"THE EGYPTIAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCE IN WWI" with Michael Bass

The British Empire Study Group invites you to "THE EGYPTIAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCE IN WWI" with Michael BassJoin the British Empire Study Group on Thursday, June 10th at 6 pm (EST)
"THE EGYPTIAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCE IN WWI" with Michael Bass
This is the philatelic story of the British effort to conquer the Holy Land in World War I. The army was renamed the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF), after the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force retreated to Egypt after the Gallipoli campaign in 1916. Along with the British efforts in Europe, the London War Office needed to protect major shipping lanes from the far east, which meant the British protectorate status around the Suez Canal dragged the Allies into confrontations with the Ottomans. Ultimately, the British figured out the strategic value of winning the Holy Land and entire Middle East, i.e., control the vital supply chain between East and West, and secure its position in the 20th century middle eastern oil reserves. This presentation exhibits the unit formations and major battles using postal history to display the history of the era.
The British Empire Study Group hosts Michael Bass in a free presentation of this exotic area of WW I. June 10th at 6PM (NY Time) The event is FREE and Membership in the BESG is not required nor expected to attend our events.

About Michael Bass
Mike Bass has specialized and collected Holy Land postal history for over 50 years.

Formerly the President of the Society of Israel Philatelists, and currently serving as the Endowment Chair, he is a longstanding member of many Societies, including the London Philatelic Society, the Collectors Club of NY, and the APS. He has exhibited Holy Land Prephilatelic folded letters from 1350-1850, and Ottoman postal history in the Holy Land 1850-1914 nationally and internationally. Bass has been collecting WWI soldier mail from the Holy Land for over three decades and is excited to share this Egyptian Expeditionary Force postal history collection.