Lot 1688

1950 (Jan 18) England to Hong Kong "Redirected" Airmail Cover. Sent from Watton, Norfolk to Mrs. J.D. Kelly, a passenger on the S.S. Corfu, originally addressed to Bombay via Messrs. Mackinnon Mackenzie. The cover was redirected to Hong Kong (B.A.P.O. 1) to reach the recipient at H.Q. 28 Inf Bde. It bears a GB 6d definitive tied by a Watton cancel, two "T" tax markings, and a "BOMBAY G.M.S. AIR / DUE AS." handstamp. The reverse is heavily marked with transit and arrival cancels including Bombay (Jan 24), Hong Kong (Mar 28 & 29), and Field Post Office 585 (Mar 30). Tax was collected in Hong Kong using 84c in Postage Due stamps (a 50c, a 10c, and a block of four 6c). This item represents a complex instance of redirected military mail during the post-WWII period. The 84c postage due rate was applied because the letter, originally sent as surface mail or underpaid airmail to India, was redirected from Bombay to Hong Kong via airmail to ensure delivery to the moving recipient. Under UPU and British Commonwealth rules, the 84c represents the double deficiency or the specific airmail surcharge required for the Bombay-to-Hong Kong leg, meticulously recorded by the blue manuscript "84" and realized through the rare usage of multiple Hong Kong postage due values on a single cover.

1950年英國寄香港「改寄」欠資封，由諾福克郡寄往 S.S. Corfu 郵輪乘客，原址孟買後改寄至 香港第28步兵旅 (B.A.P.O. 1)。封上蓋有兩枚「T」字戳及 「DUE AS AIR」（按航郵欠資）印記，背面貼有 84分香港欠資郵票（含50分、10分及四連支6分票各一組），並蓋有孟買、香港及 585號戰地郵局 戳記。本封展示了因郵件由孟買轉寄香港改行航郵而產生的欠資追繳，是研究戰後軍事郵政及航郵欠資轉換規律的精彩實物。