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A field post office (FPO) is a post office set up during time of war or when a military unit is on manoeuvres. It is a place to which mail intended for military units in the field is sent to be sorted and forwarded. It is set up "in the field", hence the name, however, FPOs may be on land or at sea. Their use pre-dates the introduction of postage stamps.
Field Post Offices have special cancellations and their mail is eagerly collected by
Download link
*Lowe, Robson. ''Indian Field Post Offices 1903-04, The Aden-Yemeni Boundary Commission, The Somaliland Field Force'', Robson Lowe, 1979. {{ISBN, 0-85397-107-2. *Wagner, Ryszard. ''History of the Polish Army Postal Service, Middle East and Italy 1940-1948'', Caldra House Limited, 1992.
British Forces Post Office
Philatelic terminology pl:Poczta polowa
History
The first British FPO was in 1808 during thePeninsular War
The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...
and in 1840 the British Army used a FPO during the first Chinese War.
FPOs were also used extensively during the Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...
.
Military post offices abroad strive to provide the same services found in their home country. Facilities are often cramped because of the amount of mail they need to handle. Today, military personnel who handle mail must be authorized and trained to do so in accordance with Postal Service and Department of Defense regulations (US). Working in a war zone and screening for hazardous contents in parcels can be dangerous, but the work does help with positive effect the mail has on morale as well as providing a vital service for the military.
Terminology
In the United States a close equivalent is the Army Post Offices (APOs), the Air Force Post Offices (AFPOs) and the Fleet Post Offices (FPOs). In Hungary the head FPO is known as the ''tábori főpostahivatal'' while a normal FPO is an ''tábori postahivatal''. Equivalent terms are in use in most countries with Field Post Offices.Collecting
Field Post Offices have special cancellations and their mail is eagerly collected by philatelists
Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is possi ...
, but the cancellations are sometimes anonymised so that the place of posting is not revealed which presents collectors with a challenge.
References
Further reading
*Crouch, G. and Hill, N. ''British Army Field Post Offices 1939-1950: Locations and Assignments'', 1951. *King, Christopher. "The Prussian Field Post-Relais in Denmark 1864: Mail in Denmark Handled by the Static Prussian Field Post Offices" in ''The Posthorn'', Scandinavia Collectors Club, November 2007Download link
*Lowe, Robson. ''Indian Field Post Offices 1903-04, The Aden-Yemeni Boundary Commission, The Somaliland Field Force'', Robson Lowe, 1979. {{ISBN, 0-85397-107-2. *Wagner, Ryszard. ''History of the Polish Army Postal Service, Middle East and Italy 1940-1948'', Caldra House Limited, 1992.
External links
British Forces Post Office
Philatelic terminology pl:Poczta polowa