoys (Sections Sanitaires Anglaises)... In 1915, they started running ambulance trains, and in early 1916 they had two hospital ships.

The Home Service set up and/or helped to run four hospitals in England. Two were in Quaker premises – one in part of the Rowntree factory in York, and the other in a Cadbury house in Birmingham; the other two were in London."

In summary, this was no small operation.

Looking for J.R. Little

It turns out that the Library of the Religious Society of Friends in the UK maintains a site where significant primary resources can be accessed.  It did not take long using the tools they provided to find these cards for J.R. Little.

Little has an index card with a photo, but the contents are a bit less detailed than many.  The reverse of this card provided some additional detail.

James Raymond Little was a member of the initial group that met at Jordans Camp, undergoing - or somehow involved - in the original training for the Friends Ambulance Unit (FAU).  The entry for October 30 places him at the "L Office" (London Office).  He would visit Dunkirk for a few days in July of 1915, soon returning to London.  He remained with the FAU until 1919, after the war had concluded.

I eventually found this contemporary history (another edition or copy can be found here) of the FAU during the First World War, which gave me the answer I sought - what was J.R. Little's role?

It is here on page 238 that we find our answer.  J.R. Little, and apparently his spouse, were the constant force that kept the organizational side of the FAU ...um... organized.  If we were hoping for some glamour with this particular piece of postal history, we may not have found it in the direct sense.  But we should have known this would be the case simply by the immaculate condition of the envelope.  If Little had been working near the conflict, it is doubtful that this envelope would be quite so pristine.  

However, let's not belittle the efforts of the recipient of this piece of mail.  Little had sufficient respect for his role that he not only merited mention in the book specifically for efforts at the London Office, but they also provided a plate in the book with his photograph.

And, if further evidence were needed that J.R. Little was among those involved in the FAU from its very beginning, he is among those list in the "Committee of the Friends Ambulance Unit" shown below from the text cited earlier. 

Once again, let me point out that the FAU was not a small undertaking, with the management of several hospitals, ambulance convoys, ambulance trains and hospital ships.  Simply acquiring the needed supplies and getting them to where they needed to be would have been a difficult task.

And remember - the FAU was a voluntary organization.  Its members were not paid, so there was significant turnover as individuals found they could no longer continue to serve as a volunteer.

FAU - Not Safe from Harm

Not all members of the Quaker Friends were in agreement as to the role they should play during periods of armed conflict.  An excellent article by Linda Palfreeman actually explores the debate and differing opinions of the time.  Many felt the Friends Ambulance Unit was in direct opposition the religious tenets that are held by Quakers.  Nonetheless, a significant number of conscientious objectors, not all of whom were British and some who were not Quakers, were involved in providing medical relief to those in need due to armed conflict.

Efforts to provide medical help often put ambulance drivers and personnel in the line of fire and they were not immune to the various illnesses that were prone to be found in less than optimal living conditions. 

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Thank you once again for joining me as I share something I enjoy.  I hope you learned something new in the process.  

Take a moment or two this weekend and remember those who have witnessed the horrors of war firsthand, whether they were members of armed forces, civilians, or those who chose to do what they could to provide relief to those were sick or injured.