Francis Younghusband and his Tibet Expeditions Abhay Tiku, PSoD
The Man
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Lieutenant Colonel Sir Francis Edward Younghusband, KCSI, KCIE (31 May 1863 – 31 July 1942 in Dorset[1]) was a British Army officer, explorer, and spiritual writer
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He is remembered for his travels in the Far East and Central Asia; especially the 1904 British expedition to Tibet, which he led, during which a massacre of Tibetans occurred and for his writings on Asia and foreign policy
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Younghusband held positions including British commissioner to Tibet and President of the Royal Geographical Society
The Tibet Expedition‡
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In 1903-1904, under orders from Curzon, Younghusband, as head of the Tibet Frontier Commission jointly with John Claude White, the Political Officer for Sikkim, led the British expedition to Tibet, whose putative aim was to settle disputes over the Sikkim-Tibet border
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The expedition controversially became (by exceeding instructions from London) a de facto invasion of Tibet
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About one hundred miles inside Tibet a confrontation outside the hamlet of Guru led to the massacre by the expedition of 600-700 Tibetan militia, largely monks. Some estimates of Tibetan casualties are far higher; including other conflicts, more than five thousand Tibetans may have been killed, against British casualties of five ‡An account of how the expedition came to be provided in the attached article
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Postage stamps & Postal history of Tibet
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The first adhesive stamps issued for use in Tibet were typewritten overprints on Indian postage stamps through the 1903 period, during which the Tibetan Frontier Commission, led by Sir Francis Younghusband, arrived in Khamba Jong
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on July 7, 1903 Soon after, as no progress was made in diplomatically settling issues of the Tibetan border with Sikkim, this became a military expedition
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One result of the treaty signed September 7, 1904 was the establishment of Indian Postal Agencies at Gartok, in Western Tibet, and Gyantse, Pharijong and Yatung, along the Indian trade route to Lhasa
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Chinese forces occupied Tibet in 1909, when the Dalai Lama fled into Sikkim and India. However, there were Chinese communities in Tibet well before this, as shown by a registered letter from Wen Tsung-yao at Lhasa, January 9, 1909. Thereafter, Chinese stamps and special Chinese date stamps were used at Chabdo, Gyantse, Lhasa, Pharijong, Shigatse and Yatung. Postal communications of this period are scarce and eagerly sought after by both Chinese and Tibetan specialists
1903
July 7, 1903
Sep 7, 1903
Postage stamps & Postal history of Tibet
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1904 Younghusband Expedition. A fine group of six stamps including strip of three plus a single King Edward VII India 1 anna on piece. Queen Victoria 3p gray and King Edward VII 4a, all with "Lahssa 1904" dated cancels, F-VF.
Postage stamps & Postal history of Tibet
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1904 Younghusband Expedition Cancels, five different stamps comprising three QV 3p slate and two KE VII ½a green, all cancelled "Lahssa 3 Au 04 - 22 SE 04" cancellations (Hellrigl B42). One QV value and both KE VII values on pieces
Postage stamps & Postal history of Tibet
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1903 Frontier Commission correspondence. Indian postal card from Calcutta (Sept 18) addressed to Tibetan commission in Kamba-Jong, where the first British-Indian Post Office was opened in Tibet. The Frontier Commission was sent to Tibet to negotiate
Postage stamps & Postal history of Tibet
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1904 (Sept) Younghusband Expedition cover (sent by a member of the medical staff - "Indian Medical Service" crest on back flap), franked with Indian 1/2a pair tied by faint Lahassa cancel (appears to be Sept 16, Hellrigl B42), Scotland receiving cds
Postage stamps & Postal history of Tibet
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1904 (Oct 6) Younghusband Expedition Return from Lhasa. A rare PPC showing Darjeeling Coolies from the Younghusband Expedition franked with QV 3p gray tied indistinct 'F.P.O. No. 32' (Type I, Waterfall #25, Hellrigl B35) cancel. Hellrigl states only 5-9 covers known dated 6 OC 04, the latest known usage of this cancel. The Lhasa column returned to Gyantse Oct 5 and left on the morning of Oct 6 for the Indian frontier. It is believed by Flack and other experts that this Field P.O. was opened the morning of Oct 6 for the last time. This card went to Chumbi where it received the 'Field P.O. No. 26' (Type I, Waterfall #20, Hellrigl B33) cancel dated 12 OC 04. Card went onward to Lebong, a military camp near Darjeeling with Lebong receiver on address side.
Bibliography
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The Postal History of Tibet, 1966, A C Waterfall
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Sikkim-Tibet 1903-1908, Brig. Diljit Singh Virk
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Encyclopedia of British Empire Postage Stamps, v. III, Robson Lowe, 1951
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The Postal markings of Tibet, Wolfgang Hellrigl, 1996
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The Postage stamps and postal history of Tibet, Haverbeck, Harrison D.S., 1952, 1958