our next meetings
Tues. 16 April (Zoom) 7.30 – 8.30pm. Keith Burton. "A visit to Harrogate by postcards"
Tues. 14th May 7.30 – 8.30pm. Nigel Gooch - "The Life and Times of Ahmad, Shah of Persia, 1909-1925"
Tues. 11th June 7.30 – 8.30pm. Tony Bosworth – “1936 Olympic Games”
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KINGSTON AND DISTRICT PHILATELIC SOCIETY
2023 - 2024 SEASON
WE MEET AT THE CLAYGATE DAY CENTRE, ELM ROAD, CLAYGATE KT10 0EH
We are a "Philatelic Society" or "Stamp Club" for collectors of postage stamps, postal history, thematic philately, aerophilately, postcards and ephemera: in Kingston-upon-Thames, Claygate, East & West Molesey, Esher, Ham, Hersham, Surbiton, and Thames Ditton.
WHO WE ARE AND OUR WEB-SITE
OUR PRESIDENT WRITES:
It is, with some sadness, that I need to report the demise, after ninety-seven years, of the Kingston upon Thames and District Philatelic Society. It was becoming increasingly difficult to run the Society without the support of the majority of the members. A number of regular members have not renewed for this season. Face-to-face meetings have now ceased although virtual zoom meetings will continue until the end of the season.
Should attendance at zoom meetings increase, I would be prepared to continue these to the year end. The website will operate for a while to ensure that folk are aware of the situation.
My thanks to the committee for their work to keep the Society on track, particularly to Brian Sole who has done sterling work as our secretary for longer than I have been a member, and to Ian Amy who, I believe, has been involved in the financial aspects of the Society for 50 years.
I hope that you will continue collecting and enjoying the superb world of philately.
Twickenham & District P.S.; Wimbledon P.S. and Epsom & Ewell P.S. have expressed that they would welcome any of our members who would wish to join them. Have a good Easter.
Christopher Oliver.
OUR ACTIVITIES
Exploration, Research, Discussion, Enjoyment, Companionship.
"I conceive of a stamp being a fragment of history, a word in the annals of human experience, a picture of an ideal fresh from the human heart. The design impressed upon it signifies what the nation may be at the moment."
(Harold LeClair Ickes; United States Secretary of the Interior, 1937-1946)
REGULAR MEETINGS
Guest Speakers
Members Evenings
Annual Competition
A regular journal
Visits
WE MEET TWICE A MONTH IN CLAYGATE DAY CENTRE (KT10 0EH)
From 8 pm until 10 pm on the first Thursday and the third Friday of each month.
AUCTIONS
Our next auction will be held on 19 January.
NEWS FROM KINGSTON-UPON-THAMES LIBRARY SERVICES
The Kingston-upon-Thames library research staff staff under Lily Stevens are currently working on a "Postal Service History" guide for the library's American History series.
In undertaking this, Kelly, a member of the research team found a very useful site that can be reached through the following link.
https://wyomingllcattorney.com/Wyoming-Virtual-Office/US-Postal-System-Business
This link provides an excellent overview of the history behind the US Postal System, covering the Fairbanks Tavern (the 1st post office), the Hutchinson Affair, and how the evolution of technology led to the modern postal system in use today.
We are grateful to Kingston Library for sharing this research with us.
NOTES ON RECENT MEETINGS
Full notes of the meetings may be found in the quarterly Newsletters, circulated free to Members..
Thursday 4 January 2024
Material presented by Members on the theme of Royalty
Brian Sole presented recent GB material including special cancellations marking the death of Queen Elizabeth II, and the new King Charles stamps. Roger Niven presented a pot-pourri of postcards from Bulgaria and France, and Chris Oliver presented material from South Africa focusing on the George V and George VI issues.
Following these Simon Taylor presented a series of fabulous USA covers with rates and cancellations that pre-dated the membership of the UPU and meticulously written up by the previous owner Malcolm Montgomery: a real treat.
Thursday 2 November: Members' Meeting: "Sideline Collections which have grown"
The meeting started with a tribute to Alan Tyler who sadly passed away in October. A former President of the Society he presented many collections over the years, including from Scandinavia, Straits Settlements and Israel/Palestine.
