This web page, published by the Military Postal History Society, contains the text content of the Valid Postage and Mail During German Occupation of Guernsey and Jersey 1940 - 1945 . This exhibit was created by, and is the property of the author, and is being supplied as a courtesy to the Military Postal History Society.
The British Islands of Guernsey & Jersey were occupied by German Forces 1 July 1940 to 8 May 1945. During occupation, post office operation with exchange of mail on each island or between islands continued using British Postage until such was exhausted. In October 1940, local production of postage stamps for local use was decided (printed by two local & one French printing plants) recognized by British Postal Officials, even after liberation, remaining valid for use until 13 April 1946.
ENGLAND
ENGLISH CHANNEL —
FRANCE
The British Islands of Guernsey & Jersey were occupied by German Forces 1 July 1940 to 8 May 1945.
During occupation, post office operation with exchange of mail on each island or between islands continued using British Postage until such was exhausted. In October 1940, local production of postage stamps for local use was decided (printed by two local & one French printing plants) recognized by British Postal Officials, even after liberation, remaining valid for use until 13 April 1946.
EXHIBIT:
This single-frame exhibit presents the postal stamps officially valid locally during German Occupation including limited Postal History, Red Cross Mail, Military Fieldpost, Liberation & Reoccupation Mail between 1941-1945 along with an Epilogue.
OVERVIEW: 1. MAP & TITLE PAGE I. GUERNSEY POSTAGE Ill. JERSEY POSTAGE IV. GUERNSEY & JERSEY POSTAL HISTORY *Red Cross Form Mail * German Field-Post Mail “ Liberation & Reoccupation Mail * Epilogue TEXT COLOR-CODING: BLACK: General Information BLUE: Important information relating to the stamp issue or usage with blue-matted examples being scarce. MAROON: Postal Rate Information
GUERNSEY Bisect Usage
The Following notice appeared on 24 December 1940 in The Star and The Evening Posf on Guernsey and Jersey Islands respectively:
“The Post Office advises that further supplies of Id. Postage sfamps are nof at present available and that, uniil further notice, prepayment of Penny Postage (for Printed Papers, efc.) can be effected by USING ONE HALF OF A 2d STAMP PROVIDED THAT DIVISION IS MADE BY CUTTING THE STAMP DIAGONALLY...”
Although authorization for the bisecting of postage took place on Christmas Eve, the first mail postmarked was 27 December 1940, since the previous two days were public holidays.
27 DECEMBER 1940
Local island postcard, postmarked “St. Sampson's” sent to “Bonet”.
First day of validity and usage.
GUERNSEY Bisect Usage
PRINTED-MATTER
PRINTED PAPER.
24 JANUARY 1941
Hand-postmarked “Printed Paper” address card for an accompanying newspaper sent to an addressee at R R GREEN
Sh Patexton 24 FOUNTAIN ST ST. PETER PORT GUERNSEY _
Exp. Dr. Rommerskirchen
10 JANUARY
1940
‘Universal Machine’ Postmarked unsealed cover with printed- matter enclosure, sent to Kragga Kama.
Exp. Dr Rommerskirchen
A ‘Universal Machine’ was used to postmark mail between 1940-1945, albeit in 1941, the “0” of*1940” was split to form a cornupted “1” in the year date. Subsequent year dates were manufactured locally fo reflect the year applicable.
One Penny ...
Printed-matter (newspaper & advertising) rate up to two ounces.
GUERNSEY Bisect Usage
REGISTERED MAIL .. ‘GUERNSEY TO JERSEY’ USAGE
[ GUERNSEY No 0640]
Exp. Dr. Rommerskirchen
6 FEBRUARY 1941
Single-weight registered-letter sent from Guernsey to Jersey.
Arrival Postmark:
(Reverse) “Jersey Channel Islands 9 February 1941”
Franking:
5-1/2 Pence... 2-1/2 Pence = closed letters up to two ounces 3 Pence = Registration fee
GUERNSEY Locally-Printed Postage
‘ARMS OF GUERNSEY’
(Arms of the Sovereign of England) ISSUE 1941-1944
Locally designed by ‘E.W. Vaudin’ with printing by the ‘Guernsey Press Company’ in the following quantities..
