I've been busy putting together a list of abbreviations commonly found in postmarks and their meanings, starting with items in my possession. Most of them I could easily interpret, but there are some I am not quite sure about. Any help is appreciated.
What do the following ones mean?
A.P.C. APO CFC SLO (might just be an abbreviation of the place name)
I believe you're right, Nigel. I spent about a half hour doing research on US bases in the UK. It was interesting, but I did not find any base in Watford post WWII.
Based on your comments I would guess that APO could stand for "Automated Post Office" although I have only found this designation in a US and Canada context. Did it also exist in the UK?
I agree they're both "APC" -- those postmarks don't always strike well. You do see "APO" used for Army Post Office sometimes, but those are numbered, not with a specific place name.
"CFC" is Culler-Facer-Canceller as stated -- a type of mail processing machine that Culls oversize packets for manual processing, Faces the remaining letters so that the stamps are top right (which normally gets the addresses all facing the same way too) and Cancels the stamps. The "A" is simply a code to identify the particular machine.
"MLO" is Mechanised Letter Office.
The "SLO" is I think a slightly poorly struck "SL 0-9" -- i.e. the range of postcode areas covered by the sorting office.
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