POSTAL SERVICES IN THE CANAL ZONE
Gerald
S. Gregory ex: ATCC RAF Ismailia 1952-54 writes:
Mail was delivered on a regular basis by aircraft of the RAF and ships of
the Merchant Navy. It was then delivered to the main services postal centres.
Letters came by airmail but parcels and packages came by sea.
Letters were white envelopes, edged in red and blue or 6d blue Airmail letter sheet or 2½d khaki Special Forces Air Letter.
Army Post Offices had a MELF number (Middle East Land Forces) and the RAF had a MEAF number (Middle East Air Force). My camp at RAF Ismailia was MEAF 10.
RAF Ismailia had a Post Office where one could buy stamps and postal orders, and also collect parcels etc. Because of the currency agreement one could not cash UK currency or postal orders.
Different units on camp would collect their mail from the Post Office. My section, ATCC’s mail was picked up by our Orderly Clerk.
I am pretty certain that one could but postage stamps at the NAAFI. We lived on the tented site and no way would we have trekked across the airfield to buy stamps. At the same time there must have been a post box somewhere but I cannot see it in my memory. I think it was situated by the Tented Site’s Warrant Officers base. We would have passed this en route to the Mess Tent. The Post Office on the main camp would have had a collection box and I believe that there was another box outside the Guard Room.
Our mail was displayed in the section and one picked it up. If on duty (we did watch work), ones friends would bring it back.
I always had at least one family letter each week. Former school friends also wrote – including four of the girls – I was the first of the class to do National Service.
I also received 2 or 3 packets of newspapers and magazines which came by sea. I used to have “Picture You” sent out which was borrowed by most lads in the section – it always got returned. Other links with home were the Boy Comics like “Adventure”, “Wizard”, “Hotspur”, “Rover” and “Champion”. “The Beano” and “Dandy” were also popular. I also had “The Cricketer Magazine” sent direct. I also subscribed to the monthly Sportsman’s Book Club and friend, Mike Bennett, received his “Reader’s Union” book.
I only know of losing one letter and one package of papers. They may have been destroyed by a terrorist attack. I remember there was an attack on one of the mail lorries at Christmas, 1953, when a lot of Christmas packages and parcels were destroyed. Fortunately, my own parcel got through.
I was on detached
duty at Aqaba, Jordan. The mail there was delivered by the RAF in their twice
weekly schedule. On other days, mail would be dropped by parachute at a certain
point and picked up by Land Rover. A great boost in the moral of the lads
to have such a frequent delivery service.
It was a 24 hour, 7 day a week job. To start with we did all sorts of jobs but after a while I became a Mail Courier with my own truck. One week to Suez – 6 days, the next week to Port Said – 6 days, with a 0530 hours start, I continued with this until I was posted back to RAF Fayid in April 1954.
The three main Postal Centres were Moascar, Suez and Port Said. Suez was the busiest with a lot of camps in this area. All camps had a Mail Orderly who visited one of these each day to collect and deliver mail.
Another vehicle ran up and down to RAF Fayid several times a day to catch various planes to the UK, Cyprus and other parts of the Middle East, Aden (being about 1,000 miles), the Persain Gulf and Malta.
Regarding stamps etc., most camps had a Post Office, if not the NAAFI helped out.
The night shift sorted almost all night, any mail left was put into sacks and marked “MISC” to be sorted on arrival in England. We could not miss the early morning plane.
The Sea Mail came
into Port Said docks then several large vehicles shunted it to Moascar.
One day a bomb was planted in the last truck. It exploded at El Kantara, just
where it was meant to – a very rough place and expert thieves. The Welsh
Guards had a camp nearby and came along to sort it out.
As Christmas came, everything went mad and everyone was working extra. I was doing two loads a day instead of one .9 or 10 pm finish but still up at 0430 the next day. However all was clear before Christmas except one load to Tel el Kebir which had to go Christmas morning so I said I would take it.
I was Corporal in charge of the Orderly Room and the Post Office was also run by a Corporal named Jerry. We used to meet in the Corporal’s Club and we got to be good friends – I invited him to my wedding!! We lost touch some time ago and he moved to France.
Incidentally, I have a lot to thank the postal service for, as my wife of 61 years, was my pen-friend!