Scudamore was born in 1823 and on leaving school in 1841 entered the service of the Post Office. When the offices of the accountant-general and reciever-general were amalgamated in 1852, Scudamore was appointed cheif examiner of the new department at Somerset House.
![Example Handstamp [8K]](example.jpg)
Examples of the above handstamp appear on stamps issued between February 1854 and March 1855 and are generally badly perforated. Around this period, the method of line engraving used by printers Perkins Bacon & Co was a wet process and when the sheets dried they shrank. This made it difficult to perforate with any accuracy and it is believed that this handstamp was used to mark particularly badly perforated sheets intended for destruction.