Brain Sole then presented a display about British Exhibitions, as celebrated by stamps, labels, and special cards.
Paul Lang explained that he had a small collection of the British part of the New Hebrides Codominion which is now part of Vanuatu and he displayed some colourful stamps from these islands.
Chris Oliver concluded the displays by recounting how he branched out from collecting South Africa into the USA: starting with a large box bought in a local club auction. From there has collection has grown with stamps reflecting the History of the USA, and its natural history, architecture and sports
"Postcards": 20 October 2023
Friday 20 October:
A Member's Meeting with guests
A fascinating evening with Brian leading off with varieties of postcards - all featuring bicycles both ancient and modern.
Following this Ian brought some wonderful cards (from his father's collection) all connected to greetings (New Year, Birthdays, Easter, Maytime and Christmas) many very elaborate.
Paul then displayed postcards of Surrey, with Edwardian cards showing such sites as the Coronation Stone in Kingston.
Susan showed us more of her Faroese postcards depicting the way of life in these remote islands.
Finally Chris showed some recent acquisitions of Purbeck postcards.
A highly entertaining evening that was enjoyed by all.
ZOOM Meeting: Tuesday 10 October:
Jim Wigmore "Cyprus Airmails and "Aophrodite's Island"
The airmail displayed included pre-1932 covers, including a cover flown by Imperial Airways from London to Marseille and then onto Famagusta by ship. Another cover dated 1929 came from Stockholm via Malmo to Croydon, then by Imperial Airways to Cairo, and then by sea to Cyprus.
Specially marked test letters used by Imperial Airways to test the effectiveness of the flying boat routes were another highlight.
In the next display Jim explained the Greek legend about the birth og the goddess Aphrodite in Cyprus and then went on to display how she has regularly appeared on the stamps of Cyprus, both in the now Turkish and Greek Cypriot territories.
The presence of the Knights of St. John provided another rich slice of history; as did an explanation of the significance of the Orthodox Church.
Jim Brown: The Channel Islands under Occupation - 5 October
September 7th: "Recent Acquisitions"
Brain Sole displayed some British items which he has yet to incorporate into his collections.
Susan Oliver displayed some recently written up Faeroe Islands covers togather with some newer items she had found.
Chris Oliver had recently purchased every printing of the South African flower booklets from 2001 onwards; and he displayed two of these. He also showed an interesting cover from Prince Albert's Guard, dated 19 December 1940. The guard was originally founded as the Port Elizabeth Volunteer Rifle Corps.
ZOOM Meeting 12 September
"A Philatelic Ramble Around Purbeck"
Chris displayed a wealth of material from his collection about the Isle of Purbeck. This included early letters form several of the villages and towns in this part of Dorset: local postmarks from long gone post offices and a variety of interesting postcards showing the scenery and history of the area. A fascinating display.
September 5 2023: The first meeting of our new season. "My favourite Country"
We were treated to four displays.
Ian Amy showed us material from Monaco, followed by Pakistan stamps from the first fifteen years of independence: a country which we do not often get to see displayed.
Stan Challis displayed material from a recently acquired collection of modern Irish mail.
Susan Oliver delighted us with a display of the Svalberg Islands (which most of us know by the old name of Spitzbergen). This included items from Bear Island and Franz Joseph Land.
Brian Sole surprised us with a display on black pages (which reminded us all of a time when such was very fashionable) showing the first Wilding and Machin definitive stamps of Queen Elizabeth II.
Chris Oliver displayed more material from South Africa, which included progressive colour proofs of the UNESCO prepaid envelope. Also shown were some sheets of colour and paper trials with art-deco label designs instead of stamps.
19 JUNE: MONACO - A DISPLAY BY PETER WHITE
Peter is the long serving Hon. Secretary of the Federation of Surrey Philatelic Societi and has been collecting Monaco for most of his collecting life.
Peter started his display with some postal stationery of 1885 with impressed stamps of Prince Charles III and the stamp issue of the same date.
The display continued with stamps from all periods. Below are pictures of Peter making his presentation, two of the St Devote stamps, overprinted for use as airmail, and the Roosevelt Commemoration. A fascinating display, much enjoyed by all who were able to attend.
