Royal Reels: Gambling

Armed Forces

AN UNUSUAL WW I POSTCARD to a SOLDIER in EGYPT

This home-made postcard was made from cut-outs of red Australian KGV heads and postage due stamps pasted to the front of a blank “Graphic’ post card that was sent, presumably under cover (as there were no stamps for postage nor postmarks), to an Australian soldier in Egypt on leave from fighting at Gallipoli in Turkey. The design was drawn in black ink, but the red and green colour was filled

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AN INVITATION from BERT HAWKE to MISS CLANCY to MEET BILL SLIM

I recognize that this mundane cover is just an excuse for me to meet two men whose backgrounds were not dissimilar, whose careers were considerably divergent, yet both had a significant impact on Australia, during the same decade. I have no clue as to whom Miss Slim was, but I am sure that she was honoured by the invitation. In fact this cover was one of two separate invitations that

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ALFRED GEORGE ‘DICK’ SALISBURY and THE 6th AUSTRALIAN PHILATELIC EXHIBITION

Covers from the Australian Philatelic Exhibitions fall into the philatelically contrived items, but this one has the virtue of being addressed to an Australian of some considerable note. The cover has an ‘R6′ Registration label ‘6th AUST. PHILATELIC / EXHIBTN MELB. VIC’, and the blue 3d and red 2d ‘Merino’ stamps are both cancelled with the hexagonal cancel of the Exhibition dated 10 NOV 1934. In addition there are 2

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COLONEL H.F.N. JOURDAIN C.M.G., OXFORD, U.K from MUDAMUCKLA, S.A

How could one resist researching a cover sent from a village with such a non-harmonious name as Mudamuckla to a Gallipoli hero? The cover has a blue registration label for Mudamuckla, South Australia, and it is addressed to Editor, Colonel H.F.N. Jourdain, C.M.G., Fyfield Lodge, Fyfield Road, Oxford, England. The orange-brown 5d KGV Head stamp is cancelled MUDAMUCKLA/ 27 JL 37/ S.A (Figure 1). The reverse has the identical Mudamuckla

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COCHRANE FAMILY MEMBERS, NOTABLE MEMBERS OF THE ROYAL NAVY

Although the recipient or sender of the attached four covers, Captain The Honourable E.G.L. Cochrane, never rose to the naval heights that other family members ascended, he was responsible for much of the family mail, at least 10 covers at last count. He is shown as Captain of the H.M.S. Peterel, at the Cape of Good Hope. The two green 6d Queensland stamps are cancelled with the unframed duplex BRISBANE/ 2/

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COBBITTY N.S.W. to LAWRENCE ASYLUM, OOTACAMUND, MADRAS, INDIA

This unusual destination cover was addressed to Miss F. Albert, Lawrence Asylum, Ootacamund, Madras, S. India and its pair of mauve 6d and a single dull red 1d N.S.W. stamps were postmarked with two examples of the rays ‘535′ of Cobbitty, N.S.W. There were two manuscripts per R.M.S Ellora to Melbourne and, R.M.S Nubia to Galle (Ceylon) (Figure 1). The point of origin postmark was COBBITTY/ MR 21/ 1874 (Type 1A, previous ERD* 1898) and the

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CHARLES H. & JOHN R. COUSENS, WW2 PRISONERS of WAR [JAPAN/GERMANY]

The first cover was sent registered to Captain C.H. Cousens, N.X. 34932, 2/19th Battalian A.I.F., Malaya, the registration label No. 1 with a manuscript ‘Mt Wilson’ and it had a purple S. 74 censor’s handstamp. There is a total postage of one shilling made up of the 9d ‘Platypus’ and the 3d blue KGVI stamps, with a partial MT. WILSON/ N.S.W Type 2A postmark , with an illegible date (Figure

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CHARLES DIBBIN, BOY, ROYAL MILITARY ASYLUM, CHELSEA, nr. LONDON

The cover was sent to, Charles Dibbin, Boy, No 1 Company, Royal Military Asylum, Chelsea, Nr. London, Per Simla and had a dull orange-brown imperforate ‘SIX PENCE’ wood block stamp, cancelled by a BN ‘1′ of Melbourne.   An additional marking was a red PAID/ DD/ 3 AU 3/ 1857, presumably applied in London.  Not seen, was an originating postmark of Melbourne May 28, 1857, on the reverse (Figure 1). The

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CAPTAIN RONALD EDGAR SMITH, 2ND SON of JAMES “PHILOSOPHER” SMITH

A large number of covers have been seen at stamp auction sites addressed to Westwood Forth, Ulverstone Forth, or Ulverstone either to Lieutenant, Captain or Major R.E. Smith over the past 3 years, but none compare with the present one sent by Captain R.E. Smith to his mother. The cover has a blue garland of ribbons and leaves, surrounding a monogram of EPH, with the words Excelsior Palace Hotel, A.

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CAPTAIN RICHARD HANMER BUNBURY R.N. (1813-1857)

This cover was listed on Ebay as a NSW 1844 MILITARY FREE entire addressed “Sydney-September Twenty Six, Captain R.H. Bunbury R.N., William’s Town, Melbourne”. It has a faint circular red “FREE, SE 26/ 1844 postmark with no evidence of a Crown. In the lower left hand corner is a 2-line notation in the same hand: ( ? ), W: G: Australia (Figure 1). The reverse shows a black unframed oval

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