British Postal Agencies in Eastern Arabia postal stationery
Note: the numbering system used below is copyright © GBOS, and may not be used without permission.
This is a simplified listing. The only postal stationery overprinted for these offices was airletters, which were valid for use in all British-run post offices in the Gulf, including Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar. The "V" prefix relates to the common description of these "all agency" items as "Value only".
Air letters
VA1 King George VI. Purple air letter overprinted "6 annas". Late June 1952.
VA2 Queen Elizabeth. Red coronation air letter overprinted "6 ANNAS". The imprinted stamp is inscribed "2 JUNE 1953", the date of the coronation, instead of "sixpence". June 1953.
VA3 Queen Elizabeth. Red air letter, imprinted stamp reads "SIXPENCE" instead of date. 2-line instructions on the rear begin "If anything is enclosed...". January 1954.
VA4-6 as above but instructions on the rear changed to 3 lines beginning "An air letter should not contain...". 1955. The overprint is also significantly different.
VA7 Overprint "40 NP", decimal currency. 1957.
VA8-9 Rate reduced to 30 NP. 1 April 1959. The part of the airletter bearing the stamp and address lines is in the top right of the unfolded airletter.
VA10-11 as above but the part of the airletter bearing the stamp and address lines is in the bottom right of the unfolded airletter. This format was introduced after Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar stopped overprinting British airletters, so only affects these "value only" items.
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page last updated: 11 July 2006, 20 May 2012, 8 May 2013
gbos: GB Overprints Society