Ye Penny = 1,772,160 1 Penny = 2,478,700 2%2Pence= 416,640 On Watermarked Paper: YePenny = 120,000 1 Penny 120,000 Forgeries *Thin transparent high-bright paper, * Perfect gum on reverse; *On 1d.. back legs of the lion are broken; * Rouletting is near perfect.
Locally-Printed Postage
GUERNSEY
‘ARMS OF GUERNSEY’
(Arms of the Sovereign of England) ISSUE 1941-1944
FIRST DAY COVERS
7 APRIL 1941
FIRST DAY USAGE
OF THE ‘2 PENNY STAMP
Unsealed cover with printed- mater enclosure, postmarked at ‘Cobo’ sent locally to ‘Casiil’
Franking: One Penny.. Single-weight
letter-rate
18 FEBRUARY 1941
FIRST DAY USAGE OF THE 1 PENNY STAMP
Unsealed cover with printed- mater enclosure, postmarked at ‘Cobo’ sent locally to ‘Casiil’.
Franking: One Penny .. Single-weight
GUERNSEY Locally-Printed Postage
‘ARMS OF GUERNSEY’
(Arms of the Sovereign of England) ISSUE 1941-1944
POSTAGE DUE MAIL
17 MARCH 1941
Printed tax statement sent from the ‘Guernsey Tax Office’ to a recipient who ER Nn had been i 9 =A , evacuated fo Britain prior to tee ie German Occupation
(“Evacuated .. Home Closed..”),
Franking: One Penny .. Applicable Printed-Matter Rate for mail under two ounces in weight
Returned Mail .. One Penny Postage Due
30 JANUARY 1943
Commercial under-franked
POST GARD
THE ADDRESS TO BE WRITTEN ON THIS SIDE
Ms acing J es postcard toa See a recipient at “St. Soe or Andrews”, : resulting ... Mr Renouf. 12 a Franking: = One Penny .. Les Belleuse, valid local Bailiffs Cross. postcard rate St Andrews Two Pence Postage Due = One Penny Postage + One Penny Penalty.
GUERNSEY Locally-Printed Postage
‘ARMS OF GUERNSEY’
(Arms of the Sovereign of England) ISSUE 1941-1944
MIXED FRANKINGS WITH BRITISH POSTAGE
27 FEBRUARY 1942
British postal stationery cover with Guernsey franking mailed to Beaumont’ on Jersey.
Franking: 2-1/2 Pence .- Letter-rate up to two ounces.
12 APRIL 1944
Registered
single-weight cover with British 3 Pence & Guernsey 2-1/2 Pence franking postmarked at ‘St. Saviours’ sent locally to ‘Ruettes Brayes’,
Franking: 5-/1/2 Pence Single-weight (2 ounces) registered letter-rate.
Exp. Dr. Rommerskirchen
JERSEY Locally-Printed Postage
‘ARMS OF JERSEY’ ISSUE
(Ams of the Sovereign of England) 1941-1943
Locally designed by ‘Major N.V.L. Rybot' with printing by the ‘Jersey Evening Post’ in the following quantities:
Ye Penny = 703,500 1 Penny = 1,030,620
The designer placed an “A” in the lower comers of the ‘2 Penny stamp having the meaning Ad Avernum Adolf Afrox (= “To hell with you atrocious Adolf”).
On the 1 Penny stamp, a “B” was inserted having the meaning “Atrocious Adolf and Bloody Benifo”.
White Paper
JERSEY Locally-Printed Postage
‘ARMS OF JERSEY’
(Arms of fhe Sovereign of England) ISSUE 1941-1943
INSCRIPTION BLOCKS
Each production sheet of sixty stamps of the ‘Jersey Arms’ Issue had an Inscription in the lower-left selvedge which remained the same despite several different printings between 1941-1943..
