Sudan

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The first stamps of the Sudan were created by overprinting Egyptian stamps in 1897 for use at the Camp Post Office at Wadi Haifa, and at points south thereof, the overprint reading "SOUDAN" and repeated in Arabic characters.

The first post offices to be opened in Sudan were in 1867 at Saukin and Wadi Halfa; in 1873 at Dongala, Berber and Khartoum; and in 1877 at Sennar, Karkouk, Fazoglu, Elkedaref, El Obied, Al-Fasher and Fashod (now Kodok).

The Mahdist revolt, which began in 1881, resulted in all Egyptian post offices being closed by 1884. It culminated in the fall of Khartoum and the death of the British governor General Gordon (Gordon of Khartoum) in 1885. The Egyptians and British withdrew their forces from Sudan and the country was left with no postal service until the reconquest of Sudan began in 1896. When the campaign started in March 1896, postal service was made available to the troops but no stamps were used.

Until the issue of Sudan stamps in 1897 the available stamps were Egyptian stamps. The amount of mail was small and only a few stamps were used. Between March and July 1885 2½d and 5d British postage stamps were used in Suakin. Indian stamps are also known to have been used in the same area, postmarked Sawakin or Souakin, between 1884 and 1899.

The provisional stamps of 1897 On 1 March 1897, contemporary Egyptian postage stamps, overprinted SOUDAN in French and Arabic, were made available in the post offices. Value which appeared were 1, 2, 3 and 5 millieme and 1, 2, 5 and 10 piastre. The overprinting was done at the Imprimerie Nationale, Boulaq, Cario, Egypt.
The Camel Postman Stamps

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Camel Postman stamps replaced the overprinted issue in March 1898.

Designed by Captain Stanton, of the Oxford Light Infantry, depicting a camel rider, alleged to be a portrait of Slatin Pasha. The rider is carrying mail, and is armed with a rifle and two spears. Stanton was an officer in Kitchener’s Army during the campaign to recapture Khartoum.

The stamps were printed by Thos De La Rue & Co were issued.  This design continued to be used by Sudan for its definitive stamps until 1948. 

Air Mails

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The Gordon statue stamps of the 1930’s provide another area of study with changes to perforation, overprints and varieties as well as proofs, essays and colour trials. They were replaced in 1950 by a recess printed pictorial set.




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Military Post

These stamps were overprinted for use of army officials either with the words " OFFICIAL-ARMY", or "Army Service".




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Another interesting Sudanese military stamp design was used for the military telegraph service. Special stamps were issued for use on telegrams between 1898 and 1901. They depicted a contingent of the Sudan Camel Corps crossing the desert and passing a line of telegraph wires. The stamps were perforated centrally to facilitate use on the receipt portion of a telegraph form.

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Revenue Stamps

These include camel postage stamps overprinted “Passport” and specific issues for Stamp Duty, Amusement Tax, Medical Union Tax, Tobacco Tax, Judiciary and many other revenue purposes. Stamp duty tax stamps have also been used as postage stamps.

Snapdragon has some useful pages on classic stamps from Sudan:

• Sudan 1897-1922
• Sudan 1923-1928 (and officials)

Sudan Study Group

Includes edited excerpts from The Project Gutenberg e-Book of The Postage Stamp in War, by Fred. J. Melville