Catalog
8 Annas Clement Town; PoW Camps
| Issuer | Prisoners of War Camp, Clement Town |
|---|---|
| Year | 1941-1945 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Letterpress-printed in brown ink on cream paper, with a central ochre-yellow guilloche medallion enclosed within a scalloped inner border and surrounded by an intricate lace-pattern underprint extending across the full field. Denomination cartouches bearing "As. 8" are positioned at the left and right margins. A black overprint across the central guilloche carries the camp designation and denomination legends. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Plain, unprinted cream paper with no design elements, text, or decorative work of any kind. |
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| Comments |
Clement Town, near Dehra Dun in the United Himalayan foothills, held Italian prisoners of war captured primarily in the North African and East African campaigns. Internal camp currencies like this 8 Annas note functioned as scrip within the canteen system — a deliberate British policy to prevent POWs from accumulating usable currency that could aid escape attempts. The denomination in annas is worth noting: Indian monetary units applied directly to Italian captives reflects the administrative reach of British India rather than any metropolitan authority.
These camp issues were produced in small quantities and had no value outside the wire. Most were surrendered or destroyed at repatriation.