![\"Aden](\"http:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/stamps\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/93\/2022\/03\/1955-Aden-b.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe cover we are about to discuss is unusual for a number of reasons and harks back to the days before mass air travel became common. Right up until the end of the 1950s a trip from the UK to Australia for most entailed a long cruise. Thus keeping in touch was done by sending a letter to a port on the journey.\u00a0 Covers as such are fairly common but this one turned out a bit more unusual following a bit of research.<\/p>\n
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This letter was posted airmail on the 23rd November 1955 from a Glasgow firm of Chartered Accountants. The recipient was likely either a business person or a wealthy client given they were travelling 1st class.<\/p>\n
It is franked with two 1952 1\/3d Green Tudor Wmk Wilding definitives.\u00a0 We know the stamps are from this set as the later St Edward Crown Wmk version was not issued until March 1956.<\/p>\n
It arrived in Aden (now Yemen) 5 days later as shown by the machine cancel on the reverse.<\/p>\n
The destination – S.S Himalaya was part of the P&O passenger fleet at the time and its route was:<\/p>\n
Tilbury-Gibraltar-Marseilles-Naples-Port Said-Aden-Bombay-Colombo-Singapore-Fremantle-Adelaide-Melbourne-Sydney. <\/em><\/p>\n Thus the letter was picked up on the sixth stop on its journey and we have to assume that the passenger was carrying on otherwise why send it to a shipping agent. So it is almost certainly a piece of commercial mail, which brings us to the final interesting aspect of this cover.<\/p>\n The cover is the franking 2 Shillings & 6d which doesn’t correspond to any postal rate at that time. Between 1947 & 1952 this rate covered letters weighing between 2oz & 2\u00bdoz to Zone A destinations (which covered Aden). However, the rates were changed<\/a> from 1st May 1952 to the following for Zone A:<\/p>\n 1\u00bdoz 2s & 3d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n 2oz 3 shillings<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Neither of these matches the franking but the rate for Zone B was 2 Shillings & 6d.\u00a0 So we have to assume that either the sender was happy to give the post office an extra 3d tip or that they mixed the Zones up. Neither is a good look for a firm of Chartered Accountants!<\/p>\n Let’s hope whatever the story the contents were worth it.<\/p>\n We hope you enjoyed this article which we have used to highlight the research potential in what at first glance may have appeared a fairly mundane cover. It now has potential as an interesting display item in a GB collection or even an exhibition page.<\/p>\nThe Postal Rate<\/h3>\n