Lot 424
North Borneo WWI stampless 'On Active Service' cover to UK
Stamps and Covers of Asia & the Middle East | S25009
Auction: 2 September 2025 at 11:00 BST
Description
1915 (22 Nov) stampless cover endorsed ‘On Active Service’ at upper right and postmarked with crisp ‘SANDAKAN’ cds, addressed to the UK, with Bury St Edmunds arrival cds (31 Dec). A highly unusual military cover and the only example of WWI military mail we are able to find from the Colony. The British soldier sending the mail was in all likelihood stationed (or transiting through) Sandakan in the aftermath of the Rundum rebellion led by Antanum, which was suppressed by the British with 400 troops, or alternatively was involved with the closure of the tiny German internment camp at Tenom, which was closed after the five (!) German internees complained of cannibalism and headhunters in the vicinity of the camp. Amusingly, an independent report by the US consulate concluded that whilst the cannibalism claim was false ('having never even existed' in North Borneo) there was a ‘certain element of truth’ in the reports of headhunters! The internees were moved to India and Australia to avoid further complaints.
