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You are here: Home / Provisional Postmarks / Luokė 1919-1920

Luokė 1919-1920

February 13, 2010 By Vytautas Doniela

In WWI, when the German push into Žemaitija and Courland started on April 27, 1915, the township of Luokė (Lukniki) was passed through by reco troops of 12th res. brig. (6. Reserve-Division) on April 29. In czarist times Luokė received a post office (Lukniki) ca. 1900, but no such facility was established during the German occupation, the nearest civilian Ob.-Ost post office being at Telšiai (Telsze).

 When the Red Army followed the retreating German army at the end of 1918, on the way into Lithuania it collected some locally formed units. One such grouping of about regiment size was formed at Šiauliai, hence known as the Šiaulių or Žemaičių pulkas, which kept moving further on. Advancing south-west, on February 26 it collided at Luokė with a unit of German Grenzschutz Ost, Detachement Schlenther, and suffered a very severe defeat. This put a stop to Bolshevik penetration and, increasingly, Žemaitija was coming under control of the central government in Kaunas.

 The opening of the Lithuanian post office at Luokė was entrusted to a member of local self-government (Kuršėnų Apskričio Tarybos narys). The first postmaster (įgaliotinis), as from April 20, 1919, was Aleksandras Jankauskis – Jankus who, however, passed away on October 29 of the following year and was temporarily replaced by Aleksandras Vaupšas from Mažeikiai P.O. on November 1, 1920. The latter was transferred to Raseiniai and replaced by Kazys Užumeckas on December 1, 1920.

 There is no evidence of Luokė having been supplied with either Vilnius or Kaunas Issues. The earliest stamps noted come from Fourth Berlin Issue. When it opened, Luokė had no formal postmarker of its own and cancelled stamps by writing on them in ink “Luokės Pašto Skyrius” or just “Luokė”. Some months later it was supplied with a registration cachet which it also used for cancelling.

Luoke 1919 MS cancel

Lithuania 1919 Luoke provisional MS cancel

A regular calendar-type circular postmarker was received in the early months of 1920.

Lithuania 1920 registered cover

Known provisional cancellations:

Manuscript notation “Luokės Pašto Skyrius” or “Luokė”:
13 V 19 pair Berlin IV 15  [reported in Phillit 39]
11 I 20 single Berlin IV 75 [colln. Liesis]
5 I 20 letter to USA Berlin IV 15 x4 [colln. Lapas]

Cancelling by use of registration cachet in violet ink:
No date, single Berlin IV 15 [colln. Doniela]

Filed Under: Provisional Postmarks Tagged With: Luoke, Postal History

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