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THURSDAY 7 APRIL: THE PRESIDENT'S DISPLAY
This year Susan Oliver (our President) departed from showing her beloved Faeroe Islands and displayed part of her extensive collection of North Yorkshire postal history. The first half concentrated on the town and port of Whitby, with a view of the resort of Scarborough in the second part. Susan lived in a hamlet near Helmsley, Yorkshire during her formative years where she developed a liking for its philately. The Gilling & Pickering rail line went through the hamlet until closure to passengers in 1953 and total closure in 1964.
We were shown several straight-line cancellations of Whitby; a double ring Paid mark of 1792; a photocopy of a rare ship letter and a progression of 875 Duplex cancellations of the town.
18th century cancellations of Scarborough were varied:- SCARBO / ROUGH in 1765; in 1773 SCAR / BOROUGH; SCARBOROUGH on one line in 1801; several versions of milage marks being included; We also viewed a a parcel label of 1893; a Mulready envelope of 1940, another photocopy of a rare ship letter, and two items from overseas – San Remo, Italy (1905) & Seychelles (1969). Susan hopes to acquire the two ship letters if and when they appear on the market.
THURSDAY 14th FEBRUARY 2023 – A Zoom display by Keith Burton F.R.P.S.L.
We welcomed Keith who is better known as the editor of ABPS News.
Keith explained that his display was mainly postcards although two stamps were included. Only viaducts had been included, no bridges or aqueducts, as a viaduct incorporated a multiplicity of arches and carried either a railway or a road.
We commenced with Ravenshaw, north of Manchester where Keith had grown up. Now cleaned up and looking tranquil. The next was the Sankey viaduct which carries the Liverpool – Manchester line over the river Wye is now known as Monsal Dale viaduct. Then to Wales to view the Barmouth viaduct which, in 1864, had a lifting bridge but by 1900 had a swing bridge to allow ships to pass. Porthkerry Park Viaduct in Barry was built in 1890’s.
Wimereaux, Pas-de-Calais was erected in 1887 to carry the train from Calais to Boulogne but soon afterward took the Paris to Calais mail. Also in France, the majestic triple tier Viaduc de Chaumont, St. Roch serving the Paris to Basel line and 600m long. This includes a walkway tier The Grand Viaduc de la Donniere must be the longest viaduct in the world. Next was Morez Viaduct in the Jura built 1865 -1912 as a fiat of engineering comprising not just one span but six. In Germany the largest brick-built viaduct at Goltzschabruhe, Saxony is four tiers in height built 1856-61 containing 26 million bricks and appears on a stamp. We then viewed the Uppermill viaduct on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal and concluded with the Ribblehead Viaduct.
THURSDAY. 2 February: “STAMPS AND POSTAL HISTORY OF NEPAL" BY MICHAEL FURFIE
Michael began with an explanation of the topographical and political history of the country, which had been reclusive until the end of the great war.
Michael aided his display by distributed a map showing the main settlements and routes between them and a page showing the depiction of the various postmarks which would be otherwise indecipherable to those other than our displayer and his cohorts who collect the philately of Nepal.
Postage stamps were printed on a rough, locally produced paper made from an acid free shrub. These stamps of 1881 would have only been used internally.
More stamps, depicting Shiva, were produced in Britain by Perkins, Bacon from 1907 to 1935. Cancellation was by a series of horizontal bars with a central figure within an oval. Prime minister Chandra Shumsher visited Britain in 1908 and a U.K. Residence was established in Kathmandu, after W.W.ll., with a branch of the Indian Post Office therein.
1936/37 saw the Indo-Nepalese postal treaty resulting in new higher value stamps being issued, printed in India, with unusual rates appearing in 1960’s. King Mahindra was crowned in 1956, when a commemorative stamp was issued. Nepal joined the United Nations in 1956 and the U.P.U. in 1959. The U.P.U. demanded that a Western alphabet be used for the value and name of the country on its stamps and with dates using the Western calendar
We are used to seeing displays of postage dues from Michael, but he had certainly used his analytical mind to show us an exceptionally good display of Nepal. A country not often displayed. All members that attended were full of praise of this evening meeting.
OUR MEETING ON JANUARY 20TH
Five members and one guest attended.
Two members displayed.
