Ghosts in the Mail: The Penang Submarines and the 1943 Madras Spy Case

Every now and then, a piece crosses my desk that makes me drop my loupe and just stare for a minute.

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you know I’m obsessed with the paper trails left behind by the chaotic, shadowy parts of World War II. We talk a lot about how postal history is essentially holding ghosts in your hands. Today, I want to show you exactly what I mean. I have been waiting to write a blog on this postal cover I acquired couple of years back. But, I was missing the piece to introduce it properly. That dream finally came true just yesterday when by chance I happened to find a newspaper on eBay to pair it with rare postal cover from my collection, and together, they tell the story of one of the most disastrous, secretive espionage operations of the war: the 1943 Madras Spy Case.

Let’s start with the context. This original difficult to find (of specific date with this incident) Northern India Edition of The Statesman (dated October 21, 1943) has the headline is the kind of thing you expect in a spy thriller, not a daily paper: "JAP AGENTS FOILED BY VILLAGERS / ARREST AFTER LANDING FROM SUBMARINE."

Fig1: Northern India Edition of The Statesman (dated October 21, 1943)

Here is the backstory: By late 1942, the Japanese military, working with the Indian Independence League (IIL) and the early INA, hatched a plan to drop a "fifth column" of spies onto the western coast of British India. The idea was to infiltrate, sabotage, and spark a rebellion before a planned Japanese invasion.

They sent these guys over in Japanese submarines, dropping them off the Malabar Coast in little rubber dinghies in the dead of night. It was a complete disaster. They were betrayed by double agents, their cover stories were terrible, and vigilant local villagers spotted them almost instantly. The British quietly rounded them up, tried them in secret in camera courts, and hanged several of them. They put a total gag order on the whole mess to prevent panic. In fact, this October 1943 newspaper was the very first time the British let the public know it even happened, spinning it as a massive victory rather than a close call.

But the question has always been: where exactly did these doomed agents come from?

These spies didn't just appear out of nowhere; they were trained at a highly classified espionage school in Penang, Malaya, called the Indian Swaraj Institute (funded by the Japanese Iwakuro Kikan intelligence unit and manned by Indian expatriates and former British-Indian POWs). Before I reveal the postal *(star)* item let's take a short history lesson first. 

The Swaraj Institute (Penang)

The primary training ground for these agents was a secret espionage school called the Indian Swaraj Institute (Swaraj meaning "self-rule"). The Japanese requisitioned the premises of the historic Penang Free School to serve as the headquarters for this operation.

The school was funded and overseen by Japanese military intelligence, specifically under the command of Colonel Hideo Iwakuro (head of the Iwakuro Kikan intelligence unit) and supervised locally by Captain Noboru Kaneko.

Many of the Japanese instructors were graduates of the elite Imperial Japanese Army Nakano School, which specialized in covert operations, counterintelligence, and guerrilla warfare. They brought advanced, systematic spy-craft to the Swaraj Institute. If you want to read more about it then I recommend below book.

Fig2: The Shadow Warriors of Nakano, A history of the imperial Japanese Army's elite intelligence school by Stephen C. Mercado

While the Japanese provided the facility and intelligence framework, the manpower and ideological drive came from Indians.

• Trainees were a mix of Indian expatriate civilians living in Malaya and former British-Indian soldiers who had been captured as Prisoners of War (POWs) and convinced by INA founders like Mohan Singh to switch sides and fight for Indian independence.

• Select Indians who showed exceptional aptitude were made instructors. For example, Kumaran Nair, who had previous paramilitary experience with the British Malabar Special Police before moving to Malaya, served as both a trainee and a key tactical instructor.

The training was intense but highly accelerated. The curriculum blended standard military combat with specialized espionage techniques. Trainees studied the socioeconomic grievances of Indian factory workers and railway employees. Their goal wasn't just to gather intelligence, but to infiltrate industrial hubs, foment strikes, and sabotage British supply chains during the "Quit India" movement.

