Lot 614
Iraq British Occupation of Baghdad SG 5 Active service cover to India




Stamps & Covers of the World | S25003
Auction: 16 April 2025 at 10:30 BST
Description
1917 (5 Sep) 'On Active Service' green stationery envelope bearing 1a on 20pa red (Castle) tied by 'FPO 13' cds, addressed to ‘Mrs A.E. Whicker c/o Captain Lane R.A.M.C/ SABATHU/ SIMLA HILLS/ INDIA', with faint ‘PASSED CENSOR D’ handstamp visible in address, signed at left by the soldier sending the letter (A E Whicker), reverse showing the same 'FPO 13' cds (5 Sep) and 'SABATHU' arrival cds (23 Sep) on reverse. Folded vertically and rather roughly opened at foot, leaving a tear through the foot of the address panel, though the stamp itself very fine indeed.
A star item of the occupation, and an extraordinary new discovery, unrecorded by Khalastchy (2017), this just the fourth known cover to India, the third known cover bearing SG5, and the only 'Active Service' envelope of this type recorded form the occupation. Truly superb.




