I love philatelic oddities like missent & re-directed mail handstamps. Letters sometimes wander off to the wrong address, even with modern sorting systems. And, every once in awhile, they make an epic journey.

Missent to Sri Lanka

This cover, my latest acquisition, is a beautiful example of mail deliver gone very wrong.  

By way of cover mail that went the long way around

The journey from Swedesboro,  New Jersey, USA to Toronto, Ontario, Canada is a well travelled, straightforward 800 km, (500 miles) trip … normally.

New Jersey to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, about 800 km,

This cover took the scenic route to Toronto, by way of Sri Lanka, and in the process racked up some serious travel miles. 

The long way

From Swedesboro, it hopped a flight to Sri Lanka, 14,157 km (8796 miles) in the wrong direction. It was sent back to the US, after another 14,157 km trip, acquiring a nice souvenir mark “Missent to Sri Lanka” somewhere in its travels.  I’m not sure which postal authority stamped it, but after doing a bit of checking, I suspect it was the USPS, not Sri Lanka.  From there, it was finally sent north to Canada and at last to a friend’s office.  The final part of the journey was the short trip from his office to my collection where it now has a place of honour.

Why does mail get lost or sent to the wrong address? There are a number of reasons, including an incorrect address, recipient moved, missing zip or postage code, insufficient postage or just plain mis-sorting. The curious thing about this envelope was the accompanying companion piece. A duplicate letter was sent at the same time, and it too arrived duly stamped “Missent to Sri Lanka”. Both letters, from the same place went on an identical round trip to Sri Lanka and arrived in Toronto at the same time.   

A nice bonus 1st class eagle

Missent or re-directed mail sometimes tells a fascinating story, if you are lucky enough to be able to trace it. Another example in my collection is from WW1. The next cover trailed after a Canadian soldier as he moved about post-war.

This took a long time arriving

A postal pirate removed the stamp, but the cover still tells an interesting story. The letter was sent to Sgt Norman Hall, a soldier in the Canadian Army who enlisted in 1914, embarked for Europe in 1915 and discharged spring of 1919. This letter was sent by his wife on March 23, 1919. By then, Hall was already on the move. The letter was sent to Hall’s original unit, the 27th Battalion in Seaforth, England. In early April, Hall was shipped to the 18th Regiment in Kinmel Park, Wales, a notorious place of discontent and anger as Canadian soldiers were left lingering in the UK after WW1 ended, and long after allied soldiers were sent home. 

After the Armistice of 11 November 1918 ended the fighting of the First World War, more than 250,000 Canadian troops awaited repatriation to Canada. Although some soldiers had been sent home by the end of the year, the majority were still in Europe in January 1919. By that time, the Canadian government had finalized plans for repatriation. Upon the recommendation of Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Currie, members of the Canadian Expeditionary Force in France were given two weeks’ leave in England to visit family and friends, after which they would reassemble for transport home. The rest would be housed in one of nine different camps in Britain, before travelling to Kinmel Park Camp in Wales, about 48 km from Liverpool. They would spend 7–10 days at Kinmel before boarding a ship at Liverpool for the journey home. Kinmel Park Riot | The Canadian Encyclopedia

According to records, Hall arrived in Kinmel the first week of April, and spent a month waiting for new orders. On April 30, 1919, he received news he was on the list to be shipped home. On May 2, 1919 he boarded the S.S. Cassandra, arriving back in Canada May 16, 1919 where he was demobbed and back in Winnipeg within two weeks. 

So, where was the letter in all that time? Still chasing after Sgt. Hall. By May 29, 1919, it was still in the hands of the Canadian Postal Corp and steadily making its way back across the Atlantic to Mr. Norman Hall  (formerly Sargent) of Norwood Grove, Winnipeg, Manitoba. 

The cover is battered, but tells a wonderful tale. And yes, the original letters from Sgt Hall’s wife and child were still in it when I bought it at auction almost 15 years ago.

Letters to Sgt Hall & his Active Service Pay Book

Misplaced, missent and dead letters are always great finds. Thanks Chris for the wonderful “Missent to Sri Lanka” gem. 

This article first appeared in the December 12, 2022 Newsletter. Subscribers get perks!  If you’d like to receive the free weekly newsletter, sign up now:

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