British WWII Prisoner-of-War Air Mail Stationery: The Exhibit

This Gold-Metal exhibit presents British origin Prisoner-of-War stationery used to British internees held in various European and Far Eastern camps du ring World War II. Routes of communication are illustrated as well as censorship and other marks. Within sections for Europe and the Far East, stationery is presented in chronological order of issue and use within type. By the provisions of the 1929 Treaty of Geneva, Section IV, Article 36, internees in Prisoner-of-War (POW) camps were allowed to receive mail from and send mail to their country of domicile. Arrangements for the exchange of mail were made through, and with the cooperation of neutral third parties.To meet the requirements of British civilians to correspond with British internees in Europe and the Far East, in July 1941 the General Post Office issued the first of a series of Air Mail Letter Cards specifically for use to internees in Germany, its annexed territories and Italy. In March 1944, the first air mail cards issued for prisoners-of-war held by the Japanese. The British postal authorities did not issue special stationery for subsequent conflicts, e.g., the Korean War. The POW A ir Letter Cards represent a milestone in the development of aerogrammes both in Britain and other countries.Unlike civilian air letter sheets and those used by active forces (Army Form W3044), prisoner-of-war air letter sheets had no sealing flaps. This eased access to the contents by censorship authorities on mailing and by holding powers prior to delivery.From March 1944, for Far East internees, only air mail cards were acceptable to the Japanese who imposed a limit of 25 words per message. These provided easier access to information by the Japanese censors; short messages eased the translation burden.Much of the POW mail dispatched from England never reached the internees. In some cases this was because the holding authorities deliberately withheld mail for punitive purposes, especially the Japanese; in other cases, particularly towards the end of hostilities in I 945, mail for exchange with the hostile entities was delayed by the constantly changing military situation. Read more