A random accumulation of Skeletons, starting with a Climax rubber skeleton for Holford used on 29th May 1914.
The skeleton below from Midford used on 14th March 1906 was also a Climax rubber cancel.
The skeleton below from Marston Magna is only known used on 2nd October 1942.
This Templecombe S.O. skeleton was in use for about a month, from 2nd April to 3rd May 1912.
And finally a Williton skeleton that was in use for about a month, from 12th December 1909 to 10th January 1910.
A random selection of postmarks for Offices under Bristol starting with a registered envelope sent from Merrywood, Bristol in 1892.
Next is a postcard from Filton with a double circle double-arc postmark in 1952.
The registered envelope below was posted from Whiteladies Road to Clevedon in 1913.
Bristol Returned Letter Branch handled letters that need returning to the sender in the south-west. The covers below are from 1887 and 1901, with "R.L.B. / BRISTOL" single ring handstamps.
The letter being returned below in 1897 was compulsorily Registered as it conatained value and the recipient would have had to pay 2d. It has an oval "REGISTERED / BRISTOL R.L.B" handstamp.
RAF Locking was opened in January 1939 just before the start of WW2 as a training camp providing training in aircraft trades including flight mechanics, airframes, engines, parachute training and air gunnery. There were satellite camps near Banwell at Knightcott, on Summer Lane and at Hill End. During the war RAF Locking became a huge hutted encampment where it was not unusual to have 6,000 personnel on parade at the same time. Four years after opening the school had trained 30,682 tradesmen for the RAF and Fleet Air Arm.
In 1950 the ‘No. 1 Radio School’ moved to Locking to provide training for radio and radar technicians, and as radar became an important part of the RAF the site became a specialist school for electronics. The Radio School moved to RAF Cosford in 1998, and RAF Locking closed on 31st March 1999 sixty years after it had opened. The RAF finally left the site in 2000.
See http://www.lockingheritage.org/raflocking.html for more details.
The following sheets illustrate Locking Camp cancellations, from 1958 to 1986.
Some more Ilminster items starting with some meter marks from 1989 to 1998 ...
... and some Packet cancels from 1990 and 1991, with the cancel steadily getting more distorted.
Lastly here is an envelope cancelled with a triangular "IL" telegraphic cancel, typically used on Printed Matter. Based on the 3d postal rate it must be from 1965-1968.
Some more Ilminster starting with an undelivered envelope that had to be opened by the Post Office to find a return address in September 1962. It was also underfranked.
This next item was returned to sender because of "Insufficient Address". There is no house number and it is just addressed to "Secretary".
In December 1977 the envelope below was cancelled with an Ilminster machine cancel but the dater was inverted.
Here is an example of the Ilminster machine cancel with the dater the correct way up.
Winford is seven miles south-east of Bristol. Here is an example of its double-arc UDC from June 1851.
Winford is not to be confused with Winsford, four miles south of Dulverton and some 55 miles to the south-west. Winsford had a double-arc udc known from June 1854.
.... and later a single ring udc, here used in November 1857.
Here is another example used in blue in April 1858.
Here are a few mobile post office cancels starting with a "MOBILE POST OFFICE / A" cancel used under Shepton Mallet in 1954 at the Mid-Somerset Agricultural Show,
The cancel used under Bristol in 1958 at the Royal Agricultural Show was "MOBILE POST OFFICE 2 / A", as shown below.
The cancel was used again in April 1960 at the Taunton Jumping Festival at Milverton, with a typed large unattributed registration etiquette.
In May 1962 a "MOBILE POST OFFICE 2 / B" cancel was used at the Bath & West Show under Taunton.
And finally the "MOBILE POST OFFICE No.3 / B" cancel was used in September 1960 at the Mid-Somerset Agricultural Show, and the "MOBILE POST OFFICE 1 / A" cancel was used in June 1966 at the Bath & West Show, both under Shepton Mallet.
Here are two unfranked postcard from abroad going to Ilminster with postage due, one of which I think is right and one wrong (with my pencil calculations in the margins).
The top postcard was sent in March 1989 and has two red "-8 MAR 1989 41P TO PAY" cachets and a Tax cachet of "T 550/750". The Airmail Postcard rate was 27p from 5th September 1988 to 1st October 1989 so I think the postage due should be 550/750 x 27p x 2 which equals 39.6p, or 40p when rounded not 41p as in the TO PAY cachet.
The bottom postcard was sent in July 1994 and has a red "28 JUL 1994 49P TO PAY" cachet along with manuscript "T 450/550" Tax mark. The non-airmail UPU letter rate was 30p from 1st November 1993 to 7th July 1996 so the postage due works out at 450/550 x 30p x 2 which equals 49.1p, or 49p if rounded down. I admit I worked backwards from the 49P TO PAY to find the non-airmail UPU postage rate, and it seems a bit odd especially as there is an "A PRIORITAIRE / PAR AVION" cachet !
On this next sheet are two unfranked postcards received on the same date with two different postage due assessments - so one has to be wrong.
Both cards have manuscript Tax markings of "T 600/1000" but one has been assessed with 43p to pay and the other 42p. With an Airmail Postcard rate of 35p from 1st November 1993 to 7th July 1996, I think the correct assessment is 600/1000 x 35p x 2 which equals 42p. So I think the top one is wrong and the bottom one correct.
Some more Taunton starting with an unfranked letter from New South Wales in July 1914. The postage due was 20 gold centimes (as in the "N.S.W. / T / 20" cachet) which equated to 2d.
Another Taunton postage due, from 1918 on an OHMS envelope with a manuscript note that the Post Corporal had been refunded (presumably he had had to pay the 2d postage due.
The wrapper below was used to send something as Printed Matter in 1944 at a 1d rate. The Newspaper rate was more expensive but allowed for a heavier weight.
