CHAPTER XVIII THE INDIAN FIELD POST OFFICE DURING THE GREAT WAR

In 1914, when war broke out, a large postal contingent accompanied the troops sent to France. It was under the control of Mr. Pilkington, Assistant Director-General of the Post Office, who had the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, and it comprised one Base Office and 22 field offices, with a staff of 13 supervising officers, 22 field postmasters, 84 clerks and 78 menials. During the early years of the war the work performed by this staff was very heavy. Frequently over 23,000 letters and 2000 parcels would arrive for the Indian contingent in one day, while newspapers published in England were regularly received for delivery to the troops. At the end of 1916 the Indian field postal staff in France was considerably reduced, as large numbers accompanied the Indian troops transferred to Egypt and Mesopotamia, and at the end of the war only one or two field offices remained to serve some Labour Corps units which had been left behind.

At the end of 1916 Mesopotamia was the most important theatre of war so far as the Indian Post Office was concerned. A small field postal contingent was sent in 1914 and was steadily increased as the operations extended. Mr. A. B. Thompson, Deputy Postmaster-General, was the first Director of Postal Services. He was succeeded in 1917 by Mr. A. J. Hughes, who had been Deputy Director in Egypt. By the end of 1917 the army was so large and the work of the Post Office so extensive that it was decided to place an officer of the rank of Postmaster-General in charge, and Mr. H. A. Sams, Postmaster-General, Central Circle, was selected to be Director of Postal Services in Mesopotamia. By 1918 the staff consisted of 17 superintendents, 45 inspectors, 2 base postmasters, 7 deputy postmasters, 79 field postmasters, 542 clerks and 797 menials. The Field Post Office in Mesopotamia had not only military work, but also a great deal of civil work. The magnitude of the business may be gauged by the following monthly figures:—

ABOUT

Number of letters received and despatched

12,000,000

Number of parcels received and despatched

70,000

Number of money orders issued and paid

67,000

Value of money orders issued and paid

Rs.30,00,000

Large numbers of British postal orders were also sold and Savings Bank business was freely transacted.

During the year 1916 a great deal of difficulty was experienced in Mesopotamia in dealing with returned letters, the addressees of which could not be traced. To dispose of these a Returned Letter Office was established at Basra, for which a staff of 165 permanent base men was employed. Subsequently, as these men were released or recalled to military duty, their places were taken by Anglo-Indian boys recruited in India. The establishment of the Returned Letter Office put a stop to very many complaints regarding loss of letters. The office used to deal with about 200,000 articles a month and worked very efficiently under the supervision of the Base Postmaster, Basra.

Upon the fall of Kut the field post office there shared the fate of the garrison, and a number of postal officials were taken prisoners of war by the Turks.

From the beginning of 1918 to the end of the war the postal service in Mesopotamia was extremely good, and both in Basra and Bagdad a regular local post was established and deliveries by postmen were introduced. At the end of 1918 a number of civil post offices were opened and steps were taken to close down field post offices wherever possible. From the 1st May, 1919, the postal administration of Mesopotamia was finally handed over to the civil authorities and almost all the field post offices were withdrawn, but a very large proportion of the Indian Field staff remained in the country and took service under the new Iraq Government.

Next in importance to Mesopotamia came the Indian postal services in Egypt, Palestine and Salonika, and in these places the Indian field post offices worked side by side with the British Army Postal Corps. In 1915 they were under the control of Mr. A. J. Hughes as Deputy Director, who was succeeded later by Mr. S. C. Sinclair. In 1915 Indian field post offices were sent to Gallipoli, and the work done by them there won the warm appreciation of the military authorities. The extension of operations to Palestine necessitated the despatch of a number of field post offices to that country. In 1918 it was found necessary to separate the postal contingent at Salonika from the control of the Deputy Director in Egypt, and the force was placed in charge of Mr. A. Gillespie as an independent Assistant Director, with a staff of 1 base postmaster, 2 inspectors, 28 field postmasters and clerks and 36 menials. The Salonika postal service extended to Baku and Constantinople, where there were Indian field post offices.

