Opened and Examined by Five Censors

[dannmayo]

Ken Lawrence has provided an example of a cover that was opened by censors in 5 countries. This may be a record. Can anyone match or beat it?

His description of the cover:

The registered airmail cover illustrated here, addressed to an Italian artillery officer interned in Switzerland, was mailed at Sao Paulo, Brazil, in late December 1943. After being examined and passed by the Brazilian censor, it flew north aboard a Pan American Airways flight from Natal that transited Miami on December 30 and arrived at New York City the same day. There it was examined by the U.S. Office of Censorship and released back to the mails on January 5, 1944.

The next stop was Bermuda, where British Imperial Censorship had its look and held it more than a week before sending it onward to Lisbon where it arrived on February 12. From Lisbon it went to Paris for examination by a German censor and another delay; next it was on to Bern on March 15 for the final censorship inspection. By this time the internee had been relocated from a camp at Munshenbuchsee to one at Mürren (not reachable by road) where it was delivered.

5countiresA.jpg

5countiresB.jpg

[gmark]

Nice item.
From the PanAm and Bermuda records it should be possible to work out the two PanAM flights on which this travelled.
If there was an interuption to the service in January, due to bad weather or mechanical trouble, that could account for the time lapse between NY and Lisbon, rather than the Bermuda censorship. Don't blame the Brits!!
Graham

[dannmayo]

From Ken:

Blame the Brits. Although PAA and Bermuda records are not perfectly congruent, at least four eastbound flights to Lisbon called at Bermuda after the flight that should have carried my cover there.

However, censors had plenty of policy reasons for delaying mail that had to pass through Axis lines, to avoid even inadvertently delivering actionable intelligence. (Not to mention universally imposed delays, as in the run-up to D-Day.)

[michaeldeery]

This may not qualify for most censor markings, but this is one of my favourites, and I am sure that others will identify any corrections in my description. And I am not sure if the cover was "opened" by all censors. Below is my description and I have attached scans of the front and back:

MADAGASCAR to NEW CALEDONIA stopped/held - March 1942


The cover was posted 20 March 1942 at Fianarantsoa, Madagascar addressed to New Caledonia (Free French supporter). Cover went to Tananarive, Madagascar (22 March 1942), then to Tamatave, Madagascar (25 March 1942) The French military brownish censor label was attached to the side and tied by a military oval handstamp. It is uncertain where the “Suspended” violet marking was applied, but likely in Madagascar. The cover may have been “held” in Tamatave until the military situation was clear concerning British forces, alliance to Vichy France, and the possibility of Japanese intrusion. Operation Ironclad certainly had a significant bearing on the handling of mail in and out of Madagascar from May 1942 to December 1942. On the back a circular CONTROLE POSTAL COMMISSION B handstamp was used with the wording “MADAGASCAR ET DEPENDANEES” in the centre. Regardless, the cover eventually went to Great Britain (Examiner label # 5752) and onward to San Francisco (white “Examined by 1693) label attached. From this point it seems the cover took a Pacific route where it was eventually censored by the US military (boxed oval marking with # 14428) which could have been Fiji.
The cover arrived in New Caledonia on 10 December 1942, where it was censored (green tape) and received a large violet circular marking as well as a Levante Cross of Lorraine handstamp.