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7 6 • s m i t h s o n i a n c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o h i s t o ry a n d t e c h n o l o g yFigure 7. The highest value (five- shilling) stamp had the lowestprinting quantity. From the collection of Janet Klug.Figure 8. Doubled overprint of the threepence value. Only onesheet of 160 was printed in error with a doubled overprint. From thecollection of Janet Klug.and the sheets were formatted differently. Thus the serifprinting was spaced more widely apart but is otherwisesimilar to the other serif printings.The serif printings have many varieties. Some of themore noticeable varieties, such as the wrong font “6” in“1946,” are listed in some catalogs. The Australian CommonwealthSpecialists’ Catalogue, King George VI doesthe most extensive job of listing varieties of BCOF overprints.The serif BCOF overprints (including the high values)offer stamp collectors much challenge and resultingexultation when they have found something unusual.The sans serif stamps have fewer varieties. The scarcestis a doubled overprint on the threepence stamp, ofwhich only one sheet of 160 impressions was made byerror (Figure 8).Postal Usage of the StampsA large percentage of mail weighing four ounces orless sent by Australian BCOF military personnel to Australianaddresses required no postage stamps, provided itwas sent surface mail and inscribed “Free.”Airmail was preferred by many of the Australian military,at a concessionary rate of threepence per half ounce.This was the most common usage of BCOF stamps, mainlypaid by a solo use of one threepence stamp (Figure 9).Registered mail was used frequently, especially forsending cash equivalents such as uncancelled stamps andpostal orders, as well as legally or illegally obtained currency.The basic registration rate that included no compensationfor loss was threepence. Higher rates appliedfor articles requiring compensation for loss. Often anotherthreepence stamp was used to pay for registration on airmailletters to Australia, but a sixpence stamp also coveredbasic registration and airmail.Parcels to Australia were charged concessionary ratesbased upon weight. Australian military had to pay nonconcessionarystandard postage on mail sent outside Australiaand for other special services.Non- Australian use of AustralianMilitary Post Offices in JapanBritish, Indian, and New Zealand forces used stampsfrom their respective countries of origin. However, whentransiting through an Australian base, letters sent fromnon- Australian BCOF forces were readily accepted by theAustralian military post offices and received correspondingcancels from the Australian field post office (FPO),unit postal station (AUPS), base post office (ABPO), Armypost office (APO), or Royal Australian Air Force postoffice (RAAFPO).
n u m b e r 5 5 • 7 7Figure 9. The most common use of BCOF stamps was to pay postage for airmail service from Japan to Australia.From the collection of Janet Klug.The End of BCOF OccupationBy 1950, most of BCOF had withdrawn from Japan.BCOF occupation formally ended on April 28, 1952, althoughBCOF air bases at Iwakuni and Kure continued toserve in “policing” activities in Korea and Malaya. Thoseformer- BCOF who remained were nearly all Australians.BCOF’s duties and responsibilities during the occupationwere to dispose of Japan’s stocks of war material,including chemical agents and ordnance; repatriate returningJapanese soldiers; assist in the reconstruction of Hiroshima;honorably represent the British Commonwealth;safeguard all Allied installments within the BCOF area;and promote the democratic way of life.To these ends, BCOF cleared BCOF area of stockpiledJapanese war material, including 100,000 tons of explosivesand 500 tons of poison gas; repatriated 700,000 Japanesemilitary personnel and civilians; patrolled BCOF areaby land and sea to suppress smuggling and illegal immigration;built housing for dependants of Commonwealthmilitary personnel eligible to bring their families to Japan(illustrating the “democratic way of life”); and providedhumanitarian relief. 15Collecting the BCOF Stamps,Postmarks, and EnvelopesNeither the stamps nor envelopes bearing stampsproperly used from one of the Australian military basepost offices in Japan are “common,” but the lower facevalue denominations of halfpenny, one penny, threepenceand sixpence are easy to find and inexpensive to purchasefor collectors desiring representational examples for theircollection. The higher denominations of one shilling, twoshillings and five shillings are more difficult to find, especiallyproperly used on an envelope or parcel.A few of the Australian military post offices in Japansaw little use or were used for an abbreviated period oftime. These are very difficult to find and collect, but only a
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Smithsonian InstitutionScholarly Pr
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smithsonian contributions to histor
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ContentsLETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR OF
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AcknowledgmentsThe symposium would
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2 • s m i t h s o n i a n c o n t
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1 0 • s m i t h s o n i a n c o n
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1 2 • s m i t h s o n i a n c o n
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“Little Colored Bits of Paper”C
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n u m b e r 5 5 • 1 7as something
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n u m b e r 5 5 • 1 9protest came
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n u m b e r 5 5 • 2 1nals I revie
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WWI Philatelic Censuses of East Afr
Page 35 and 36: n u m b e r 5 5 • 2 5Table 1. GEA
Page 37 and 38: n u m b e r 5 5 • 2 7Figure 5. MA
Page 39 and 40: Explorations in the Official Regist
Page 41 and 42: n u m b e r 5 5 • 3 1receipts. De
Page 43 and 44: n u m b e r 5 5 • 3 3TABLE 2. Pop
Page 45 and 46: n u m b e r 5 5 • 3 5different ge
Page 47: Introduction to the Second Symposiu
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Page 59 and 60: “Food Will Win the War”: Motor
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Page 63 and 64: n u m b e r 5 5 • 5 3support for
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Page 81 and 82: Picking Up the Pieces: The Aftermat
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Page 101: Introduction to the Fourth Symposiu
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Page 131 and 132: “Why Is a Raven Like a Writing De
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n u m b e r 5 5 • 1 2 7Figure 5.
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n u m b e r 5 5 • 1 2 9A Final No
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America’s First Carrier Service:T
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n u m b e r 5 5 • 1 3 3Figure 3.
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n u m b e r 5 5 • 1 3 5The glazed
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n u m b e r 5 5 • 1 3 7Intercity
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n u m b e r 5 5 • 1 3 9The End of
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The U.S. 1847 Issue:Stamps That Cha
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n u m b e r 5 5 • 1 4 3the positi
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n u m b e r 5 5 • 1 4 5stamps as
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From the Pulpit to the Post: Anti-
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n u m b e r 5 5 • 1 4 9The allege
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n u m b e r 5 5 • 1 5 1Individual
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n u m b e r 5 5 • 1 5 337. Archiv
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