Dear Jane

During the First World War, the strength of the British army peaked at over 3.8 million men between 1914 and 1918. These men received letters and parcels from home and replied, sending news in letters or on hastily written postcards. So prolific was this two-way correspondence that it is estimated that some five billion items were handled by the British Field Post Office between 1914 and 1918. In 1917 the British Field Post Office had around 4,000 staff sorting two million items per day.

Deltiologist
Today, examples of that correspondence sent over 100 years ago are sought after by collectors around the world for the details they contain. British postcards have become popular because the person who sent them may have gone on to become a famous historical figure. There are other factors which make them of interest to collectors, such as the illustration or the postage stamp, which can lead to a crossover in stamp collecting. For this reason, collectors of postcards, known as deltiologists, can build up an interesting range which covers several subjects, from heartfelt messages to jingoistic topics such as patriotic flag-waving imagery.
Postcards have long been collected, but more so in recent years, especially those from the First World War. It is an easy interest to start, and postcards are available at different types of fairs, ranging from car boot sales to militaria fairs. There are also specialist collectors fairs throughout the year at venues across the country, and these are organised by groups such as the Postcard Traders Association. Storing postcards can be done in either albums or shoeboxes with dividers to separate them into categories or chronological order. No more space than a couple of bookshelves is often required for either method, but that depends on the volume held by the collector.

Field Service Postcard
One type of postcard that soldiers could send was the official Field Service Postcard, but this only allowed the sender to relay basic health information. It was printed like a multiple-choice questionnaire with expressions that included ‘I am quite well’ or ‘I have been admitted into hospital’. This last statement was followed by the words ‘sick’ and ‘wounded’, which were deleted as applicable. Millions of these were sent by soldiers, but over time their condition has often become fragile, and many have disintegrated. Examples surface at militaria fairs and although there are no details of the sender, the address is legible. Using modern technology, it is possible to track down the address without actually going to the location. This is an exercise in ‘then and now’ social history. 
When on periods of rest away from the trenches, in safe areas well to the rear, soldiers could visit stores to buy inexpensive postcards showing a town. They could then quickly scribble a couple of lines home to send love. The army censor usually franked such correspondence with a red stamp declaring ‘Passed Field Censor’. Mostly, these are only ever signed with a first name, but sometimes ‘Uncle’ or ‘Dad’ is used. Using that as a starting point, it is possible that the surname of the sender was the same as the recipient on the card. Searching specialist genealogy websites and electoral rolls from that time, it is possible to trace back to the sender and discover more information, such as their regiment and if they survived the war.

Great looking postcards
As the war progressed, a whole industry was created to meet the demand for postcards, with some showing sentimental scenes of soldiers in a pensive mood with ‘thought balloons’. Inside these there were images of young girls, representing sweethearts, waiting by a front door or railway station. Another range was patriotic, depicting soldiers of the Allied nations posing together to show they were united against the Central Powers. Those with a jingoistic theme played on peoples’ patriotism and in essence were very upbeat and cheerful. Postcards with subjects painted by artists could be reproduced in colour, such as the one showing a soldier going on leave with his kit bag and obligatory cigarette. The image is accompanied by “Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag, and Smile! Smile!! Smile!!!”. This is from a popular song of the time written in 1915 by George Henry Powell.
The cards were printed in their millions by companies such as The Corona Publishing Company of Blackpool and W&K of London EC, with a few becoming more popular with collectors. Some are rarities being widely sought and they can fetch good prices. Publishers in France also joined in by producing postcards for the British ‘Tommies’. Before they became popular, such cards could be obtained for low prices. Now, however, things have changed, and prices have gone up so that postcards that were once seen as novelties are now fetching serious money. Obviously, the condition influences the price, as does the numbers produced. Troops would visit photographic studios and have their photographs taken either as a portrait or with a couple of friends. These images were sometimes produced as postcards by the photographer to allow the soldiers to write on them or to put them in an envelope to send home, showing that they were fine. Some of these have brief messages such as ‘…bright news…’ leaving the photograph to show the sender with a medal or badge to show promotion.
All styles of postcards were widely popular, being collected by adults and young boys alike, even those produced by national newspapers of the time, such as the Daily Mail, which published a whole series of them in numbered sequence with captions. These were originally produced in monochrome but later reissued in a ‘colourised’ form. Today they are still very popular, and some collectors actually seek to include both the monochrome and colourised types in their collection. Deltiology is very easy to get into and is more popular in all its forms than you might think. When you next visit a militaria fair, take time to speak to a postcard dealer, you might just become one and enter their ranks.

Useful websites
A couple of useful websites with dates of fairs and venues to visit, whether new to the pastime, include and .