Thomas Cook & Son Message Scheme

No. 1 - Prague, Bohemia and Moravia to Ottawa, Canada

Dated 21 May, 1940, this cover travelled to Frankfurt, Germany where it was examined by an unidentified German Army Censor and forwarded to Lisbon, Portugal for delivery by Air Mail, to New York City. It was then forwarded to Ottawa for examination by Censor #28. This Ambulance cover was then discarded and the contents forwarded to its final destination in Canada.

Upon her entry into WWII, Canada took steps to initiate an undercover mail service between it and Axis controlled countries. By 24 November, 1939 an agreement had been signed with Thomas Cook & Son of Toronto to carry out this service. A mailing address was set up in the then neutral USA to which mail from Axis Countries could be addressed and from there, forwarded to Canada. This address, Box 252, Grand Central Station Annex Post Office, New York, NY~ USA, was closed when the USA entered WWII.