1929 Emergency rail strike air mail. Cover from Victoria Falls (Mar 25) to USA franked 1d strip of three, flown to Bulawayo by Aircraft Operating Co. emergency flight piloted by Capt J.D Mail during the 10 day Rhodesia Railways strike, with three enclosed letters written on Victoria Falls Hotel notepaper which include: March 16th - "Last night the rail road hands struck, so waiting to see how soon we can get a train"; March 20th - "We are held up here by a rail strike. Mrs Lucas is leaving this morning by air plane for Bulawayo, from there the trains run south"; and March 25th - "We are still here due to the strike, the only people who have gotten away went in a little air plane, open & no bags at all. This mail leaves by the plane at 2pm, our only communication with the outside world". Extremely rare emergency air mail from Southern Rhodesia, exceptional with the original letter confirming the flight. Photo on Page 44. (Image1)

1931 Statement of air mail correspondence handled by the exchange office at Blantyre for the week ending 8th March 1931, showing 1,715 letters posted to Africa and Australasia, 123 to Asia, 1,754 to Europe and 47 to the Americas, with 3,639 letters received; 1932 Northern Rhodesia postal notice announcing the new weekly England - South Africa service calling at Broken Hill; 1933 R.A.N.A letter advising that the company does not issue air mail labels or operate an air mail service; and R.A.N.A leaflet signed by George I. Thompson, Operations Manager and Chief Pilot, 1933-37. (4).

1937 A.E Clouston & Mrs Kirby Green London - Cape Town Record Breaking Flight. Cover to "C.L Scott, Wireless Station, Broken Hill" bearing Northern Rhodesia Coronation 11/2d pair tied by a Cape Town machine (Nov 17) but then ringed as invalid, handstamped "T/3d" with a 3d postage due stamp cancelled at Broken Hill (Nov 20), endorsed "Carried by Flying Officer Clouston and Mrs Kirby Green from Broken Hill to Cape Town during their record breaking flight, November 1937" and signed "A.E Clouston, A. Bargain". With an article illustrating this cover and describing its interesting history - Laurie Scott worked at Broken Hill Airport where he talked down Clouston's aircraft which was on its record breaking flight to Cape Town; he prepared four covers which he asked Clouston to carry for him and post upon arrival, which Clouston agreed to do if Scott bought his breakfast the following morning. Scott replied "It's a bargain" to this proposition, and Clouston duly carried and posted the letters, adding "A Bargain" below his signature, the covers being charged as unpaid as Scott had stamped them in Northern Rhodesia, forgetting Northern Rhodesia stamps would be invalid when posted at Cape Town. Very rare, just four carried, only this cover having the stamps actually cancelled in Cape Town. (See lots 189, 230). Photo on Page 44. (Image1)

1938 (Dec 30) Cover from Johannesburg to Mongu-Lealui, backstamped at Lusaka (Jan 2) and Mongu-Lealui (Jan 3), carried on the joint R.A.N.A / S.A.A Johannesburg to Lusaka service and then on the first flight of the R.A.N.A Barotseland service from Lusaka, signed by the pilot H.R Kirkman. Fine and scarce, just seven covers from South Africa carried on this first flight. Photo on Page 44. (Image1)

Corsair Crash. 1939 (Mar 14) Cover from Blantyre to Gold Coast bearing Nyasaland 1d pair + 2d, handstamped "Damaged by Water when the / Imperial Airways Aircraft forced / landed near Juba, Sudan". Redirected from Koforidua to Tafo, backstamped at Khartoum (Mar 16), Koforidua and Tafo. The "Corsair" was bound from Durban to G.B but got lost and made a forced landing on the River Dungu in Belgian Congo, hit a rock and sank. One of the rarest of all Imperial Airways crashes, probably unique from Nyasaland. An example of this cachet on a cover from Northern Rhodesia sold in our May 2012 auction for £3,200. Photo on Page 44. (Image1)