Censorship or no censorship?

Letters subjected to censorship have always held my interest. This was also the case with the letter sent from Willemstad, Curaçao, to Ashington, Northumberland, United Kingdom. Addressed to the Manager of Lloyds Bank Ltd of this town, which lies north of Newcastle upon Tyne. Unfortunately, the stamp impression on the 60-cent airmail stamp is very unclear, making the year undecipherable. Except under strong magnification, then the year 1943 is visible.

That is understandable, as the stamp was issued on October 20, 1942. It was not printed by Joh. Enschedé & Zonen, because the Netherlands was occupied. The printing house of Bradbury Wilkinson and Company in New Malden, Surrey, handled both the design and the plate printing of the stamp.

Not opened

What stands out is the violet triangular stamp impression with the text: Not opened by censorship Curaçao, with the national coat of arms in the center. No sender is listed. Why the letter was not censored is unknown to me.

Open

The letter was, however, opened by the censorship service in Great Britain. Or was it Captain Mainwaring's men? He was a bank manager, wasn't he? But not in Ashington, rather in Walmington-on-Sea. Although, Ashington is also on the North Sea coast. So perhaps it was after all?