India Swaraj Institute Scarce Postal Cover

That brings me to the earlier addition to the collection, and honestly, the star of this exhibit. This is another such instance where I found it purely by luck couple of years back. I was searching something related to Indian Independence League on internet and somehow a link to an unknown auction site popped up as result. Just out of curiosity. I clicked on the link and started browsing the lots. In couple of minutes, my heartbeat all of a sudden dropped, I was not able to believe on item that I was staring on my laptop. I found something which was more thrilling and satisfying than acquiring an Indian Independence League cover. But, when I saw auction was already closed then my morale dropped completely. The only hope I had was I saw it was unsold. Perhaps, none had paid attention to it. My heat started beating again. It was another struggle to contact the auctioneer and convince them to sell this unsold lot to me. And luck had it, I finally acquired a piece of history!   

Surviving mail from this covert facility is practically non-existent. I know one of my friend also owns such similar cover but perhaps that's it. Anyway, when I finally acquired above newspaper, the whole story just snapped into place. 

Fig3: Letter sent with Indian Swaraj Institute marking from 1942 

Here are some finer details about the cover shown above:

If you look at the left, that bilingual institutional handstamp is from the spy school itself. It says INDIA SWARAJ INSTITUTE. / PENANG. in English as well in Japanese: 印度靑年錬成所 (Translating to "Indian Youth Training Institute"). 

If you look closely right above "SWARAJ," there’s a quick manuscript squiggle. That was may be an initial or clearance from an institute officer giving this letter the green light to leave the compound.

When the Japanese invaded Malaya, they grabbed whatever British colonial stamp stocks were lying around. As per standard catalogs for the Japanese Occupation of Malaya, the 'Dai Nippon 2602' overprint on the Perak 8 carmine stamp (with the Sultan of Perak’s portrait) is Great Japan, and 2602 is the imperial year for 1942. It perfectly dates this cover to the crucial early window when the spy school was actually active. There is a faint circular date stamp over the Perak postage stamp. While the katakana for Penang (ペナン) is visible, the exact date is unfortunately too heavily smeared to confirm. If anyone has seen a similar strike and can narrow down the day/month, please let me know.

On the right, we have the classic boxed Japanese occupation censor chop. The top reads ペナン局 ("Penang Bureau"). "10" is the specific censor desk, and that little black square inside the box is the personal hanko (name seal) of the guy who actually read Joga Singh Aujla’s mail.

Fig4: Back side of the Indian Swaraj Institute marking letter from 1942

Flipping it over (Fig4), the sender is listed as Joga Singh Aujla / I. S. I. Penang (I.S.I. stands for Indian Swaraj Institute). Aujla (A common Sikh/Punjabi surname) was likely a cadet—maybe even one of the guys who eventually ended up on a submarine—or an instructor. Remember Sikhs made up a significant portion of the ex-British Indian Army POWs who transitioned into the Indian National Army and the IIL in Malaya so it may be possible that sender was also an ex-POW cum IIL/INA supporter.

He was sending this down the peninsula to a Dr. N.K. Sharma at the General Hospital in Muar, Johore. Indian doctors often stayed at their posts during the occupation, and many were quietly absorbed into the medical wings of the IIL. As an exhibitor, this is what we live for. When you put that yellowed Statesman clipping next to this heavily censored, overprinted Swaraj Institute envelope, you aren't just looking at stamps and ink anymore. You’re looking at the entire lifecycle of a doomed WWII spy ring—from a cadet writing a letter in a secret Penang training camp to the tragic, heavily censored conclusion on the beaches of India.

It is fascinating to see how a single cover ties into such a massive, hidden operation. It makes a great companion piece to the newspaper clipping. I wish some day I can evolve all these into a quality Exhibit covering various special operations (Chindits, Marauders and Espionage).

Let me know in the comments if you guys have ever run across Swaraj Institute covers out in the wild, because I'm definitely hunting for more! Any other such Indian associations marking covers from WW2 period is also welcome!

Not but the least, I think I have seen "India Swaraj Institute" cover example in some philatelic book but I am forgetting the detail. If someone remembers then please point that to me. I will add it here as reference.

"DON'T JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS" - Indian Airmail WWII

Today's post is continuation of my previous post "Don't Believe In Rumour". It is another propaganda airmail letter created by Indian Airmail Society.

Shown above is one of the famous airmail letter issued by Indian Airmail Society during WWII. The concept of such letter was from Stephen Smith, secretary of Indian Airmail Society and a known pioneer of Rocket Mail during those times.

