Quote from Jamie Smith on September 9, 2020, 1:07 pm

Before I even open this subject up I would like to draw attention the the published work of Dr. Jim Findlay and Professor Rory Ryan... 'World War II: Prisoner of War and Internment Camps in South Africa and their Mail'.  Without this book it is impossible to tackle this subject.  Having said that I am showing two covers both from Germany, addressed to Andalusia Internment camp for potentially 'dangerous prisoners' and redirected to Pretoria Hospital.  They open up a can of worms for which I cannot find the answers. My questions are:-

1. Why was it necessary to send inmates to Pretoria hospital, nearly 300 miles away (nearly  500 kilometers).  Was it because there were no facilities at Andalusia or because they were too dangerous to be in a relaxed situation with other prisoners?  i.e. they may have injured other patients or tried to escape.
2. Did other internment and POW camps send patients to Pretoria Hospital.
3. What were the facilities at Pretoria Hospital; was there a prison wing?  If so should it be considered an unrecorded facility.
4. Why do two cover only two weeks apart still exist?  Is it a coincidence or was one of the prisoners a philatelist?