Page 2 - Sutclifffe-APD_USArmy

U. S. ARMY CENSORSHIP
HA NDSTAMPS AND POSTMAR}(S.

This section is treated in a similar manner to that

relating to the U. S. Navy and Marine Corps Censorship
Handstamps and 'Postmarks, and because o:f the inter-relaiionship
of some of the Army Post Office postmark daters with the
censorship handstamps, the postmarks have been included at

the end of the section.
The American Army like 1he U.S. Navy also made use o~

civilian contractors and £rom the 1st ~uly, 1941, work had
started on ihe American Army base in ~amaica. This base
consisted of two complexes, an air ~ield which was known as

Vernham Field and an Army Camp known as Fort Si~onda, and
both were situate about five miles south of Four Paths in

Clarendon Parish.
The civilian contraciors, like the civilian Naval
contractors, had a Military censor7 Captain C. M. Baer,

seconded to them and they were supervised by ~erican Army
Engineers. These Engineers were issued with the general
type of Unit censor handstamp, M-USAC 4, and it appears that

this handstamp would be applied a~ Unit level at Fort Simonds
and the mail passed to ~he censor o£ficer ai ihe Head Office
or Transporiation Office situ~te a~ 28 North Street, Kingston.

For most of the war the Army mail was transmitted from
~his Transportation Of£ice to the New York Post Office, and

it received the censor's handstamp, M-USAC l or M-USNC 2 .
This office also used censor handstamp M-USNC ;, which may
have been applied only to mail direct £rom the Transportation

Office, although there are no doubt excep~ions for the use
o£ these handstamps.

In November, 1941, a U.S. Army Post Office was set up
at the base, presumably in readiness £or "Vorce Tuna", and
the first Post Office Unit was A.P.O. 804, which employed