1916, stampless cover to NAIROBI, BRIT. EAST. AFRICA, endorsed
Active Service, sender Nursing Sister, S.G.N.S., on reverse with
field post
1916, stampless cover to NAIROBI, BRIT. EAST. AFRICA, endorsed
Active Service, sender Nursing Sister, S.G.N.S., on reverse with
field post marking of No 24 12 FE 16 and arrival cancel NAIROBI 13
FE 16 BRIT EAST AFRICA, early military medical correspondence
during the East African Campaign of WWI, dispatched amidst the
British Imperial efforts to counter German colonial forces in
Deutsch-Ostafrika, the abbreviation S.G.N.S. most likely refers to
the South African General Nursing Service, a military medical unit
composed of trained nurses deployed by the Union of South Africa
during World War I. In the East African Campaign, members of the
S.G.N.S. served in field hospitals under harsh and often primitive
conditions, treating not only battlefield injuries but also
widespread tropical diseases such as malaria and dysentery.
Operating close to the front lines, these nurses played a critical
yet often overlooked role in sustaining the health and morale of
British and Allied forces engaged in a prolonged and grueling
campaign against German colonial troops led by General Paul von
Lettow-Vorbeck, rare usage by a nursing officer in the field,
indicative of the vital but often undocumented role of women in
combat zones, particularly within the British Medical Services,
such correspondence was strictly censored and reflects the
logistical and communication challenges of mobile field hospitals
operating in tropical terrain, VF, scarce postal history from
female military personnel in an active combat theatre, ex Kugel,
XF! Estimate 600€.