Russell Hill:- Boating in his younger years, water-skiing and bob-sleighing were hobbies that Russell had tried and we saw photographs and medals to exemplify this. Through his connection to Butlins, he had also played snooker and darts, viewed boxing and had seen some of the cartoons produced to publicise Butlins. We saw postcards of these activities. Billy Butlin was president of the cartoonist society for a number of years and Russell is also an accomplished cartoonist which we were also allowed to view.
Brian Sole:- Brian is a follower of the Royal Family and has collected philatelic items relating to royalty from Queen Victoria to King Charles lll on the stamps of Jersey and of Great Britain. He also displayed some labels issued by G.B. for the Coronations of King George Vl and Queen Elizabeth ll. Brian finished his display with covers featuring every monarch of England from King William l to King George Vl.
NOVEMBER 8TH: OUR FIRST ZOOM MEETING OF THE SEASON.
The first Zoom meeting since lockdown was organised to involve country members, members who find attending meetings difficult, friends and guests who are interested in all aspects of philately.
It is hoped that future meetings will alternate between a visiting presenter and members displays on a theme.
Those who joined this meeting were treated to a series of fascinating exhibits from Michael Pitt-Payne including items from the from Willie Reginald Bray "the Man who posted himself" and some historical letters where an ordinary cover hid a deeply interesting letter.
Roger Holden showed us a series of stamps from Gibraltar, with crucially, original postcards that matched the designs.
Chris Oliver also showed some censored covers from South Africa where often the markings indicated a hidden story.
Full details will be available in the next Club Newsletter.
GRAHAM WESTON
On Thursday, 3rd November Derek Weston was our first guest speaker of the season with a display on “Cinderella issues, including Poster Stamps”
Derek started by displaying an absolute cornucopia of exhibits from a “Mulready” advertisement for leeches in 1870’s, 1937 Coronation labels used in the USA in 1989; and Festival of Britain mementoes.
Derek then turned to Coleman of Norwich; including poster stamps, National Coupons that were issued with Coleman’s mustard and menu from the paquebot “Amboise” advertised Coleman’s mustard. Captain Scott took the mustard to the Antarctic on his first journey in 1901.
Members will be able to read a full summary of the display in our next Newsletter.
CINDERELLAS' AND FORGERIES
Members’ Evening Friday 21 October
Brian Sole started the displays with British Philatelic Exhibition souvenir sheets; Poster Stamps; Seaside postal slogans; Festival of Britain Cards and Postman’s cards. He indicated the depth a Cinderella material which was available.
Russell Hill gave the next display which also showed that Cinderella items covered a wide range of philately, although his first pages showed a forged 1d black adjacent genuine 1d stamps both black and red. Next came some “stamps” and labels from the postal strike of 1971;
Novelty postcards, including panel cards, wooden cards (which had been through the mail), cards which illuminated when put to the light, Pontin’s (not Butlins) spoof cards and much more.
Chris Oliver displayed forgeries of early Swiss stamps from
The National P.S. Forgeries Collection. These included
Stamps of some Cantons:- Geneva, Zurich, Basel beside
those of unified Switzerland.
FRIDAY 17 JUNE
Our last meeting of the season on the topic of "Holiday Destinations"
LONDON 2022 INTERNATIONAL STAMP EXHIBITION
Finally, after postponement last year due to the Covid 19 restrictions we were able to attend this spectacular exhibition.
Three of our members exhibited and all were awarded high marks:
Brian Sole "Go by Cycle" was awarded a Large Vermeuil in the Thematic Class
Stan Challis "Irish Registered Mail 1841-1922" was awarded a Large Vermeuil in the Postal History Class
Peter Wood "The Road to Independence: Ireland from the Act of Union to the Irish Free State" was awarded a Vermueil in the Open Class.
We have been privileged to see elements of these exhibits at our Club meetings over the last three years, but it was nice to see them laid out in full at London 2022.
A very impressive contribution from a small club!
FRIDAY 20 MAY: NIGEL GOODING
The Phillipines under Spanish Occupation
A SIMPLY STUNNING DISPLAY AND EXPOSITION OF THE EARLIEST STAMPS FROM THE PHILLIPINES
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FROM THE VERY FIRST ISSUE
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WHICH ATTRACTED OUR LARGEST GATHERING OF THE SEASON
THE PRESIDENT'S EVENING
Thursday 7 April "The Faroe Islands"
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18 ISLANDS
Susan gave a scintillating display of material from her "beloved Faroe Islands"; complete with little details of the problems of travel between islands in ensuring lunch, and, on other occasions, seasickeness.
