PHILIPPINE ISLANDS (U.S. Admin) to HONG KONG - World War I Prisoner
of War Mail 20 December 1914, UPU 4c blue postal stationery card of
the
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS (U.S. Admin) to HONG KONG - World War I Prisoner
of War Mail 20 December 1914, UPU 4c blue postal stationery card of
the Philippine Islands, using "PHILIPPINE ISLANDS - UNITED STATES
OF AMERICA", sent from Manila to Hong Kong, addressed to: Robert
Gützschow Esq., Prisoner of war (13), c/o Provost Marshal, Hongkong
Card bears a clear "MANILA DEC 20/1914 duplex cancel with barred
numeral "5" killer, and on the left, a large violet oval cachet
reading: "PROVOST MARSHAL / HONGKONG/No.......", denoting official
handling by the British colonial military authority supervising
POWs in Hong Kong. The addressee, Robert Gützschow, was a German
national interned in Hong Kong as a POW during the early months of
World War I, shortly after war broke out in August 1914. Hong Kong,
as a British colony, interned enemy nationals (especially Germans
and Austro-Hungarians), and mail to or from them was typically
routed via military authorities such as the Provost Marshal. This
card represents early WWI prisoner correspondence, with routing via
U.S.-administered Philippines - then a neutral party. The
Philippine Islands, under U.S. administration from 1898 to 1946,
issued their own UPU stationery