HALF PENNY: “Evening Post,” Jersey, January 1942
ONE PENNY: “Evening Post,” Jersey, 17/3/41
“EVENING “Popn,”? Junsey, « 17/3/41,
Gray Paper Type
JERSEY Locally-Printed Postage
‘ARMS OF JERSEY’
(Arms of the Sovereign of England) ISSUE 1941-1943
FIRST DAY OF ISSUE FOR HALF-PENNY VALUE
29 JANUARY 1942
Unsealed cover with printed-mater enclosure, postmarked “Jersey”, sent locally to ‘Toulon’
29 JANUARY 1942
Mixed Jersey & UK-Franked _ Postal Stationery unsealed-cover with printed-mater enclosure, 2 postmarked fy “Jersey”, sent = RC lee locally to 7 ‘Homba’”’. a denary Exp. Dr. os Rommerskirchen Fret day Cove)
Franking: One Penny .. Printed-Matter (Unsealed Cover) Rate
JERSEY Locally-Printed Postage
‘ARMS OF JERSEY’ ISSUE (Arms of the Sovereign of England) 1941-1943
JERSEY REGISTERED MAIL
FIRST DAY OF ISSUE FOR %e PENCE VALUE
29 JANUARY 1942
Single-weight registered cover, sent to Greve D’ Azellt with backstamp 29 January.
Franking: 6 Pence... 2-1/2 Pence Letter-Rate up to two ounces 3 Pence .. Registration Fee ‘e Pence .. Convenience affixing
Gray Paper Type
Exp. Dr. Rommerskirchen
JERSEY
Locally-Printed Postage
‘JERSEY PICTORIAL’ ISSUE 1943-1944
Jersey local-artist ‘Edmund Blampied’ designed the issue with printing by the ‘French Government Printing Works’ at Paris in sheets of 120 stamps (four panes of 30) in the following quantities :
Ye Penny (Old Jersey Manor) = 480,000 1. Penny (Portelet Bay) = 840,000 1% Pence LaCorbiere) = 360,000 2 Pence (Elizabeth Castle) = 360,000 2% Pence (Mont Orgueil Castle) = 720,000 3 Pence (Gathering Seaweed)= 360,000
The designer imbedded the Royal Cypher “GR” on each side of the ‘3d’ value, which was obviously not recognized or excised by the occupation authorities.
Gray Paper Type
JERSEY Locally-Printed Postage
‘JERSEY PICTORIAL’ ISSUE 1943-1944
GUTTER PAIRS
JERSEY Locally-Printed Postage
‘JERSEY PICTORIAL’ ISSUE 1943-1944
REGISTERED MAIL FROM JERSEY TO GUERNSEY .. ‘SATZBRIEF’
FIRST DAY OF ISSUE OF 3 PENCE VALUE
29 JUNE 1943
Third weight-level registered legal-document type- mail having a full set of pictorials mailed from Jersey to Guernsey with backstamp.
Franking: 10-1/2 Pence... 2-1/2 + 2-1/2 + 2-1/2 Pence = Third-weight level + 3 Pence = Registration fee
By 1943, British registration labels were no longer available on Jersey with a simple number hand- stamp used to indicate the mail registration number.
Exp. Dr. Rommerskirchen,
GUERNSEY & JERSEY Mail Through the Red Cross
Effective 1941, every family on Guernsey and Jersey was permitted to send/receive one Red Cross Communication Form Letter (maximum twenty-five words) to addresses in Britain monthly.
The sender wrote his/her message on the front of the form, and the recipient could reply on the reverse side. Mail travel time was between 2-12 months with four months being the average, since mail might have been censored with chemicals to determine if hidden messages were present, transit time to Switzerland and from there fo Britain.
GERMAN RED CROSS (1942)
R.C.B.GUERNSEY Deutsches Rotes Kreuz Prisidium / Auslandsdienst eek 4 Berlin SW 61, Blicherplatz 2 OY bIL ANTRAG XG Ror
an die Agence Centrale des Prisonniers de Gu 9 Genf — Internationales Komitee vom Roten Krei et auf Nachrichtenvermittlung Brieffic Mpof REQUETE —e de la Croix-Rouge Allemande, Présidence, Service frgnger & l’'Agence Centrale des Prisonniers de Guerre, Geneve eyte io © — Comité International de la Croix-Rouge — a concernant la correspondance
1. Absender Ning, R...Mackesy,..Havilland Hall Fern Expéditeur St»Peter Port,..GUBRNSEY..G.I. bittet, an prie de bien vouloir faire parvenir & \ KO Ea a 2 Emp finger Mrs. FP. G.mun@erdown,..2b4.n0ralton oad Destinataire : NOTTINGHAM ENGLAND.
folgendes zu tibermitteln / ce qui suit :
(Héchstzahl 25 Worte !) (25 mots au plus !)
