Grinkiškis (Grynkishki) is a township in central Lithuania, 10 km south-west of Baisogala and so in the vicinity of the important railway line linking Liepaja and Vilnius. In World War One, at the start of the German push into Žemaitija and Courland, Grinkiškis was visited by reco troops of 3. Kavallerie-Division on May 8, 1915 during the first battle of Šiauliai and secured during the second battle of Šiauliai by Division Beckmann on 22 July.
When the German army retreated from Russia at the end of 1918, Grinkiškis found itself in a no-man’s land between the German border troops of Generalkommando 52 and the probing units of the Red Army. In the second half of 1919, Grinkiškis was for some time in a zone claimed by the “bermontininkai” but despite tensions escaped serious military clashes.
Grinkiškis appears to have had no post office in czarist times (this needs checking !). A Lithuanian post office was opened in 1921, and the name of its first postmaster is not known.
For stamps, Grinkiškis was supplied with values from Fourth Berlin Issue, followed by the Sėjėjas Issue etc. Cancelling at first was done by handwriting, indicating place and date.
Later, cancelling was improved by acquiring a one-line cachet in capital letters “GRINKISKIs” notable for a lower-case “s” at the end of the place-name.
A standard calendar-type postmarker seems to have been provided in 1922, but even as late as 1923 registration was effected entirely in manuscript within a hand-drawn oblong box.
Known provisional markings:
Cancelling in manuscript:
Date unclear single, Sėjėjas 50 [colln. Doniela]Cancelling by means of one-liner cachet:
Date unclear single, Sėjėjas 50 [colln. Doniela]Registration entirely in manuscript:
543 22. V. 23 reg. cover to USA, 10c/1a x 2, 1 Lt/100A [colln. Bubnys]