Britain administered Eritrea from 1941 to 1952, having taken control of the area from Italian East Africa, and used stamps with various overprints during that time. For the first several years, regular British stamps were used, overprinted with MEF, meaning “Middle East Force”. (This is a shortening of the force’s full name, “Middle East Land Forces”, which followed the Middle East Command of 1939 — 1946.)
From 1948 — 1950, Britain changed the overprint on its Eritrea-used stamps to B.M.A. ERITREA, which stood for “British Military Administration”. This was changed yet again for stamps from 1950 — 1952, which shortened the overprinted phrase to B.A. ERITREA (“British Administration”). The British use of such stamps ended in Eritrea when Ethiopia took over control of the small but important coastal country.
More: Botswana stamps for philatelists and other buyers
These overprinted British stamps are collected not only by Britain and African colonial enthusiasts, but by World War II buffs, as they capture a short and important historical era of British international relations.
