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
P.O. BANK, Transvaal postmark/cancel in turquoise ink dated 15 MEI 1902 on GB QV 1d lilac 16 dots (SG.172) War concluded by peace on 31st May 1902. 1st office opened in 1897 and temporarily closed during the Boer War but re-opened 10 December 1900, moved to Railway Station on 15 October 1902. £150
ARMY POST OFFICE SOUTH AFRICA postmark on Natal stamps purple TRD dated 3 M B/6 APR 1900 on pair Natal QV ½d (SG.97) piece. £32
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
Obsolete JAMAICA "A01" transferred to G.P.O, LONDON FOREIGN SECTION, Transvaal postal history 1902 censored cover to The Hague, Holland with 2 x 1d E.R.I. overprints tied Johannesburg 18 APR 02 with further uncancelled KE7 ½d firmly "killed" by obsolete Jamaica "A01" numeral (Type E) transferred from Kingston to the G.P.O. London Foreign Section specifically for the duty of cancelling uncancelled adhesives. A wonderful combination cover. £350
17 used LADYBRAND, Orange River Colony postmark (16 bar) on vertical pair V.R.I. ovp'd ½d on ½d orange (SG.112) piece dated LADYBRAND DE 21 00 cds. £14
BLOEMFONTEIN POST OFFICE, Orange River Colony postmark on Transvaal stamp in purple ink part dated -- JAN 1901 on Transvaal 1d V.R.I. (SG.227). Putzel unrecorded £40
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
FIELD POST OFFICE, BRITISH ARMY SOUTH AFRICA postmark on Great Britain stamp (SG.Z6) dated I/JU 28 01 on horiz. pair GB QV 9d dull purple & blue, reverse toning. £65
NEWCASTLE, Transvaal occupation of Natal postmark (Hart M.M.1.11) ib blue ink dated 12 Maart 1900 on Transvaal 1d (SG.217) piece. £28
NEWCASTLE, Transvaal occupation of Natal postmark (M.M.1.11) in blue dated 8 Jan 1900 on Transvaal ½d green (SG.216), some toning. £32
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