China Expeditionary Force C.E.F.

The China Expeditionary Force was the Indian contingent sent by the Government of British India to bring China under colonial rule. The 4,000-, strong army set up field offices across China, 12 initially and later 8 more were added, to manage the communication lines to India.

Initially the Indian postal stamps did not carry any overprint. From 1900, the overprint C.E.F. was used over the Queen Victoria stamps, done at the Government of India Central Printing Office in Calcutta. The sale of such stamps was allowed only to the C.E.F. military personnel in uniform. The postal rates were left unchanged. Later, C.E.F. stamps were also issued during the reign of King Edward VII and King George V.