The letter was carried through a airplane piloted by J. *ton (I am terribly sorry but I couldn't read the letters properly. If any of my reader can decode then please let me know). The letter carries his signature close to large shaped 'V'. The letter carries a red colored special cancellation cachets: "BY AIR" and a black colored "CC-Calcutta" on front side.

The letter has cancellation of Dum Dum (a place in Calcutta) of November 21, 1941, 9:15 a.m. It has been backstamped with slogan "Buy Defence Savings Certificates" dated November 21, 1941, 5:30 p.m. at Park Street (again Calcutta).

This cover has also been signed by Stephen Smith on the reverse side.

The letter carries a very large V in red color with text in center and "DON'T JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS" in bigger font on the left side. The text on left hand side reads:

WAVEL CHASED BENITO OUT.

The message reminds Axis forces of massive Italian defeat in Africa by General Wavell forces in February 1941.

It continues with more text:

THE MISSING LINK.
OFT IN THE STILLY NIGHT,
IN EAST AFRICA,
I USED TO HEAR,
THAT JACKAL CRY.
HAS ANYONE HERE
SEEN MUSSOLONI,
OH WHERE IS HE.
-----------
ASK WAVEL HIS
EPSOM SALTS
ARE MISSING
-----------
INDIAN
AIRMAIL
SOCIETY

It sarcastically mentions EPSOM SALTS which originated from Epsom, Surrey, England.

War Slogans/Franking - WW2 Envelopes

It's long time since I showed some envelopes carrying variety of war slogans or franking. There exists numerous such interesting official or personal covers. It is really interesting area to collect. I prefer collecting variety of such envelopes preferably official ones or carrying postal marks.

Today we will cover 3 such covers. First one is shown below. This letter has NATIONAL WAR FRONT, BOMBAY printed. It was sent from national war front Bombay branch to Ahmednagar Cantonment branch, addressed to Khan Bahadur D. E. Nagarwalla, CIE.

Khan Bahadur D. E. (Dorab Edaljee) Nagarwalla, CIE. was honorary magistrate and municipal councillor for 35 years and an elected municipal president of Ahmednagar for 19 years. He was a member of Bombay nursing association and of Red Cross Society of Poona. He was also member of the Local War Council during the Great War of 1914 and of Soldiers' Board Committee. He was Vice-Chairman of Ahmednagar District War Fund Committee and of Red Cross Fund, Ahmednagar. He served as a corporal in India Defence Force during the Great War.

Shown above is second in series of today's post. It carries a postmark slogan:

_______________
| JOIN |
| A.R.P. SERVICES |
| JODHPUR |
|______________|

A.R.P. => Air Raid Protection

The letter was sent to Kishangadh from Jodhpur.

Last in the series is another WW2 envelope which carries red color franking:

INVEST YOUR SAVINGS
THROUGH

BRITISH
WAR SAVINGS MOVEMENT

It was sent from Calcutta to England via SEA MAIL.

India WW2 Pigeongram - Nur Jehan

Today's post is on one WWII Indian Pigeongram envelope issued by Indian Airmail Society. I don't need to explain the history behind usage of pigeon's for carrying message. They have been in service since centuries to carry message. One can find many stories of love, betrayal or wartime when pigeon played important roles as messengers.

Now, don't expect me to talk about the Pigeon used in Indian blockbuster movie "Maine Pyar Kiya" (a close translation would be:I fell in love) and its heroics in conveying love messages between lovers. Indian cinema have certainly immortalized Pigeons through movies since the birth of cinema in India. But here, I'll briefly touch upon stories of couple of Pigeons who helped creating history other than in cinema :-)

In modern times, the pigeon had been used to great effect during WWI & WWII. In both the First and Second World Wars, the pigeon saved hundreds of thousands of human lives by carrying messages across enemy lines. Pigeons were carried on ships in convoys and in the event of a U-boat attack a messenger pigeon was released with details of the location of the sinking ship. In many cases this led to survivors being rescued and lives saved.

In the First World War mobile pigeon lofts were set up behind the trenches from which pigeons often had to fly through enemy fire and poison gas to get their messages home. The birds also played a vital role in intelligence gathering and were used extensively behind enemy lines where the survival rate was only 10%.

In the Second World War pigeons were used less due to advances in telecommunications, but the birds still relayed invaluable information back to the allies about the German V1 and V2 Rocket sites on the other side of the English Channel.

