Catalog
5 Cents Thika Camp
| Issuer | P.O.W. Camp No. 5, Thika (D.A.P.S.S.) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1941 |
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| Reference(s) | Camb#5464 |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 5 CENTS P.O.W. CAMP No. 5 THIKA D.A.P.S.S. - 1941 |
| Reverse description | Plain cream paper, unprinted, showing foxing and age toning consistent with wartime stock. No text, vignette, or overprint of any kind is present. |
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| Comments |
The D.A.P.S.S. — Directorate of Army Postal Services and Supplies — operated a network of prisoner-of-war camp scrip across East Africa during the Second World War, with Thika Camp No. 5 holding primarily Italian prisoners captured during the East African Campaign of 1940–41. Camp scrip of this kind was issued to prevent POWs from accumulating currency usable outside the wire, a requirement under Geneva Convention provisions governing prisoner canteen privileges.
Thika issues are among the scarcer East African POW denominations. The camp itself was a major internment site, but survival rates for low-denomination scrip are poor — small values circulated hardest and were rarely preserved.