Stefan Heijtz Saint Helena: The First Post Office 1815-21: Packet Mail, double rate entire headed "St. Helena 23rd May 1816" from the 'Dunlop' correspondence, written by Lt. George Dunlop to his father in Scotland, showing crowned "INDIA PACKET LETTER/22JY22/1816/G.P.O./LONDON", boxed "Addl./1/2" and Glasgow transit datestamp, rated "9/4" at twice 3s.6d. packet rate, 1s.2d. inland rate and 1/2d. cross-border toll. A most interesting letter reporting that "Napoleon is quite well and to all appearance bears his fate and exile very well. He has everything he can wish for (that money will provide) except his liberty". Surgeon George Dunlop had arrived with the 2nd Battalion of 66th Foot Regiment in Saint Helena in 1816 as part of the guard for Napoleon and left the island in Sept. 1819. The packet service had been introduced on July 11 1815 as a fast, relatively secure, but also expensive means of communication with Britain. The Packet service was suspended on 12 July 1819. Ex Art Groten and George Montrose. Photo. (Image1)

Stefan Heijtz Saint Helena: The First Post Office 1815-21: 1819, outer sheet of double rate ship letter to London endorsed "St. Helena - 17th June 1819", showing framed "SHIP LETTER/DEAL" and charged "2/8" representing double the 8d. ship rate to England and 8d. inland rate from Deal to London. Ex Art Groten and George Montrose. Photo. (Image1)

Stefan Heijtz Saint Helena: The First Post Office 1815-21: Inland official mail, letter with red wax seal carried by messenger headed "St. Helena 27th August 1819" and addressed "On His Majestys Service/To/Dr. Verling/Longwood" and endorsed from "G. Nicholls/Dy. Judge Advocate". The letter formally requests Verling's attendance at the court martial on H.M.S. "Conqueror" of surgeon John Stokoe (1775-1852) who had attended Napoleon on five occasions between Jan. 17 and Jan. 21 1819, diagnosing a chronic infection of the liver. Stokoe had refused the instructions of Governor Sir Hudson Lowe to spy on the former emperor and was accused of several breaches of conduct in dealing with the French party. As a result of the court martial Stokoe was dismissed from the Navy having been convicted, among other charges, of having communicated to Napoleon that he heard from Napoleon's former doctor, Barry O'Meara (earlier dismissed by Lowe) that the Governor had encouraged O'Meara to "put an end to the existence of General Bonaparte.". Capt. George Nicholls (1781-1865) of the 66th Regiment, a veteran of the Peninsular War, served as Orderly Officer at Longwood from Sept. 5 1818 to to Feb. 9 1820 as well as fulfilling the role of Deputy Judge Advocate. Dr. James Roche Verling (1787-1858), a fellow veteran, had sailed to the island as a fellow passenger in the "Northumberland" with Napoleon and resided at Longwood from Aug. 1818 to provide medical assistance if required. However Napoleon, enraged at Stokoe's treatment, refused the future services of any British doctor until Apr. 1821, a few weeks before his death. The competence of the Corsican doctor, Fran̤ois Antommarchi, who had been engaged in the meantime, was regularly questioned, not least by Napoleon himself. Photo. (Image1)