When one talks about Pigeon's role during wars then there are couple of names which comes to mind instantly.

First of them is Cher Ami (dear friend) who saved the lives of many French soldiers by carrying a message across enemy lines in the heat of battle during WWI. Cher Ami was shot in the chest and the leg, losing most of the leg to which the message was attached, but continued the 25-minute flight avoiding shrapnel and poison gas to get the message home. Cher Ami was awarded the French ‘Croix de Guerre’ medal for heroic service.

Another heroic pigeon named G.I. Joe saved the lives of a thousand soldiers in World War 2 after British troops had established a position within an Italian town that was due to be bombed by allied planes. Communication equipment was down and the only means of stopping the raid was to attach a hastily written message to G.I. Joe and send him to the allied HQ. G.I. Joe flew 20 miles in 20 minutes arriving at the air base whilst the planes were taxiing on the runway. Disaster was averted with 5 minutes to spare. G.I. Joe received the ‘Dickin’ medal for his bravery.

And the last one without whom the post will be incomplete was Paddy, from Northern Ireland, who received a medal for becoming the first bird to fly back with news of the D-Day landings in Normandy in less than five hours.

Naturally, the then Indian state of Orissa police were so impressed that 40 pigeons were acquired from the Indian Army and deployed across the region immediately. You would be disappointed to hear that Pigeon services which were used since 1946 in India were finally discontinued in 2004 in Orissa state.

Anyway, so coming back to today's item, the Pigeongram was carried by the Pigeon named NUR JEHAN.

Shown above is the front side of Pigeongram. The envelope was carried on 14th October from Burdhwan to Calcutta. The envelope carries a half anna stamp on it with Calcutta cancellation. It shows a possibly olive tree with Pigeons/Doves (a messenger of peace) flying. It also carries a patriotic message printed on it which urges everyone to be united and contribute as much possible to help win the war:

The Nazi Bombers,
Their Bombs They drop & bolt.
The Infant and the Aged,
They are out to kill.
Its up to you to do your bit,
And make them still.

The reverse side carries signature of Stephen Smith, the secretary of Indian Airmail Society that time or rather father of Rocket Mail in India. The envelope also has a box shaped slogan cancellation on it which states "BUY DEFENCE SAVINGS CERTIFICATES".

WW2 Patriotic Slogans on Envelope

Today's post is on two interesting WW2 envelopes used in India. Both of them carry WW2 slogans printed on it.

The first one (shown below) is an used envelope dated 12th January 1943 with a meter franking of "Help The East India Fund For British War Services" with 1-1/2 Anna denomination. This patriotic slogan was used quiet a lot during WW2. One can easily find such franked letters. But what is interesting is that franking is done on top of printed WW2 slogan so I would say it is double bonanza :D As you can see the letter also carries a printed slogan of "During An Air Raid Stay Under Cover".

It is said the East India Fund was established with help of East India Bank located in Calcutta. The fund for British War Services contributed mostly on raising Spitfire squadron. In the beginning it started with hoping to get an aircraft named after the fund only to get a full squadron named after it shortly. Such was the phenomenon response people of India and other British Colonies gave to the fund.

An article found on internet mentions that "On May 22, 1940 the committee of the East India Fund for British war services forwarded to the Air Ministry from Calcutta a cheque for £30,000, with an intimation that they were desirous of contributing as much as possible towards the cost of providing a flight of fighter aircraft which they hoped might be given a special title indicating its association with the East India Fund. The initial equipment of such a flight comprises eight machines and the cost amounts to some £88,000.

This generous gift was gratefully acknowledged by the Air Council, and the committee were informed that arrangements would be made for the flight of Spitfire aircraft which they were hoping to provide to be named The East India Fund Flight, and that this designation would be inscribed on the aircraft of the flight.

On June 16, the committee forwarded a further gift of £10,000; and they have now contributed another £15,000, making £55,000 in all, towards the cost of the initial equipment of aircraft for the East India Fund Flight. The Air Ministry are greatly encouraged by this evidence of the warm interest which the citizens of Calcutta and other parts of Eastern India, both British and Indian, take in the activities and achievements of- the Royal Air Force, and they have sent most grateful acknowledgments."

