Letters from family members back home were one of the few things that saved soldiers’ minds during both World Wars.
The logistical task of moving letters hundreds of thousand of miles away from danger areas back to safe places, such as the UK or the US, was costly and complicated.
The historian Mark Felton has now revealed the story of how British experts created a new system for sending and receiving letters in 1941.
The ‘Airgraph’ process – which was adopted in the form of ‘V-Mail’ by the Americans in 1942 – involved the sender writing a letter on a special form which was then collected and photographed.
Rolls of film containing the letter images were then sent to the front before being printed out, put into envelopes and then given to soldiers – who could make use of the same system to reply to communications.
V-Mail is now more well-known than Airgraph because V-Mail was widely used.
Although it used to require 37 mail bags for 150,000 single-page letters weighing 2,575lbs each, V-Mail could reduce the number of required mail bags by allowing one to carry 45 lb.
According to Dr Felton, the Youtube video on this subject shows that “it was much faster than normal mail” because huge quantities of letters could fly on planes on rolls film. Communication was therefore much easier and more efficient. Morale was also increased.
The Airgraph system was first introduced in April 1941 after it was developed by British Imperial Airways – which became today’s British Airways – in the 1930s, working with photography firm Kodak and US airline Pan Am. Above: An Airgraph letter
This revolutionary system revolutionized the way soldiers received and sent letters during the Second World War. Airgraph was a process where the sender wrote a letter using a form that could be collected and then photographed. The film rolls containing the images of the letters were sent to the front. They were printed and put in envelopes before being given to soldiers. Pictured: A worker is seen tending to the printed letters (left), and a camera used to take photographs of them (right).
The Airgraph system was first introduced in April 1941 after it was developed by British Imperial Airways – which became today’s British Airways – in the 1930s, working with photography firm Kodak and US airline Pan Am.
The system was launched for the first time in 1999, when it sent out 70,000 letters. One of them came from Queen Elizabeth, King George V’s wife.
Her letter was addressed to General Sir Claud Auchinleck (Commander-in-Chief) of Britain’s troops in the Middle East.
The August 1941 letter contained the following: “In this first Airgraph message to the Middle East I want to let you know, in behalf all women at home how continuously all our thoughts are turned to all under your command.
“I understand how difficult it is to separate a wife and husband or a mother and a son. But I can assure the people whose accomplishments have filled us with pride, and I know that there are more.”
Many of them are from Dominions and I am sending a message of gratitude to them. They have earned the respect of the entire world for their bravery. I send my best wishes to all to a quick victory, and safe return home to those who love them.
‘I am, yours sincerely, Elizabeth R.’
The Daily Mail reported on the introduction of the system – the first of its kind in the world – in April 1941.
‘The secret of this sweeping change in the speed and cost of better transmission is the reduction of weight – by photography.
The biggest problem with air freight is its weight. Four thousand five hundred normal air mail letters weigh one and a half hundredweight – which is why, in these times, they have to travel some of the way by sea.
‘The same number of airgraph ‘letters’ will weigh – just one pound.’
Then they added, “Of course the original that you wrote or the soldier friend who wrote it will not be able to make the trip. A tiny, 1in-wide negative measuring 1in will accompany thousands of other negatives on the plane.
“On arrival this will have been printed, and the letter received will in effect be a photostatic duplicate of the original.
The censorship system meant that letters had been read prior to reaching their destination. This was why they assured readers privacy was not an issue.
Britons who wanted this service could get an Airgraph form at their local post office. After the letter was printed, they would write it on the paper. The film was then mailed.
The Daily Mail report continued: ‘The letter will be delivered in the usual way, and the original – after being kept long enough to make sure of delivery – will be destroyed by the Post Office authorities.
British troops in the Middle East were first to use the service, so special equipment was needed along with a Kodak expert.
The soldiers were then able to reply in the same manner.
Later, the Airgraph service was extended to Canada and East Africa.
In his video, Dr Felton stated that the sheer volume of mail and parcels going overseas to unit commanders was staggering and necessitated an immense logistics organization capable of moving more munitions and vehicles as well as supplies and men.
Mail was a key part of military life because it is all that connects soldiers at the front to their loved ones back home.
The V-Mail system – which was short for ‘Victory Mail’ – was used between 1942 and 1945. More than 1billion letters were transmitted in this manner. V-Mail, although not compulsory for all purposes, was highly encouraged because it allowed you to save shipping time and money.
The posters like the ones above encourage US citizens to use VMail to communicate their feelings to loved ones
V-Mail is now more well-known than Airgraph because V-Mail was widely used. Above: A V-Mail envelope
Auxiliary Territorial Service women (ATS) are seen helping to maintain the Airgraph machine.
The stamping of the Airgraph forms is done by postal workers. Airgraph was eventually extended to Canada East Africa Burma India South Africa Australia Australia New Zealand Ceylon, South Africa and South Africa.
ATS ‘Microgirls’ are seen on the machine printing the letters. Britons who wanted to utilize the service required a special Airgraph Form at their local post office.
The V-Mail process is demonstrated in action by a US Newsreel that was shot during World War 2.
Individual letters in print rolls were seen by workers on the production line.
Before being printed, the film rolls were put on rolls of paper. The individual letters were cut from rolls of paper.
V-Mail was a more extensive process than Airgraph. The National WWII Museum, New Orleans estimates that 2.5 billion letters were sent through the Army Postal Service between 1945 and 1945. An additional 8 million went through Navy Post Offices.
“Morale was severely eroded by mail supply interruptions due to combat actions, or supply problems often caused bad weather events.
“The military was always looking at how to reduce the bulk of mail and make delivery more efficient and faster.
V-Mail was a more extensive process than Airgraph.
According to New Orleans’ National WWII Museum, 2.25 billion letters passed through the Army Postal Service during 1945. Another 8 million were processed by the Navy Postal Service.
It took a tremendous amount of effort and logistics to manage this large volume of posts.
The V-Mail system – which was short for ‘Victory Mail’ – was used between 1942 and 1945.
The Daily Mail reported the introduction of the system – the first of its kind in the world – in April 1941
Dr Felton explained, in his video, how mail remains ‘absolutely crucial’ to military lives because it is what connects soldiers to their loved ones and families back home
This method sent more than 1billion messages. V-Mail wasn’t made mandatory, but was encouraged because it helped to save shipping time and money.
One roll of film could hold 1,600 letters. The film was shot at 40 frames per second by the machine.
Another advantage is that lost letters are far less likely to be sent this way.
But there were some limitations. There were a few drawbacks. The photo prints were also ¼ the size of an original letter, meaning that sometimes the print was too small to read.