American military personnel during the Second World War had the free franchise for surface mail, and paid only the domestic 6¢ rate for airmail, but telegrams from the European Theater to the folks back home cost considerably more. As areas and countries were liberated and radio and cable (?) service reestablished, it become possible for GIs to send telegrams containing up to three short, numerically-coded messages (i.e., "I am well, I've been promoted, I need money, thanks for the letters, I love you, Merry Christmas," etc.). These Expeditionary Force Message (E.F.M.) telegrams were locally printed in various formats on poor quality, generally yellowish paper, and in English. For the most part, they also incorporated the phrases "République Française / Postes, Télégraphes, Téléphones" near or at the top (Figure 1), for they were being transmitted via the PTT auspices of the Free French and the later French Provisional Government. The front page of our July 2001 issue shows an unusual and scarcer type, without any French headings, and with space in the upper left for the British censor marking as well as additional space for a U.S. censor.

The front page of our July 2001 issue shows an unusual and scarcer type, without any French headings, and with space in the upper left for the British censor marking as well as additional space for a U.S. censor.

E.F.M.s were first used in liberated Algeria in the spring of 1943, costing the sender 30 francs. These are exceedingly scarce and I can't recall ever having seen any examples. A 30F stamp was fabricated by overprinting existing horizontal, large-format Algerian stamps with E.F.M. / 30 frs (Figure 2). It is possible that the Algerian formules may also have been used by British Commonwealth and Free French troops.

In France after D-Day, the tariff was reduced to 25 francs, for which no French stamp existed. As a result, the 15F Château de Chenonceaux was reengraved and converted into the 25F greyish black version that was printed specifically for E.F.M. use during October and November 1944. In theory, other French stamps, totaling 25 francs in face value, could also have served. The most frequently seen cancellations on the 25F Chenonceaux are U.S. APO date stamps and bar killers (Figure 3 and cover illustration) and mute killers of various forms (Figures 1 and 4), in black, violet or red. Off-cover stamps with these U.S. markings are still relatively common, for PTT personnel usually removed them for their own purposes or for sale to collectors once the telegrams had been sent. Conversely, the stamped and canceled forms themselves are very scarce and much sought after by American and French collectors.

Even scarcer than 25F Chenonceaux formules are the later ones bearing a large-format, engraved 25F Marianne de Gandon (Figure 5). These stamps were also at first printed specifically for E.F.M.s, at intervals between April 1945 and February 1946. Again, it's worth reminding the reader that other stamps, with a cumulative value of 25 francs, may also have been used.

E.F.M.s were sent, not only from Algeria and France but also from other liberated areas of western and central Europe and from occupied areas of Germany. Some bear U.S. censor markings, conceivably also British, French or other censor markings, but many do not.

E.F.M.s transmitted from Paris (the most frequently seen point of origin) usually bear an additional date stamp alongside (but not on the stamp) reading CENTRAL-RADIO / PARIS (other Paris date stamps exist as well) that is dated a few days later than the U.S. APO date stamps. This suggests that (1) they were brought from U.S. bases to the appropriate telegraphic bureau at intervals, or (2) that there was a bottleneck either at the bases or at the PTT facilities, or (3) that such personal telegrams had a low priority compared to official dispatches, or any combination of these factors. After all, "there's a war on!"

There should be a lot more to the story than this simple, brief account of a unique cooperative agreement between the U.S. and the French Provisional Government. I'll be looking forward to obtaining additional information--and corrections of any statements made--from our readers.

Bibliography

Col. Deloste, Histoire Postale et Militaire de la Deuxième Guerre Mondiale; Editions de 1'Echangiste Universel, Bischwiller, 1969.

Didier Michaud, "Le 25F Château de Chenonceaux raconte son extraordinaire épopée"; Timbrologie N° 114, June 1994.

J-L. Trassaert, 'Chenonceaux: un timbre pour l'Amérique"; Le Monde des Philatélistes, N° 472, March 1993.

[The E.F.M. forms shown here were copied from the Philatel 196th (December 2000) auction catalogue]