Corner cover printed ‘Croix Rouge Hellénique, Salonique’ addressed to Mrs. Despina Lachovari, a Greek from the Hellenic community in Cairo, serving the Hellenic Red Cross at the 1st Military Hospital in town.
[The establishment of the Greek 'National Defense' Provisional Government in Thessaloniki on September 26, 1916 o.s., caused also the distinction of the Hellenic Red Cross Section of Thessaloniki as a separate and independent Red Cross with power and authority extending to all areas in the country in its administration, followed by an official announcement to the ICRC, Geneva. On 17/2/1917, the 3rd Military Hospital commenced operating with the name of the HRC in the building of the Police Academy, although under military administration. Following the political reunion of the state in July 1917, the HRC administrations in Athens and Thessaloniki were merged.]
The item bears on reverse the ‘Thessaloniki Hellenic Red Cross Hospital’ [ΝΟΣΟΚΟΜΕΙΟΝ ΕΛΛ. ΕΡΥΘΡΟΥ ΣΤΑΥΡΟΥ ΘΕΣΣΑΛΟΝΙΚΗΣ] cachet in red, applied on cover’s flap.
Estimated it was dispatched between February 1917 (independent Hellenic Red Cross body) and July 1917 (return to unified nation-wide organization), while the 3rd Military Hospital operated in Thessaloniki using the ‘Red Cross Hospital’ title.
No postal or other markings or indications seen; probably delivered by hand.
Exceptional item in very good condition; see scans.