Motor Mail labels, mail per motorcycle?
In 2015-2017 I wrote a series of articles about the philatelic elements for the Collectors Association "De Ronde Venen". In episode 31 there was an article about Motor Mail:
The Dutch text below the Egyptian letter reads "The Egyptian letter is special as, next to the expresse delivery, part of the route has been travelled by motorcycle according to the extra Motor Mail label". As this text shows, I assumed that this letter had also been transported by motorbike. But was that actually the case?
During the First World War, the New Zealand brothers Norman and Gerald Nairn were sent to the Middle East to serve under Allenby of the British Army. Their father, Dr.Nairn, was one of the first to own an automobile in New Zealand, a Reo. Before the war, the brothers had dealerships for various motorcycle brands. For Harley-Davidson they were the sole agent for all of New Zealand.
After WWI ended, the brothers decided to stay in the Middle East. They started trading old army vehicles. Because this did not go as well as they had hoped, they tried in 1920 to get success with a taxi service between Beirut and Haifa. In addition to people, they also transported mail. The journey between these two cities was reduced from 3 days by camel to 1 day by car.
In 1923 the British consul in Damascus, Palmer, asked the brothers to investigate the possibility of crossing the Syrian desert by car to Baghdad. Iraq was a British Trust Territory under the League of Nations, and a faster journey would be of great benefit to British diplomats and staff.
The route from Damascus to Baghdad
In April 1923 the first of six test drives started. It lasted three days, covering a distance of 880 kilometers, including amongst others a Buick, an Oldsmobile and a Lancia. The official first trip Baghdad-Damascus-Haifa followed in October. Also now, besides people, mail was taken along. All documents had to be stamped "Overland Mail".
From Haifa the mail went by train to Port-Said, and from there by boat to Great Britain.
Before the start of the car service through the desert, the mail went by rail from Baghdad to Basra. From there by boat to the Arabian Peninsula and through the Suez Canal to Port-Said, and then to Great Britain. A journey of 30 days.
The Nairn brothers' new route took "only" 10 days.
At the end of 1923 Egypt decreed that all mail to Baghdad had to be labeled with a red "Motor Mail" label.
The labels, printed in sheets of 6 x 16, were made available free of charge. However, an extra fee had to be paid for this mail: 5 mil per 20 grams for letters to Damascus, and 15 mil per 20 grams for letters to Baghdad.
Brochure Overland Desert Mail service of the Nairn Transport Company
Nowhere in the available literature anything can be found about motorcycles that would have been used on this route, so the conclusion is justified that all mail bearing this label has been transported by car (bus), and therefore does not belong in our collection. Too bad, but on the other hand also a small relief. Because few of these letters have survived the years, high prices are charged.
A Nairn Transport Company convoy on its way through the desert
Where would this Canadian letter with the "Motor Mail" label come from? From Canada to Saginaw, Michigan in the USA. HOME CREATION?
Nico Helling
Sources amongst others:
 www.chalfont.eclipse.co.uk
www.fuchs-online.com
Reiner Fuchs' "Reiners overland mail Baghdad – Haifa"
Nairn Transport Company - Wikipedia
Bagage labels Nairn Transport Company
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