1942
 

 

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This page : Royal Events - Philatelic Events

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Headlines - Japan invades Manilla, Netherlands East Indies, Burma, Singapore.... US forces arrive in Europe.... Princess Elizabeth registers for war service.... Soviets retake Kharkov.... Battle of Midway.... Battle of the Atlantic.... US land on Guadalcanal.... Civil disobedience movement across India.... Battles of El Alamein.... Battle of Stalingrad 

Royal Events

The first signs of real hope in a long time. Britain has held out against the odds, the US have entered the war, the Germans are experiencing bitter resistance in Russia. George spends much of his time visiting the troops and raising homeland morale.

25 August - George, the Duke of Kent, the King's youngest brother, is killed in the line of duty.

23 October - Mrs Roosevelt arrives as the guest of the King and Queen.

Philatelic Events

Definitives : Booklets : Coils : Airmail : Other : Postmarks

Definitives -

9 March - Hi-value issue of 2s6d yellow green 'Arms'

28 September - Definitive issue of 1½d 'light colour'

30 November - Hi-value issue of 10s ultramarine 'Arms'

Booklets -

March - 2/6 (series 7); 5/- (series 8) booklets issued

October - 2/6 (series 7) booklet issued

Coils -

June - 2d pale orange with sideways watermark first issued in coils

October - 1d pale scarlet with sideways watermark first issued in coils

1942 - ½d pale green; 2d pale orange; 2½d light ultramarine; 3d pale violet first available in coils.

Airmail -

During 1942 US troops flood into Britain creating even more trans-Atlantic mail. The 'Atlantic Ferry' air route for the transportation of aircraft from the U.S. is used to carry 200,000lbs of mail in 1942, other air routes via Africa and Lisbon are used as well as mail carried by ships.

For the siege of Malta a new airmail service was arranged. Each soldier was supplied with a green cross label each week to send on to England. Replies with this green cross label attached were flown to Malta by fast planes taking a few days. All other mail went via the Cape and often took over two months.  >

January - American Export Airlines (AEA) sign a contract with the US Naval Air Transport Service to fly the trans-Atlantic route from New York to Foynes. First flight see 26 May.

4 February 1942 - last flight from Singapore and suspension of the full horseshoe route - the service continued from Durban to Calcutta. Mail between Australia / New Zealand and the United Kingdom had to be routed across the Pacific, America and the Atlantic. The full horseshoe route does not restart until 1943.

May - Pan American restart the 'summer' route from New York to Foynes, then onward to the UK by a service provided by BOAC.

< 26 May - AEA used a Vought-Sikorsky (VS-44A) flying boat 'Excalibur' for their first flight from New York to Foynes. Only 3 VS-44's were produced - Excalibur (NC41880), Excambian (NC41881) and Exeter (NC41882) - costing AEA $2.1 million. Excalibur did not last long, it crashed in Newfoundland in October 1942 - the other two continued this service throughout the war. This first AEA flight was piloted by Captain Charles Blair, the chief pilot for the airline.

20 June - AEA begin a regular round trip service by flying boat from Washington to New York then on to Foynes, then onward by a service provided by BOAC.

7 December - air letter forms replace the 3d air-postcard for writing to the armed forces.

Other -

1 January - Lundy Island issues puffin stamps overprinted with a 'V' and an aeroplane.

September - order forbidding the printing of stamp albums to conserve paper supplies - lasted until November 1945

Postmarks -

 

All entries, except *, are taken from Special Event Postmarks of the United Kingdom by George R. Pearson. Published by the British Postmark Society, 1991 who give kind permission for reproduction.

 

19 May - 'C of S Edinburgh'. Church of Scotland Assembly. Skeleton handstamp.

19 to 25 May - 'Edinburgh C of S'. Church of Scotland Assembly. Skeleton handstamp.

     
* 1 to 19 December - 'Post Early For Christmas'.