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THE IMPORTANCE OF POSTMARKS
With the Islands using Danish stamps until 1975 Susan explained how most material has to be recognized by the postmarks - easier on covers but not for individual stamps.
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"238"
Apart from recognizing the names of the post offices - such as Torshavn (the main town) - The Faroes had a unique numerical cancellation: 238 in a triple circle; and Susan showed some fine examples.
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SHIPS, WAR, AND THE PERSONAL TOUCH
Over the two halves of this superb presentation Susan displayed a wealth of material: ship letters (including from "Ruth" one of the local steamers), letters to and from India, the USA and of course Scotland; censored wartime mail, and one envelope which was found to contain some pressed flowers from The Faroes!
THURSDAY 3 MARCH: OUR AGM, AND ONE SHEET COMPETITION
Details of the meeting will be published in our Newsletter
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Chris Oliver
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Russell Hill
WINNER!
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Roger Niven
3 FEBRUARY: POSTCARDS
The subject was postcards and we were entertained by a wide variety of fascinating displays.
Some pictures will be added to this web-site next week but to wet your appetite we saw postcards of old Claygate; historical and amusing bicycling; South African regional pictures; the Faroe Islands; and early French cards.
In addition Brian Livingstone treated us to a hard copy of his fascinating research into why King Edward VIII and King George VI are portrayed on some Commonwealth stamps sporting medals that should not have been worn!
A very entertaining evening was the view of those attending! More details to follow.
21 JANUARY: AIR MAILS AND CINDERELLA'S
A larger gathering although still with some apologies for absence due to non-Covid seasonal illness.
FABULOUS CINDERELLA'S
Brian Sole displayed some stunning Cinderlla's from The National Trust, The National Postal Museum and other British providers. Many of which were of a design and print standard that made some of the official GB issues look a little tame.
RARE AIR MAIL COVERS
Russell Hill lacked relevant material from his own collection so he brought a creative approach born of our experiences on "Zoom". He showed a series of images of rare covers taken from the Internet and in addition to the interest of the covers themselves we were invited to estimate the asking prices - with some hilarious results.
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ATHENS TO AUSTRALIA 1956
PARAGUAY TO GERMANY BY ZEPPELIN
GEORGE V INDIA AIR MAIL STAMPS
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SOUTH AFRICA WWI
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Ian Amy delved into his collection which does not feature air mails or cinderella's and showed the beautiful George V air mail set of stamps and also the Jubilee issue.
Chris Oliver displayed some attractive South African Christmas labels, and also air mail covers designed for troops in the First World War explaining how to complete air mail cards to send home.
Roger Niven displayed the French air mail stamps issued between 1927 and 2008 showing the movement from the early fine line engraved issues to the more photographic and philatelic issues of this century. Roger also showed some French cinderellas from the first world war, and some Christmas labels from Denmark.
ROYAL OCCASIONS
January 21
A smaller gathering than usual as the weather and Omnicrom had an effect. But we still had a fascinating evening.
Russel Hill showed 16 sheets with examples of GB Royalty stamps. He included First Day covers that his grandfather had sent to him from the time Roger (his father) was born.Roger's father had continued to send FDCs to Russell.
He also showed Newspaper cuttings of Billy Butlin meeting members of the Royal family at Butlins.
Chris Oliver included stamps in blocks and strips etc issued by South Africa when King George VI and Queen Elizabeth carried out an extensive Tour of Southern Africa in about 1948. They travelled to and from South Africa by sea on board, the Vanguard. Chris showed a selection of covers with postmarks which indicated the specific temporary 'post office' set up on the trains, ship etc.
Chris also showed a letter sent by a Royal aide, apologising for not being able to send stamps issued during the Royal visit because so many other collectors had made the same request!
Brian Sole showed Jersey Royal issues for QEII's birthdays, wedding anniversaries with Phillip and years since her accession to the throne; and also included issues for anniversaries for Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince William and Prince Harry.
Friday 17 December
The subject was GB Stamp Booklets and Miniature sheets.
