Royal Reels: Gambling

Armed Forces

POSTCARD: V-PACIFIC DAY ADMIRALTY ISLANDS, SOUTH-WEST PACIFIC

The postcard has a manuscript ‘V-Pacific Day Souvenir Air Mail Card – Mailed Admiralty Islands South-West Pacific’. It has a red 6 cents USA air mail stamp, postmarked with a fine A.F.P.O./ 15 AU 45/ 203 and it was addressed to E.D. Cash, 21 Victoria Square, Perth, West Australia (Figure 1). The reverse was a stark black & white depiction of the American flag and an eagle with outstretched wings,

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PETTY’S HOTEL: A SYDNEY SITE with a LONG PROVENANCE

This registered cover shows the full set of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester stamps which were issued on 19 Feb 1945. It was postmarked G.P.O. SYDNEY/ R.C.S./ 5-P 20 FE 45/ 1/ N.S.W. AUST. There is no registration label, but the blue crossed lines front and reverse clearly show it was registered.. The cover is addressed to Lt: T.B. Harrop./ R.N.V.R./ R.N.O.Q. (Petty’s Hotel)/ York Street. Sydney./ N.S.W. Australia

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No 4 AUXILIARY HOSPITAL, ABBASSIA ARTILLERY BARRACKS, 1915 [EGYPT]

This may well be a one of a kind illustrated World War One postcard on account of the large 3-ringed postal marking with the unusual centrally placed ABBASSIA and the 8 11 1915 date-stamp, that originated at the No 4 Auxiliary Hospital, Artillery Barracks, Abbassia, (Cairo). It has a manuscript ‘on active service 1276 9th.. 6th Reg, and is addressed to a Mrs P.C. Mowle, Neutral Bay, Sydney. The card is

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N. H. WRIGHT #2176, 8TH LIGHT HORSE, 3rd BRIGADE A. I. F., ABROAD in WW1

This well traveled cover with the 1d red KGV head was postmarked CROYDON/ FE 25/ 18/ VICTORIA had considerable trouble in finding this Australian soldier in Egypt, as shown by the multiple addresses in black and red ink, as well as blue crayon. The re-addressing has carried over to the reverse and unfortunately the 2 postmarks are illegible, and the manuscript 24/2/18 is puzzling for it pre-dates the posting date

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MARSHALL MACDERMOTT, QUIXOTIC SOLDIER, FARMER & BANK MANAGER

The stampless cover was sent ‘By Steamer’ from London as evidenced by the red ‘tombstone’ cancel X/ PAID/ 31OC31/ 1846. There was a red ‘ms. 1/-’ and an arrival handstamp at Adelaide as shown by the G.P.O/ [Crown]/ 5 [Maltese Cross] AP/ 1847/ SOUTH AUSTRALIA. The cover was addressed tp Marshall Mac’ Dermott (sic) Esqre, The Bank Hindly (sic) Street, Adelaide, South Australia. There was an additional ms. overlying the GPO

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LT. J. S. SUMMERS, PHILATELIST & SENIOR ASST SURGEON, R.I.M., BOMBAY

The Tasmania postal stationery cover has the green ‘TASMANIA POSTAGE/ TWO PENCE’ QV printed stamp uprated with a ‘sideface’ ½d stamp both cancelled with an indistict barred numeral ‘63′ as well as a NEW NORFOLK/ JY 20/ 1895/ TASMANIA cancel. It is addressed to J. Seymour Summers Esq., 33 Sassoon Dock Rd, Colaba, Bombay, India. The reverse was backstamped Tuticorin, India (Figure 1). Calcutta was the place from where philately

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LORD BRASSEY, VICTORIAN GOVERNOR & R. FULLARTON, NAVAL BRIGADE

An undated On Her Majesty’s Service cover was addressed to Lord Brassey, Govt. House Melbourne by R. Fullarton, Commanding, Naval Brigade, and the MINISTER OF DEFENCE, FRANK STAMP, VICTORIA was applied in blue. This letter would have been sent during Thomas Brassey’s term as Governor of Victoria in the years 1895 to 1900 (Figure 1). Thomas Brassey,1st Earl Brassey was born in England on February 11,1836 at St. Mary’s Stafford,

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LIEUT. LYONS, PRISONER OF WAR in JAPAN 1942-1945 [JAPAN]

This special Prisoner of War Post cover with Air Mail vignette was sent from Brisbane in1945 (month not certain) with a ‘3 Opened by Censor’ label, as well as a purple boxed ‘Opened by Censor 195’ marking. It was addressed to Service No.: Q302572 Rank: Lieutenant Noel Joseph Lyons, Camp Zentsuji, Japan. A 5d stamp was required, and a pair of the red 2½d Duke and Duchess of Gloucester stamps

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LEWIS BECK SEBRING Jr. (1901-78). WAR-TIME REPORTER MEETS GEN. MACARTHUR [U.S.A.]

The newspaper wrapper that prompted this research is postmarked PAID AT SYDNEY/-14 MY 43/ N.S.W. and is addressed to Lewis Sebring, Tribune Herald Newspaper, USA Army Hdqrs., (General Douglas MacArthur), AUSTRALIA. This was sent by “Reveille”, Official Organ, R.S.L (N.S.W. Branch), Anzac Memorial, Hyde Park, SYDNEY. “Reveille” is the journal published for the Returned Soldiers’ League in Australia. Unfortunately the red postmark is very faint, and even with a red

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RUPERT FORBES-BENTLEY, DECORATED WWI ENGLISH AIRMAN, in MALTA

Covers addressed to Forbes-Bentley have been seen on several websites and he was found to be an early English flier, a decorated airman in World War I, as well as a stamp collector, who made a new life in Malta. The first seen was a 1930 airmail cover from Victoria with the green 3d airmail stamp and the red 1½d Centenary of Western Australia swan stamp. It was addressed to

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