Boer War Irreconcilable F.C. LAUNSPACH (carved wooden serviette ring fame), Bermuda postal history 1902 cover to F.C. Launspach, Burts Island, Bermuda with 2 x Transvaal 1d ovp'd "E.R.I." tied BRAAMFONTEIN, B.O. JOHANNESBURG 4 FEB 1902 9.30am and b/stamped JOHANNESBURG 4 FEB 1902 10.30am where PASSED PRESS CENSOR worn handstamp applied to face, on arrival b/stamped HAMILTON MR 15 1902/C with "Not Darrells" and directed "Hawkins" in red manuscript, the cover opened left edge and at top leaving tears through flap. Very few Bermuda Boer War POW covers can be matched to actual events. F.C. Launspach is listed as one of the prominent personalities amongst the Boer War prisoners detained at Bermuda, and as an irreconcilable was one of the last to leave on 20 August 1904 bound for the United States. Many of the prisoners occupied themselves by making handcraft which were sold in many of the stores in Bermuda. The POWs on Burts Island eventually formed the Industrial Association for Carvings and Curios, and some of these items are preserved in the South African National Museum of Military History including a wooden serviette ring with carved name F C Launspach (see photo of similar type serviette rings). £240
Combination NATAL and British Occupied ORANGE FREE STATE stamps used ORANGE RIVER COLONY 1900 used of "E. No. 708" blue stock NATAL GOVERNMENT RAILWAYS (deleted) foolscap cover marked "Regd", "60", "Fee Paid" to Serg. Major C. Stride, Dorset Yeomanry, Wimborne, Dorset with combination Natal block of ten QV 1d carmine and British Occupied OFS 2d purple ovp'd "V.R.I." and 2d pmk'd P.O.A. 107 obliterators, both stamps and adhesives with faults, reverse Wimborne DE 8 00 arrival. The Orange Free State was formally annexed to the British Crown and renamed the Orange River Colony on 28 May 1900. £225
NOT TUCKERS, Bermuda postal history 1902 stampless backed reduced cover front with fine "NOT TUCKERS" handstamp (carved in wood by Boer postmaster) incoming to "Hokens Eilands" (sic) showing numerous manuscript cancels. £70
REFUGEE CAMP, SPRINGFONTEIN, Orange River Colony postal history 1901 cover dated "3/8/01" at top in red ink with 1d V.R.I. to Paarl, interesting circled red "X" on address panel. £180
REFUGEE CAMP, SPRINGFONTEIN, Orange River Colony postal history 1901 cover dated "22/8/01" in red at top to Simons Town with 1d V.R.I. pmk'd Springfontein cds. £175
MAFETENG, Basutoland postal history 1901 cover to Jacob Erasmus, Prisoner of War, Diyatalawa Camp, Ceylon with CGH 1d (SG.59a) pmk'd MAFETENG MR 3 01 with DIYATALAWA CAMP AP 19 01 arrival b/stamp, slight edge soiling. £120
8 used DOUGLAS, Cape of Good Hope postal history dated SP 5 01 on 1d rate censored cover to Cape Town, piece of top and flap removed on opening, some perf. toning. £120
MOOI RIVER, Natal postal history On Active Service cover from S.F. Freyer, Major thought Ramc (Royal Army Medical Corps) 1.2.1900 mailed next day with QV 1d plus two cards from same correspondence pmk'd MY 11 00 (headed 12.2.00) "nothing doing now but medical care" and 6 AP 00 (headed 5.4.00) "busy invaliding". £150
VOLKSRUST, Transvaal postal history purple ARMY POST OFFICE d/ring dated 14 SEP 1900 on On Active Service stampless cover to East Dulwich, postscript on reverse says "I enclose the curl for fear of losing it. Atlee". Some peripheral tears/faults. £65
PRETORIA 1, Transvaal postal history censored cover with 3 x 1d E.R.I. dated 25 OCT 01 to P.O.W. in Ceylon with Durban, Natal transit, soiled. £35
TRANSVAAL postal history: taxed and censored 1d V.R.I. cover pmk'd 21 OCT 00 to Lorenco Marques, partial Martial Law label on reverse. £28
LADYBRAND, Orange River Colony postal history on 2d on 2d, 3d on 3d V.R.I. reg. censored cover dated AU 22 01 to London, England. £40
1900 (MR 25) BOER WAR - 512 used RICHMOND ROAD, Cape of Good Hope postal history cover from "Pt. W. H(alfhide) W 7796" marked "On Active Service" mailed with GB QV 1d lilac MR 25 00 to Hampshire, reverse WARE AP 15 00 arrival. Flap slightly reduced along top, and opened a little roughly on second side at right. £80
1901 (JY 27) BOER WAR - Orange Free State RAILWAY STATIONERY used in Transvaal censored reg. cover with Arms on flap with 1d, 4d tied boxed Pretoria reg. h/stamp dated 27 JUL 01, unkindly opened along top. £75
1900 (AP 7) BOER WAR - BLOEMFONTEIN O.V.S., Orange River Colony early V.R.I. civilian mail cover (non-military) dated AP 7 00 with 2 x ½d to Port Elizabeth, b/stamped AP 9 arrival. Bloemfontein, capital of the OFS, fell to the British 26 days earlier on March 13, 1900. (When Pretoria, capital of the Transvaal, was re-occupied by the British on June 5 1900, a civilan postal service began 13 days later). £120
1901 (NO 23) BOER WAR - 120 used CERES ROAD, Cape of Good Hope postal history censored QV ½d Post Card with added ½d for London, England dated E/NO 23 01, reverse text being entry for competition. £36
1901 (NO 26) BOER WAR - ARMY POST OFFICE, KRUGERSDORP to DEMERARA cover dated A/NO 26 01 to Miss Baker c/o Capt. Baker in Georgetown b/stamped 10 JAN 2 arrival, some soiling etc. Interesting research item £175
1901 (AU 10) BOER WAR - UMSINSINI, Natal postal history (M.4.2) in violet dated A/AU -- 10 (for A/AU 10 01) on QV 1d rate cover to Diyatalawa, reverse E.(crown)R. (KE7) OPENED UNDER MARTIAL LAW label. A rare office £125
1900 (JU 23) BOER WAR: RAILWAY PIONEER REGIMENT entire describing 1000 strong Boer attack with original photo of the bridge at Norvalspont, the outer cover with some toning, tears, Newport Pagnell JY 16 00 arrival. £325
1902 (JA 27) BOER WAR - NQUTU, Natal postal history (M.2) JA 27 1902 tying GB QV 1d on cover to Cradock arriving FE 2 02. £140