In fact, immediately prior to its direct involvement in the Battle, 65 Squadron of RAF was honoured by being chosen as the unit which would be sponsored by the East India Fund. On 15th July, 1940 a party including Captain Balfour, the Under Secretary of State for Air, and Mr.R.Hodge representing the East India Fund presented no fewer than eight Spitfires to the Squadron. Despite pouring rain, a fly-past was arranged for the visitors. The Squadron was in future to be known officially as 'No.65 (East India) Squadron', and the Operations Record says that the new name 'looks really wizard painted on the engine cowlings'. Later, the aircraft carried the name in a small rectangle just below the cockpit.

Shown above is another of such envelope which shows pictorial image of an army soldier holding a rifle with slogan "Help Him To Defend You Buy Defence Loans". The envelope was issued by "Bombay Suburban Defence Loans Committee, Santacruz", mentioned on back side. It carries postal cancellation of 11th April 1943 with 9 paisa stamp on it.

"DONT BELIEVE IN RUMOUR" - Indian Airmail WWII

Yesterday, I gave you a lesson on Italian pasta and pizza from Po Valley so don't you think it's time to brush up a bit on French cheese and wine ;-) France and Italy have contributed so much in the area of art, culture, food and fashion that both go hand in hand. I know you will agree, hence I have selected today's topic.

For a change, I will not start with giving lecture on French resistance and armistice during WWII but first show you the item and then we will go down the memory lane :D

Shown above is one of the famous airmail letter issued by Indian Airmail Society during WWII. The concept of such letter was from Stephen Smith, secretary of Indian Airmail Society and a known pioneer of Rocket Mail during those times.

Let's first get into technical part of the letter and then we will touch upon literary section! The letter was carried through a airplane piloted by J. S. Salisbury. The letter carries his signature close to large shaped 'V'. The letter carries two red and one purple colored special cancellation cachets: "BY AIR" on front, "V with M" on reverse side in red color and "A" -> Calcutta on front and reverse side both in purple color.

It is also said that the "A" flight originated in Jhabua according to J. C. Cooper's notes published in "Bulletin of the Airmail Society of India", II, II, (Oct. - Dec. 1974) pp.42-45. The letter has cancellation of Dum Dum (a place in Calcutta) of September 12, 1941, 9:15 a.m. It has been backstamped with slogan "Buy Defence Savings Certificates" dated September 12, 1941, 5 p.m. at Park Street (again Calcutta).

This cover has also been signed by Stephen Smith on the reverse side twice. It also states that 20 piece of mail was carried. Only 12 such envelopes were carried on the flight.

I know by this time you would have already noticed the main attraction of this cover: the text. I am not surprised if you would have read it also and found it amusing :D Well, it is and most important of all carries a good propaganda message.

The letter carries a very large V in red color with text in center "DONT BELIEVE IN RUMOUR" and "DO NOT BE BLIND". At the left side of V, an old English nursery rhyme and musical round has been molded into a great message of war.

The cover has a rhyme:

THREE BLIND MICE,
PETAIN DARLAN LAVAL.
SEE HOW THEY RAN
THEY ALL RAN AFTER HITLER'S LIES
WHO CUT THEIR TAILS WITH A CARVING KNIFE.
THREE BLIND MICE.

Man! this is what I like about WWII propaganda. The people working under Psychological Warfare division were so creative and imaginative that they always came up with superb message on any form that they touched whether it was leaflets, posters or covers.

Literature Class

According to Wikipedia, a version of this rhyme was published in Deuteromelia or The Seconde part of Musicks melodie (1609). The editor of the book, and possible author of the rhyme, was Thomas Ravenscroft, who in 1609 was still a teenager. The original lyrics are:

Three Blinde Mice,
Three Blinde Mice,
Dame Iulian,
Dame Iulian,
the Miller and his merry olde Wife,
shee scrapte her tripe licke thou the knife.

Attempts to read historical significance into the words have led to the speculation that this musical round was written earlier and refers to Queen Mary I of England blinding and executing three Protestant bishops, but problematically the Oxford Martyrs, Ridley, Latimer and Cranmer, were burned at the stake, not blinded.

Later, the wordings became:

Three blind mice. Three blind mice.
See how they run. See how they run.
They all ran after the farmer's wife,
Who cut off their tails with a carving knife,
Did you ever see such a sight in your life,
As three blind mice?

