Today in Postal History

  
     
Orange River Colony to England
April 5, 1902

This commercial cover was sent from Bloemfontein to Colchester.
Bloemfontein is about 400 km southwest of Johannesburg.
Colchester is in Essex about 80 km northeast of London.

It was sent after the Orange Free State had been
occupied by British forces and the conclusion of the Boer War.
The CDS is Bloemfontein O. R. C.

The Orange Free State had been annexed to become the Orange River Colony - a Crown Colony.

This particular letter was franked with a stamp issued during the British Occupation.
It was a local surcharge of Orange Free State stamps.
This particular stamp appears to have the second type of
surcharge with raised stops and narrow 'V' (SG 113).

Stamps had already been issued in 1900 which were designated for Orange River Colony.
This stamp was a leftover from the preceding British Occupation.

The letter arrived in Colchester on April 26.

There is an additional stamped marking on the cover: P. B. C.
Thanks to Richard F. and the editing by Paul, I can let you know that P. B. C. means 'Passed By Censor.'