Lot 2258

1915 (October 25), WWI “Survivor Mail” from the sinking of HMS India, Hamar (Norway) to England, envelope posted by an interned survivor of the Royal Navy auxiliary cruiser India, torpedoed off the Norwegian coast on 8 August 1915 by a German submarine, postmarked by clear Hamar c.d.s., front bearing large red Norwegian censor label “Passerer” at upper right and pink British “Opened by Censor” tape across the top and onto the reverse, with London machine arrival (2 Nov) also on face, addressed to Brighton, Sussex, condition worn and rough as expected for wreck correspondence but intact and legible, a remarkable cover; of the India’s complement, 22 officers and 119 men were saved, though eleven later succumbed to exposure - their mail from internment is very scarc.

Note: this cover has at times been described as “HMS E13 wreck mail.” The E13 incident (19 Aug 1915) occurred in neutral Danish waters off Saltholm, with survivors interned by Denmark; contemporary mail from that episode bears Danish postal/censor markings. By contrast, the present item shows Norwegian postal and censor treatment (Hamar c.d.s. and Passerer label), firmly placing it as HMS India survivor mail.