History Class

The rhyme was beautifully modified according to the then situation in France. The rhyme on cover mentions three blind mice as Philippe Petain (WWI hero and later becoming chief of the French state known as Vichy during WWII after German forces run over France), François Darlan (Admiral of the French Naval Fleet and Prime Minister of France between 1941 to 1942 when this cover was issued) and finally, Pierre Laval (Prime Minister of France just after French Armistice with Germany in 1940 and then he continued as head of Vichy state after Darlan stepped down.)

These three people were key figures in France during WWII and instrumental in getting Armistice signed with Germany in 1940 after France fell to the Germany. There are numerous articles on internet which talks about the role played by each of these figures during WWII including disagreement between them during WWII days.

Despite, the fact that they never openly agreed to German stand of declaring war on Britain and handing over the French North Africa to German forces as part of armistice which some historians say would have prevented allied landing in Africa, there is no denial in their role in Vichy government which caused thousands of Jews handed over to Germany which resulted in their execution and be part of other atrocities which Germans did during their rule in France.

We can go on writing about each person's role and involvement with Nazi regime but I think internet is right place for people who want to go in depth. Thus, I would end my history class abruptly here with concluding remark that Darlan was assassinated in 1942, Laval was executed by firing squad after his trial and prosecution post-war and Petain died in 1951 after his death sentence was converted into life imprisonment considering his old age during his trial post-war.

Last but the least, they introduced the word "Collaboration" to French people and gave an important history lesson to all coming generations!!!

WWII Slogans on Envelopes - India

Here are some of the other envelopes I have with WWII slogans that I wanted to share. This is 3rd such post in series showing all sorts of slogans postmarked on envelopes by British India during WW2 days.

Shown above is an envelope with slogan "Careless Talks Cost Lives" with "V" sign. The slogan postmark is dated 25th April 1945 and issued in Jaipur City.

Shown above is an envelope with slogan "A.R.P. Protects You" with siren. A.R.P. stands for Air Raids Precaution. The slogan postmark is dated 14th February 1943 and issued in Namakkal.

This is another of same slogan envelope. It is just that it has same slogan postmarked twice. This one is dated 28th November 1943 and issued in Mylapore.

Last one that I want to share is an Indian Bank envelope with slogan "Buy Defence Savings Certificates" in waves format. It is dated 9th March 1941 and issued in Madras.

Envelopes with printed war slogans

Today's item is double bonanza :D I am showing four different envelops which not only have war related slogans printed on it but some of them also carry postmark in different shape with slogans on it.

The first envelope is shown below, posted to A.R.P. (Air Raid Protection) Controller in Bombay. The envelope was posted on 7th May 1943. It carries printed slogan of "Make India Strong - Buy Defence Saving Certificates" at bottom left corner. On right hand side top it also carries cancellation slogan in waves format "Buy Post Office Cash Certificates".

As we all know during war days British Government had number of saving schemes running to allow public to put their savings which was utilised by Govt. for war and relief funds.

Here is second such envelope with same printed slogan. Shown below is an envelope with rather crude printing but carrying the same slogan of "Make India Strong - Buy Defence Saving Certificates" in different pattern. The envelope was posted on Dec 1942. Even though it is crude printing but I hope you will like it.

The third in series carry a slightly different printed slogan but it is loosely based on similar pattern. Shown below is an envelope posted on 21st Feb 1945 from Warli, Bombay. It carries a printed slogan of "Save For Safety With ... Defence Saving Certificates". In fact this letter is VPP not an ordinary letter. Though, that doesn't matter. I like the slogan and its design. Again it is different from all of above.

Now, last one in this series is again with very crude printing. This is a telegram posted on 9th Feb 1944 from Gujarat. The cancellation is on back side of the cover. Also it appears from front that right hand side is diagonally cut which is not the case :-) The telegram is wrapped diagonally (it's strange) and intact from reverse side. Anyway, as you can see the letters are barely visible. It has a printed slogan of "Safety - Buy Defence Saving Certificates". Not sure if the slogan was printed incomplete or this was intended slogan :D This is another strange but interesting variety.

I really love to collect such envelopes which carry printed war slogans and if possible with some war slogan cancellation postmarks. I hope, there will be more varieties of such envelopes issued in India. I will be glad if someone has spare to offer.

