Military mail, as opposed to civilian mail, refers to the postal services provided by armed forces that allow serving members to send and receive mail. Military mail systems are often subsidized to ensure that military mail does not cost the sender any more than normal domestic mail. In some cases, military personnel in a combat zone may post letters and packages to their home country free of charge. Modern military mail services are provided by most armed forces around the world. In some nations, individual service branches may run their own military mail program.
History
Early forms of military mail may go back to the dawn of civilization. There is some evidence of it dating back to Ancient Egypt of the 2nd millennium BC. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle make mention of messengers being sent by King Edward the Elder (899–924) to recall members of the Kent fyrd, but it is generally regarded that the origins of the postal services stem from the King's Messengers (Nuncii et Cursores) of medieval times, in particular, the Royal Post established in the reign of King Edward IV (1461–83) to support his troops engaged in a war against Scotland.
Beginnings
In 1795, Parliament granted the penny postage concession to soldiers and sailors of the British Army and Royal Navy. Four years later, in 1799, the Duke of York appointed Henry Darlot, an ‘intelligent clerk’ from the General Post Office (GPO) as the Army Postmaster to accompany his expedition to Helder. Thomas Reynolds, as the British Post Office Agent in Lisbon, Portugal was made responsible for coordinating the exchange of the British Army's mails at the port during the Peninsular War (1809–14). Two Sergeant Postmasters were appointed to work with Reynolds. The sergeants reported to the Duke of Wellington’s Superintendent of Military Communications, Major Scovell and later Lieutenant Colonel Sturgeon. After complaints about the mail services to the British troops fighting in the Crimean War (1854–56) the Postmaster General authorised the secondment of GPO staff to organise and distribute mail in the theatre of war. A Base Army Post Office was established in Constantinople and a field post Office with the Army Headquarters at Balaklava. A regular seaborne mail service was established between Varna and Constantinople. In response to demands made by Florence Nightingale, a method of transmitting money was devised to allow troops to transfer monies back to their families at home in the United Kingdom. This was designed to prevent drunkenness and became the world's first International Money Order Service. In its first month of operation £7,000 was remitted by the British troops.
Modern military mail provision
The military postal experience of the Crimea and the lessons learnt from the Indian Army encouraged the British Army to seriously review the arrangements for the provision of a postal service to the troops in the field. There were two opinions; firstly, that the Army run its own services as in the Peninsular War. Secondly, that civilians from the Post Office be responsible for the service as in the Crimean and Indian Army example. The provision of a mail service to soldiers remained an ad hoc affair until 1882. In 1881 a rebellion broke out in Egypt which threatened Britain's passage to India through Suez. In response a British Expeditionary Force was sent to Egypt in the same year under the command of Sir Garnet Wolseley. This gave Lieutenant Colonel du Plat Taylor the opportunity to raise the matter of the postal corps again and it was agreed that an Army Post Office Corps (APOC) should be formed. Mails from Britain were despatched three times a week via the 'overland route' through France to Alexandria. The Army Post Offices offered a letter and parcel service and sold stamps and postal orders. In addition to the mail services, a free parcel service from the naval docks at Deptford was also set up. These parcels travelled by government store ships and transports. This service was the forerunner of the Military Forwarding Office (MFO) service which still exists today. The expedition was successful and was the basis for establishing military mail in England and around the world. The unit received high praise from the commander-in-chief, who wrote:
The formation of a purely military postal department has been a tried for the first time in this war. It has been very successful.... I have much pleasure in bringing to the notice of the Secretary of State the admirable manner in which the Post Office Corps discharged its duties in Egypt ... Their services have been so valuable that I hope a similar corps may be employed on any future occasion.
At the end of World War I (1914–1918), the Royal Engineers (Postal Section), along with the Royal Air Force (RAF), helped to pioneer international airmail services, by setting up airmail routes between Folkestone, England and Cologne, Germany to service the British Army of the Rhine.
Selected modern services
British Forces Post Office (BFPO)
The British Forces Post Office (BFPO) provides a postal service to HM Forces, separate from that provided by Royal Mail in the United Kingdom. BFPO addresses are used for the delivery of mail in the UK and around the world. BFPO is based at RAF Northolt in North West London. The mission of BFPO is to "provide an efficient and effective Postal and Courier Service to sustain the fighting power of UK Armed Forces Worldwide." When sending mail from the UK to a member of HM Forces serving overseas, the sender must address it to the appropriate BFPO number, not to the country in which that person is based. In 2012, in collaboration with Royal Mail, the BFPO introduced UK-style postcodes to help ordering items online because of problems with websites not recognising the BFPO addressing format. The addresses are assigned to the notional post town "BFPO", and as of 2012, all postcodes begin with "BF1".
German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr)
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