St. Helena to Germany and China - Boer War POW Postcard Intended
for German Naval Forces in Tsingtau 25 July 1900, a 1d red
St. Helena to Germany and China - Boer War POW Postcard Intended
for German Naval Forces in Tsingtau 25 July 1900, a 1d red postal
stationery card of St. Helena, cancelled by a crisp "ST. HELENA /JY
28/00" c.d.s., sent from the Boer War prisoner-of-war camp on the
island. The card bears a prominent "CENSOR / PRISONERS OF WAR"
cachet and was carried via Southampton, showing a SHIP LETTER /
SOUTHAMPTON / 28 AU 00 transit mark. Addressed to Herr David S.
Hirsche, on board S.M.S. Gefion, a German naval cruiser, the
original delivery address roughly reads "Tsantau in China"
(Tsingtau), which was at the time Germany's leased territory and
naval stronghold in East Asia. This line was not crossed out,
indicating the card was initially intended to reach "Kiel, Germany"
and was later added to Berlin, with a final redirection to Tsantau
in China. A German arrival mark KIEL / 29.8.00 confirms its arrival
in Germany. The handwritten note at the top references the 1st
Seebataillon bound for Tientsin, further linking this card to the
German intervention in China during the Boxer Rebellion, making it
a rare and historically significant example of Boer War POW mail
with direct ties to East Asian military operations