I still have some more covers with or without printed slogans in my collection. There are some with only war slogans cancellation postmark. I will show remaining in future post to keep up excitment among my readers ;-) Hope you will continue to come to my blog.

I am not really sure if I will be updating blog coming weekend as there are some family gatherings planned at my home. I most likely be busy. But if I could get some relaxing time then you will get posts!

V for Victory

I have to admit that I have been lazy to update the blog. You see last month there was only one blog. But, I had excuse for that :-) There was interior work happening in my new apartment and it took all of my weekends running here and there. This month was different though.

Nonetheless, I am back. I will give double bonanza by updating blog both on Saturday and Sunday this time to make up for my laziness. Hope! June will be different ;-)

It's while since I showed some postal items. This is third such post in war postal stationary series category though second such postal envelope/cards lot. Today's theme is "V for Victory" or "V".


Shown above is used VP cover addressed to "H. H. the Thakor Saheb" of Vala State (part of Eastern Kathiawar Agency) in 1943. The cover has red circular "V for Victory" label attached to it. The envelope was posted from Bombay.

Kathiawar Agency was a political unit that was part of the old Bombay Presidency in British India. Situated on the Kathiawar peninsula in the western part of the Indian subcontinent, it was composed of almost 200 princely states, which were merged into Bombay State upon India's independence in 1947. The region became part of the new Gujarat state in 1960, when Bombay state was split into Gujarat and Maharashtra states.

There were altogether 193 states of varying size and importance, of which 14 exercised independent jurisdiction, while the rest were more or less under British administration. Vala (Valla, Vallabhipur Talooka, Vulla) was one of such state which was merged in Saurashtra, part of now Gujarat state.

Next item shown above is used postcard of Patiala state dated 1941. The postcard has "V for Victory" franking in blue color with Patiala state stamp on it.

This item is not really an Indian one. But, I generally keep Burma postal items of world war II period in my collection as part of Indian collection because of involvment of India in CBI theater. And that's the reason it is displayed here. The envelope shown above is a used one from Rangoon with Burma stamp on it. The envelope has thick blue color "V" franking on it.

Here is the last item in this post and also one of my favorite one. This used bookpost cover was issued in 1942 from Bombay. The cover has a large blue color "V" franking in front. This cover is different from other covers because the large "V" has been made of number of tiny "V"s with circle around it. It's amazing to see such a creative mind at work during war days.

The envelope becomes more special because it carries a slogan "Join ARP services" trapped in large arrow in reverse side.

Hope, you will enjoy these varities of "V for Victory" frankings. I have more items on same theme which I will share in upcoming posts though they will not be necessarily postal stationary.

War Slogans

It's long time since I updated the blog. Life has been busy for a while. I was planning to update the blog with today's item for long but it just didn't happen.

Nevertheless, here we are. Today's item is 1st part of such series. It is about war related slogans printed on envelopes, covers, postcards or on any kind of postal stationery during world war II.

I know there are so many varieties of postal stationery in existence and most of them are unrecorded. That's what makes it hard to collect them. To start with, I will show some of items that I posses. In coming weeks, I will show other interesting items which I don't have and am looking for :-)

During war, as a propaganda or message, every country used to put slogans on postal items so when they reach the destination, they carry message from the fighting nations. Basically idea was to urge people how to assist their country even without directly fighting the war. There were so many ways people could contribute to save lives and help them in war.


One of the most popular slogan that is easily available in postal items is "Careless talks cost lives, with victory symbol on it".

An example of such is shown above, printed in 17th May 1946 on KGV postcard of 9pies.


Another example of same type but with multiple cancellation is shown above. The above prints are on printed matter letter [Bookpost] with advt. from Rajasthan Ayurvedic Pharmacy, Ajmer. Above item has 4 such prints and of different dates. At least I could read 2 of them: 3o Oct 1943 and 1st Nov 1943.

Another type of slogan is shown below:


Another popular slogan was "Buy defence saving certificates". Above print is done on 10th Nov 1940 dated cover from Lahore. Another example of same type is below on 29 Oct 1941 in KGVI 9p post card from stamp dealer Ram Gopal & Co. Alwar to Quilon.


Perhaps for some people this post may appear dull :-) but don't worry next post will carry some interesting envelopes on same theme...