Today in Postal History

Ruanda-Urundi to Great Britain
February 19, 1931

Ruanda and Urundi were two African kingdoms ruled by German East Africa.
The two states are located southwest of Lake Victoria
tucked between Tanganyika and Belgian Congo.
The area was captured by Belgian troops in 1916 during World War I.
It became a Belgian mandate as a part of the World War I peace settlement.
It became a trust territory under the United Nations on December 13, 1946.
They have been independent as Rwanda and Burundi since July 1, 1962.

This cover was posted from Usumbura (now Bujumbura)
at the north end of Lake Tanganyika.
There are nine strikes of the single rim Usumbura CDS.

The cover is franked with 1923-1927 Belgian Congo
stamps overprinted with RUANDA | URUNDI.
There are a 10c violet, a 15c olive green, a 20c green, two 25c red brown,
a 30c rose red, and a 40c violet (Scott 7, 8, 10-12, and 14 respectively).

In addition, the same series of stamps was overprinted with the same overprint
spaced with one line near the top of the stamp and the second line near the bottom.
There is a 35c green with this overprint in the upper right corner.

The total franking was 2 Francs.
This certainly was intended to be a souvenir even if not philatelic.

The destination was Llandaff just a few kilometers west of Cardiff
near the Mouth of the Severn in Glamorgan County south Wales.*

*Thanks to Dave Parsons for reminding me that it is Wales not England.

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