Brian Sole showed a series of retail stamp booklets beginning with 12 X 1st class stamps made up by 10 stamps of cats and dogs and 2 definitives
The series continued with 6 First Class stamps each time i.e. a block of 4 definitives separated by 2 commemorative stamps current at the time of issue.
The stamps are described as N.V.I.s – no values indicated. The first booklet of 6 X 1st class stamps was sold for £1.62 in April 2001 and the price had increased to £3.84 for the 50th booklet in the series in April 2016, an increase of 137% in 15 years..
See attachment Illustrations of
S.G. cat type PM1- 10 dogs and cats plus 2 orange-red 1st Class stamps issued 13 Feb 2001
S.G. cat. Type PM2 – 2 Submarine stamps plus 4 orange-red definitives, issued 17 April 2001
S.G. cat. Type PM50 – The Queen’s 90th Birthday stamps of QEII and Prince Charles, issued 21 April 2016 plus 4 mauve definitives.
Chris Oliver showed several sheets of South African stamp booklets plus a fully illustrated catalogue of South African booklets, of which he was the author. It was published by the South African Collectors’ Society.
Autumn Stampex 2021
Some of our members ventured to Autumn Stampex 2021. Several commented that the event was a little quiet compared to previous years - but for understanadable reasons.
The leading Society was the British Thematic Association, of which our Honorary Secretary, Brian Sole, was and I was a founder member.
We were therefore delighted by the results achieved by Brian for his five entries. The time afforded to us by the enforced lockdowns of last year may have helped in his prodigious output!
Thematic philately: “Go by cycle!”, which gained 89 points - Gold award.
Postcards “Cycle past by Postcard”, 86 points – Gold award
Traditional Philately “The story of the British Greetings Telegram Service”, 90 points- Large Gold
Philatelic Literature “Newsletter Insurance & Banking P.S. of G.B.”, 75 points – Vermeil
Philatelic Literature “Bicycle Stamps Magazine”, 80 points – Large Vermeil
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PREVIOUS MEETINGS
"Sideline collections that grew" (and continue to grow). A smaller gathering than usual, but we had a fascinating evening exploring some of the highways and byways that open up when one collects stamps!
Each of the displays represented but a small sample of the material that we all seem to accumulate in bits and bobs about a topic that interests us - and suddenly is consuming a lot of space and time; but is rarerly 'displayed' as it is not our main interest! A mosy enjoyable and thought provoking meeting, and full details will be in the next Newsletter.
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GREETINGS TELEGRAMS
Brian Sole presented some fascinating, and very attractively designed, greetings telegrams from the high days of this Post Office Service.
HOLIDAYS ON THE SOUTH COAST
Russell Hill took us back into the fifties with the development of this south coast village, from caravans to Butlins, and up to date.
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THE ISLE OF PURBECK
Chris Oliver presented further fascinating documents, postal history, and cards, from his beloved Isle of Purbeck.
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HISTORY IN THE POST
Susan Oliver displayed an amazing pot-porri of documents and ephemera with such highlights as this guarantee of safe passage signed by Fairfax in the Civil War.
HAMPTON COURT
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Roger Niven demonstrated how his "collection" about Hampton Court had not only grown but was totally out of control. This letter of 1855 was to the Honorable Miss Sophia O'Grady.
BACK TO CHILDHOOD
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Russell Hill took us back some years with his exhibit of some of his "Beano" Albums, and cartoons.
ROWLAND EMETT
Brian Sole showed us some of the art work associated with Greetings Telegrams - including some amazing concoctions by Rowland Emett.
FROM THE ARCHBISHOP OF YORK
Susan Oliver kept grounded - after caravans, Beanos and palace domestic squabbles, with material such as this letter from the Archbishop of York; Robert Hay Drummond.
THURSDAY 4 NOVEMBER
"AN ISLAND COUNTRY"
We were hugely entertained by a wide variety of material and explanations. Full details are in our recent Newsletter to Members.
Bob Holmes displayed material from the West Indies including Bahamas War Tax overprinted stamps; a distinct value shift on the first K.G.Vl stamps, the Tercentenary of the settlement of the Bahamas, and a number of Key Types.
