This is a most curious set, especially given the date of issue, for by then the events mentioned on the cards were almost ten years on. This has led a lot of collectors to imagine that it was to be one of, if not the first set issued after the Armistice, but then, for some reason, that honour went to the first series of "Do You Know", which appeared in September 1922. And it is also rather striking that after that there was no true military series until "Air Raid Precautions", which was issued in August 1938.
It was only overseas, and only in New Zealand, that military sets continued to appear in Wills` packets - the first of which was "V.C.`s" (issued in March 1926), "Warships" and "Aeroplanes" (both June 1926), a reissue of John Player`s "Regimental Standards and Cap Badges" (March 1928), and then our set in August of the same year.
It is first described in our original reference book RB.16 – "The Cigarette Card Issues of W.D. & H.O. Wills Parts I, II, and III (revised) and Part IV", first published in 1950. The entry reads :
- 336. 50. UNITS OF THE BRITISH ARMY AND R.A.F. Fronts : Glossy photoprints in black and white; many faded cards are found , some in an almost sepia shade. Backs in black, with descriptive text, Wills` name at base. Issued in New Zealand, between 1925-30
In our original World Tobacco Issues Index, the set appears under section 5 of the Wills` listings, devoted to "Other Export Issues", and sub section B, for "English Language Issues 1923-30. Issued chiefly in New Zealand, some series in Malaya, Malta and elsewhere." It is catalogued as :
- UNITS OF THE BRITISH ARMY AND R.A.F. Sm. Black and white photos. Nd. (50). See RB.21/200-336.A ... W62-478
This is pretty much identical in our updated World Tobacco Issues Index, except that "Black and white" has been reduced to "B & W", and there is a new card code of W675-686.
Now I have not forgotten the sneaky surprise of seeing RB.21, which is our original British American Tobacco reference book - nor of the thrill that that code is suffixed by an "A", which usually denotes there is at least one other issuer. However it does not turn out to be quite as exciting as that, for the text reads :
- 200-336. UNITS OF THE BRITISH ARMY AND R.A.F. The recording in W/356 requires to be amended as follows :
A. Wills` Overseas issue. Back in black with descriptive text
B. Anonymous issue, with plain back
And it seems universally regarded that the anonymous issue was but proofs, removed from the printer`s - though we do have a date of issue, and that proves that the set was printed in England and only then exported overseas.