Field post offices were sent to East Africa in 1914 under the control of Mr. K. A. Appleby, who was subsequently made a Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel. The organization consisted of a base office, 25 field post offices, with a staff of 4 superintendents, 6 inspectors, 1 base postmaster, 25 field postmasters, 76 clerks and 67 menials. About a million letters and parcels were handled monthly by this staff, and work had to be carried on under the most trying conditions, as many of the mail lines traversed country covered with thick jungle. In 1917 and 1918 the whole postal service of German East Africa was carried on by the Indian Field Post Office, and the greatest credit is due to Lieutenant-Colonel Appleby for the excellent arrangements made by him.

In 1918 Lieutenant Kilman was sent to take control of the field post offices attached to the East Persian Cordon between Meshed and Dalbandin. The East Persian Cordon was subsequently known as the Force in East Persia, and the postal organization consisted of 1 Base post office and 13 field post offices, with a staff of an Assistant Director of Posts and Telegraphs, 1 inspector, 1 base postmaster, 13 field postmasters, 31 clerks and 54 menials.

A field post office contingent was also sent to Bushire in 1918 in connection with the operations between Bushire and Shiraz. This was placed under the control of Mr. C. F. Quilter as Assistant Director, who was also given control of the postal arrangements of the British Mission Escort in South Persia operating from Bunder-Abbas to Kerman and Shiraz. The British Mission Escort commenced its operations early in 1916 and its postal arrangements were in charge of Captain Greene, R. E., Superintendent of post offices, prior to their being taken over by Mr. Quilter. Up to March, 1919, the postal organization of the Bushire Force and British Mission Escort consisted of 2 Base post offices and 18 field post offices, with a staff of an Assistant Director, a Deputy Assistant Director, 2 inspectors, 2 base postmasters, 18 field postmasters, 49 clerks and 86 menials. From April, 1919, the Force was considerably reduced and a large portion of the field postal staff was withdrawn.

The operations in the neighbourhood of Aden led to the establishment of a few field post offices under the postmaster of Aden, who carried out this work in addition to his own.

The total number of officials of the Indian field post offices serving with the various Expeditionary Forces in 1918 was about two thousand, and with this large contingent serving abroad the Department in India had to undertake the difficult task of equipping and despatching regular reinforcements to the several theatres of war. In order to deal with the enormous quantity of Army mails, both originating in India and received from abroad, two special base offices were established, one at Bombay and one at Karachi. The Base Office in Bombay was converted in 1918 into a Base Postal Depot, and in addition to dealing with the mails for the troops it was also assigned the duty of recruitment and mobilization of postal reinforcements. The establishment of the Base Postal Depot in Bombay solved many of the difficulties which attended the organization of field post offices and the disposal of mails for armies in the field. The depot was divided into four main sections for Enquiry, Sorting, Mobilization and Correspondence. The chief duty of the Enquiry section was to ensure the correct delivery of correspondence for the troops that had returned or had been invalided from the field. This section was in charge of a lady Superintendent with forty lady clerks, and their duty was to keep up to date a regular record giving the names, designations and addresses of officers and men who had returned to India. The Enquiry section kept its records by means of index cards, of which there were over 133,000 when the armistice was declared. About 330,000 letters monthly were disposed of in this section.

In the Sorting section the average number of postal articles dealt with in a month was about one million. The sorting of mails for all the forces was done by units, separate bundles or packets being prepared for the officers and men with each unit. These mails were then forwarded ready sorted to the base offices at the various fronts, where they were distributed to the field offices serving the units in question.

The Mobilization section dealt with all matters relating to the mobilization of the staff recruited in India for service overseas. Only men who had volunteered for field service were taken, and on receiving orders these men reported themselves to the Officer Commanding, Base Postal Depot, Bombay, who arranged for their kit, uniform and transport to the force for which they were detailed. The Correspondence section dealt with all complaints regarding postal articles for the field forces, and, by being in close connection with the Enquiry branch, it was able to dispose of a large number of complaints without delay.

The Base Postal Depot, Bombay, was thus the most essential factor in the whole postal organization, and the smooth working of mail arrangements for the Expeditionary Forces depended very largely upon its efficiency. The Depot was directly under the control of the Director-General of Posts and Telegraphs and in charge of Captain Love, a pensioned officer of the Department, who had retired as Presidency Postmaster, Bombay.

To reward the good work done by the Indian postal staff in the field, no less than fifty-two personal distinctions were granted and over three hundred men were mentioned in despatches. The Department may well be proud of its achievements during the war. Volunteers were always ready to come forward for service in the worst places and many lost their lives. The best proof of their work, however, is the high reputation which the Post Office of India has earned among all branches of the Army.