1918, from LIVERPOOL to Illinois, USA, endorsed A.E.F. and
Soldier's Mail, handwritten sender info American Red Cross Military
Relief
1918, from LIVERPOOL to Illinois, USA, endorsed A.E.F. and
Soldier's Mail, handwritten sender info American Red Cross Military
Relief Station, Liverpool, struck with MUSSLEY HILL LIVERPOOL 12 MR
18 circular datestamp, large black OPENED BY CENSOR label on
reverse, uncensored by American military but passed through British
civil censorship, postage-free under AEF military mail privilege,
rural routing R R 1, homefront correspondence during final year of
World War I, routed from the vital transatlantic embarkation port
of Liverpool, key logistical hub for American Expeditionary Forces,
British censorship at this late war stage often concentrated in
major cities due to escalating U-boat threat and increased flow of
repatriation and demobilization mail, MUSSLEY HILL post office
served suburban London area—likely interim routing node prior to
transatlantic dispatch, sender listed from American Red Cross
Military Relief Station, part of humanitarian infrastructure
supporting AEF troops and volunteers in transit, possibly linked to
YMCA and Salvation Army auxiliary efforts under Commission for
Training Camp Activities, posted shortly before the German Spring
Offensive of March 1918, under General Erich Ludendorff, mail
reflects continued morale-boosting home contact despite uncertainty
of war's outcome, illustrates intersection of military, civil, and
humanitarian networks during final phase of global conflict,
exceptionally well-preserved example of wartime postal history, ex
Kugel, VF! Estimate 200€.
