Australia - War and recovery: 1939-1957.
Urgent delivery form: AW-DU-11.

  
General characteristics:

Heading and notes: Form number T.G. 42A.
Heading is URGENT TELEGRAM.
Advertising box for MONEY ORDER TELEGRAM in the top left corner.
Message area: Blank.
Reverse side: URGENT TELEGRAM in red.
Colours (text & form): Red on cream.
Size of form overall: 99 (to 103) × 188 (to 191) mm.
Distinctive characteristics of this form:

 Although it is thought that another Urgent Rate delivery form was printed in 1958 with the Australian Post Office heading, such a form has not been cited. Hence this format is the last of the delivery forms printed in Australia for Urgent Rate telegrams. URGENT labels were then affixed to ordinary rate forms. Urgent rate transmission forms were, however, printed until 1972.

AW-DU-11a
Printed in September 1942.

Interesting reflection on how an Army wife was able to see her husband during the war.

 AW-DU-11A.

Sydney to Leichardt
27 September 1944.

Characteristics:

  • sans serif letters for URGENT TELEGRAM heading are 5 mm high
  • serif letters for words on reverse are 7 mm high, thin and extend for 146 mm.
AW-DU-11a_rev AW-DU-11A (reverse side).

Top of reverse side of above form showing 7 mm high thin serif letters.

 
AW-DU-11B
Printed in April 1943.		 AW-DU-11Ba.

Allawah to Telegraph Office Rockdale, NSW
6 May 1944.

Characteristics:

  • font is all capital letters except for "Office Date Stamp";
  • sans serif letters for URGENT TELEGRAM heading are 6 mm high;
  • schedule number printed in either very small font or using an M.P. code;
  • sans serif letters for words on reverse are 8 mm high and extend for 142 mm.
AW-DU-11B rev AW-DU-11B (reverse side).

Top of reverse side of above form showing 8 mm high thin sans serif letters.
AW-DU-11Bb
Printed July 1946.		 AW-DU-11Bb.

Mandurama to Chief Telegraph Office, Sydney
31 January 1948.

Characteristics:

  • all characteristics are the same as for DU-11Ba above but the image shows the MP schedule number which is very scarce;
AB-DU-11C Kew
Printed in December 1943.		 AW-DU-11C.

Melbourne to Kew, Vic.
14 August 1944.

Characteristics:

  • sans serif letters for URGENT TELEGRAM heading are 7 mm high;
  • sans serif letters for words on reverse are
    7 mm high and extend for
    131 mm.
AB-DU-6D

Delivery window envelope
(AW-EU-6D) for the Kew delivery form above.

Has a straight Line Kew hand stamp.

Printed in September 1947.		 AW-DU-11D.

Lainceston to Windmill Hill
31 October 1949.

Characteristics:

  • serif letters for URGENT TELEGRAM are 6 mm high;
  • sans serif letters on reverse side are 7 mm high and span
    125 mm.

 

Details of use and rarity.

Form
sub-number		 Schedule number Earliest recorded date Rarity rating
DU-11A Sch. C. 3365 - 9/1942. 2 June 1943 at CTO Melbourne, Vic. NC
DU-11Ba SCH. C. 4121 - 4/1943. 6 May 1944 at Rockdale, NSW. C
DU-11Bb Sch. C5059 - 7/1946 -
M.P.-35419-S.		 6 January 1949 at Coorambong, NSW. Scarce unused and rare used especially if tied to a delivery envelope.
  Sch. C5059 - 7/46 -
M.P.-35606-S.		 31 January 1948 at CTO, Sydney.
  Sch. C 5059-7/47 - M.P. 54834S. 1 July 1949 at CTO Melbourne.
DU-11C Sch. C. 4325 - 12/1943. 14 August 1944 at Kew, Vic. Common unused but rare used especially if tied to a delivery envelope.
  Sch. C. 4495 - 8/1944.  
  Sch. C. 4758 - 7/1945. 19 January 1949 at CTO Melbourne.
  Sch. C. 5724 - 7/1948 15 December 1949 at One Mile, Qld.
(Phoenix Auctions, Sale 12, Lot 759).
DU-11D Sch. C. 5449 - 9/1947. 18 February 1950 at Coorambong, NSW