Dear Uldine,
All very well, and happy.
bonny baby. Write Macs sis children.
Longing to see you all
28 OCT. 1942
Love, Ruth, Mac. (Datum / Date) 8.42 (Unterschrift / Signature)
20 3. Empfanger antwortet umseitig ?. -? Ws. R. m
Destinataire répond au verso 005947 agavrigge-
GUERNSEY & JERSEY Mail Through the Red Cross
WAR ORGANISATION OF THE BRITISH RED CROSS AND ORDER OF ST. JOHN (1943)
(Not more than 25 words) (25 motsau maximum) (Nicht iiber 25 Worte)
News ; from Stanley... Best Loves Keep smiling
| Christian name .. \ ; Vorname Prénom ~ ¢ 3 Address a3 f 5 Adresse
} Reply overleaf (not more than 25 words)
f Réponse au verso (25 mots au maximum)
: Antwort umseitig (nicht ber 25 Worte)
GUERNSEY & JERSEY Mail Through the Red Cross
WAR ORGANISATION OF THE BRITISH RED CROSS AND ORDER OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM (1945)
WAR ORGANISATION es FR/CL/108.
BRITISH RED CROSS SOCIETY and ORDER OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM
FOREIGN RELATIONS DEPARTMENT
Chairman: MAJ.-GENERAL SIR JOHN KENNEDY, K.B.E., C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O.
Director: MISS S. J. WARNER, 0.B.E.
TELEPHONE No.1 : e ABBEY 2511/5
Allied Prisoners of War Packing Centre Heads of Packing Centre : CLARENCE HOUSE, MRS. GRAZEBROOK MRS. SECKER ST.JAMES'S, LONDON, S.W.1 PLEASE QUOTE REF, sr/e.1./157 May Ist, 1945.
Dear Sir Attsatem,
we have received lists of short sentences from persons in the Channel Islands.
The following from:
Name Mrs E. Doublet Address Jersey
is addressed to you: "ALL WELL HERE. ALL SEND THEIR LOVE. MOTHER. DATED March lst, 1945,"
Yours faithfully
S. J. WARNER.
GUERNSEY & JERSEY . German Fieldpost Mail
A ber of G Fieldpost bers are iated with the occupation of Guemsey and Jersey. One of those is FP No. 34809 B associated with the 2° Artillery Regiment of the German 319" Division stationed on Jersey.
Because of the German-anticipated Allied invasion of the continent in 1944, the German 319" Infantry Division, stationed on the coastal sector of France (Brittany) and the Channel Islands, was strengthened to become one of the largest divisions ever formed by the German Wehrmachi.
The illustrated fieldpost (free frank) mail relates to Corporal Alois Spengler, originally on duty on the Russian Front, was transferred to the 319" Division and subsequently to Jersey early in 1944 because of his communications training, comprehension of English and ability to monitor English-language transmissions from the Allies in England. Spengler spent the remainder of WWII on Jersey, and, upon liberation, was sent to Britain as a prisoner-of-war before being repatriated home in 1946.
GUERNSEY
Foreign-bound Mail
DURING THE OCCUPATION, MAIL COULD BE SENT FROM GUERNSEY & JERSEY TO COUNTRIES ON THE CONTINENT, nor elsewhere overseas. Such mail had to be SENT THROUGH THE GERMAN MILITARY FELDPOST FRANKED WITH GERMAN POSTAGE at the German rate of 25 Pfg. for letters to 20 grams and 15 Pfg. for postcards.
