Civil Censorship Study Group

Why might UK postage be used in Western Australia in April 1940? I have attached a copy of the front of the cover.
Here is a description of the cover

Paquebot cover (in German language) posted from Fremantle, Western Australia on 2 April 1940, using Great Britain stamps destined for Deurloostraat 120, Holland. The cover was censored in Perth, Western Australia. both label and handstamp applied. Once the cover reached Europe, it was at some point taken off the train, and held until the end of the war (see “Background” information with previous cover). In 1948, the cover was reposted to Holland, arrived in Amsterdam April 4, 1948. When forwarded to the addressee after eight years, the a handstamp indicating “does not live at that address…” (handstamp applied on back), along with “unknown” marking.

Hello Michael
The Freemantle postmark includes in large lettering the word PAQUEBOT.
This indicates that the letter was written on board a ship which called at Freementle and the Purser handed over the mail he had collected from passengers and crew to the local Post Office. The international rules were that postage had to be paid in either the stamps of the registry (nationality) of the ship or in the stamps of the country where the mail was landed. Clearly therefore the ship was a British one.
Why this letter should have been looking for its addressee in March 1948 I could not say. Mail which had been detained by the censors was mostly released rather earlier than 30 months after the end of the war. The censor label, with five dots, was applied in Western Australia.
Best wishes, Graham

Hello

The label "Amsterdam Maart 1948/Door oorlogsomstandigheden......." states, more or less, "received delayed due to war conditions". It seems like the letter was held prior to arrive to Holland......where???? I don´t know.

A very interesting cover.

Best regards
Jose M.

I have recorded four examples of this label (LA-NL-B11 in 2nd edition Suspended Book). Examples from Australia (seen in this posting), two from Egypt and one from Uruguay. Example of Uruguay cover included in the suspended book (courtesy of Robert Johnson). This is the explanation Robert provides: "The invasion of the Netherlands, Belgium and France by Germany occurred on May 10, 1940. A train carrying mail in Northern France was needed for military purposes. The mail was taken off and stored in a little castle in Northern France and then forgotten about until the mail was discovered in February 1948. This explanation is disputed because dates on some covers would put their arrival in France in June when more territory was controlled by the Germans. There is no doubt the letters were held in France and discovered well after the letters had been hidden in Paris." A similar label used in France (printed in French) on mail to Holland was also applied (LA-FR-B4).

Good afternoon,

Dear michaeldeery,

michaeldeery wrote:Why might UK postage be used in Western Australia in April 1940? I have attached a copy of the front of the cover.
[..]

This is a "paquebot" cover, I mean, it is a letter mailed in the high seas.

The international postal rules in April 1940 were the following:
1 - Cairo UPU Convention- efective on 1/Jan/1935

2 - Prepayment of correspondence on board ships - Art. 48
"Correspondence mailed on the high seas [...] may be prepaid [...] by means of the postage stamps and according to the postage rates of the country to which the said vessel belongs [...]
If the mailing of board takes place during the stay at one of the two terminal points of the voyage or at one of the ports of call the prepayment is valid only if it is effected by mean of postage stamps and according toi the postage rates of the country in whose waters the vessels happens to be."

3 - PAQUEBOT postmark - Regulation, art. 141,4
The correspondence will receive a paquebot postmark in the post offices at the port of arrival, etc, etc.

SOURCE
Cairo 1934 Universal Postal Convention, any edition (official language - french).