Cinderella stamp collectors may well be familiar with the Delandre vignettes. These originally date from the World War I period, and were stamps for the various regiments of the French and other allied forces. They were produced by Gaston Fontanille who went by the name of Delandre. He had had a colourful history up to then as something of a con man, selling fake titles and creating false companies whose real life directors had no idea that their names were being used. For the stamps he hired many well-known military artists, had thousands of different designs, and it all fell apart when the military censors denied him the chance to distribute the stamps to the regiments. Undaunted, he recouped his losses by selling the stamps to collectors in little packets, a practice that still goes on today. They were successful enough, for not only needing reprints, but also new designs continued to appear. Similar vignettes appeared for the French Red Cross, but somehow the proceeds from these failed to be passed on, providing him with a further jail sentence. Despite their dubious background Delandres are popular and instantly recognisable. Hence we come to these Welsh Delandres.
So what do you make of these stamps? Catalogues do not list ant Welsh Delandres. Rare and unrecognised until now, or bogus? You choose. And look out for some devilish and rare diabolos.
They show some of the more unusual Welsh regiments and military units.
The Bardic Company, established during the reign of Llewellyn the Great, and who saw action at Crecy, provide songs and poems to inspire the troops.
The Brecon Mountain Rangers formed in 1845 prevent illegal migration across the Brecon Beacon hills, and help keep northern Welsh bloodlines pure.
The Pembroke and Fishguard Militia were nicknamed The Old Corruptibles. They were a private regiment noted for hanging back during battles, but being the first into a captured town and getting the pick of the spoils
The Ladies of the Camp, originated from those ladies who followed the soldiers, but they were made a real unit, making sure the soldiers were well fed and looking presentable
The Carmarthenshire Guards or The Nappers were famous for being too late for battles than all the other regiments combined
The Military Inspection Unit was unique to Welsh regiments. They would inspect premises near camps nad barracks to advise soldiers on good value and cleanliness of the businesses.