GUERNSEY CIVILIAN MAIL TO GERMANY THROUGH GERMAN MILITARY FIELDPOST DURING THE OCCUPATION
4 AUGUST 1941
Guernsey Head “Postmaster Chapere” Reply-mail to a civilian at Cammerswalde/Freiberg, Saxony, Germany.
Franking: 25 Pfg ... Letter-rate for mail up to 20 grams
Herrn Artnur Seifert;
Caumerswalde, uber Preiberg Sa 2,
GEREANY.
CIVILIAN MAILTO BERMUDA ON THE FIRST DAY OF LIBERATION
9 MAY 1945
Single-weight civilian cover sent from “J. Robin” at St. Peter Port, Guernsey, to “Addie Swainson” at St. Georges, Bermuda.
“First Mail leaving Guernsey C.I. by ship via England after nearly five years occupation by German Forces”
Franking: 5-%2 Pence... Overseas single- weight letter rate.
GUERNSEY & JERSEY Liberation & Reoccupation Mail
LIBERATION AND REOCCUPATION OF GUERNSEY & JERSEY TOOK PLACE ON 9 MAY 1945.
RESUMPTION OF MAIL SERVICES TOOK PLACE ON 15 MAY 1945 WITH HERETOFORE LOCALLY-PRINTED POSTAGE VALIDITY UNTIL 13 APRIL 1944.
Upon reoccupation by British Forces, BRITISH FIELD POST OFFICES ‘138’ AND ‘302’ WERE ESTABLISHED ON 12-13 MAY for Guernsey & Jersey respectively with cessation of operation on
10 November 1945. EARLY FREE-FRANK ‘OFFICIAL PAID’ 3 CIVILIAN MAIL 4
15 MAY 1945 REOCCUPATION OF CHANNEL ISLANDS
Civilian free-frank bie a liable : CENSORSHIP a “ * . a? 4 and may be sent only to an address (“Official Paid”) mail in the BRITISH EMPIRE or to a written at member of H.M. FORCES.
St. Helier, Jersey, The address only should be written
15 May, postmarked on on this side. 16 May sent to WRITE ADDRESS in BLOCK Southampton with LETTERS and if possible in ‘ink.
‘Victory’ Postmark (21 May 1945), re-directed upon arrival to “Blandford” in Dorset Province, England.
200,000 of the ‘Official Paid’ postcards were printed and distributed gratis on the islands.
BRITISH MILITARY ee FIELDPOST MAIL ...
Ms a [5 ; FPO 302 (JERSEY)
Sh é ; 27 JULY 1945 deel bho t es any Soldier's free-frank mail sent from
. oA : f Jersey to “General pee one e i Electric Company”,
Vauxhall, England. ‘ j es “FPO 302’ Military hy. Ll li Post Office aunAaglee;: : Operation from
ss EG 10 Oe Ente
GUERNSEY & JERSEY Epilogue
UPON LIBERATION OF GUERNSEY & JERSEY ON 9. MAY 1945, ALL REMAINING GERMAN MILITARY PERSONNEL WERE INTERNED IN PRISONER-OF-WAR CAMPS IN BRITAIN.
Corporal “Alois Spengler”, assigned to Jersey in early 1944 during the buildup of the German 319' Infantry Division, subsequently promoted to sergeant, was taken prisoner & interned at ‘POW Camp 92’ , Bampton Road, Tiverton, Devon Province, England, from where he sent the following two covers to his wife in Germany prior to his repatriation in 1946.
13 DECEMBER 1945
Vor und Zuname -
OUTS | é 4 WAEVEN IN EON sac eate KRIEGSGEFANGENENPOST = GUERNSEY & JERSEY Epilogue
RESUMPTION OF AIRMAIL SERVICE BETWEEN BRITAIN & GUERNSEY/JERSEY
10 SEPTEMBER 1945
AIR MAIL
Guernsey Francis J. Field, Ltd., Sutton Coldfield, England. Guernsey to Southampton 10 SEPTEMBER 1945
Commemorative cover for the resumption of airmail service between Guernsey and (Southhampton) England.
Universal Machine Postmark
Franking: 2-1/2 Pence.. Letter-rate Britain-Bound-Mail up to 2 ounces