Stan Challis displayed Ireland’s mail) to and from the island of Ceylon including underpaid items; a 48 cent rated cover; a curious cover from Slave Island, near Galle; WWll censored mail; a surface rate registered letter and some missionary mail.
Ian Amy also showed Ceylon but his display was of the stamps issued 1904-1960.
Susan Oliver produced part of her Faeroe Island collection to display including a cover from Sweden addressed to Faro which was diverted to Portugal before reaching its destination; censored mail using Danish Postage Due stamps as the Islands did not issue any.
Russell Hill displayed some interesting souvenirs of Butlins in G.B. and Ireland and described how the Skegness camp was opened in 1935 and burnt down after a few years; Clacton opened in 1938 with the largest ever heated outdoor swimming pool; during the war years Skegness became HMS Arthur and Filey was a naval base for 6000 personnel.
Brian Livingstone displayed K.G.VI Hong Kong essays produced in Hong Kong to designs by Wynn Jones before he was interned by the Japanese invaders. He designed the Phoenix, Centenary of Hong Kong issue, on behalf of the Hong Kong Philatelic Society, and the frames for the first pictorial definitive stamps of the colony.
Brian Sole’s display was of Jersey and featured the Europa issues. Endangered fauna 2021; Ships 2020 and Birds & Symbolism 2019. All shown in miniature sheets of 10 stamps with attractive borders.
RECENT MEETINGS
In our comfortable new home in Claygate
OCTOBER 15TH
THE LETTERS "U", "V" OR "W"
BRIAN SOLE, FRESH FROM HIS SUCCESSFUL DISPLAYS AT STAMPEX FASCINATED US WITH HIS STAMPS AND CANCELLATIONS FROM THE WASHINGTON EXHIBITION OF 1996
OTHER MATERIAL SHOWN INCLUDED BY SUSAN OLIVER (FAROE ISLANDS AT WAR); STAN CHALLIS (WARTIME POST TO IRELAND); CHRIS OLIVER AND ROGER NIVEN.
OUR MEETINGS IN SEPTEMBER THE FIRST OF THE OCTOBER MEETINGS
At the moment we are unable to show any pictures of these meetings (technical hitch!)
On the 7th October we commenced meeting in our new home in Claygate.
Bob Holmes displayed some well-produced facsimile stamps from Gibraltar and, as a divergence, some ancient whisky bottle labels.
Susan Oliver’s display was a potpourri of French stamps showing flowers, red cross booklet panes and some early definitive issues.
Brian Sole displayed Welsh stamps of both pre-decimal and decimal issues including progressive proofs of the latter.
Ian Amy produced an elegant display of the stamps of Monaco with 1919 charity stamps and commemorative and charity issues during and after World War Two. These included panes, produced in 1969, both perforated & imperforate for the original issue and subsequent overprinted stamps.
Chris Oliver then displayed some stamps of wartime Croatia when Ante Pavlic, the head of fascist Ustase movement, was president from 1941 -1945.
At the meeting on 17th September 2021 - our last meeting in Surbiton the topic was the “Olympics and Paralympics”.
Chris Oliver showed mainly U.S.A. stamps in his display. The Games held in America during 1932 saw the first of many U.S.A. stamp issues for Paralympic, Winter & main Olympic ordeals. Stamp issues were made for all of those Games held in America and that in Barcelona in 1992. Chris included slogan postmarks, advertising selvedge and postcards produced for the Games.
Brian Sole’s display included U.S.A. cancellations of 1984 and those of Australia & France in 2000. There was a distinct bias toward cycling in this display. An Australian cyclist of 2006; Sarah Storey’s large medal count in 2012 & 2020; a Chris Boardman commemorative cover of 2011, with a coin included. Brian showed a most interesting dummy sheet produced for the G.B. Olympic Games in 2012 together with the actual gold medal winners stamps now having the name, date and discipline added.
The 2nd September saw the first meeting of K.D.P.S. since March 2020 at our old venue in Surbiton Library Annexe
Theme for the evening was “Acquisitions or material written up during Covid_19”
Brian Livingstone gave the first display on the designs undertaken on behalf of the Crown Agents for stamps of Edward Vlll. The G.B. stamp was of a simple design, and it was hoped that the Colonies would adopt a similarly simple one. Many of the Colonies relied on postal revenue to aid their balance of payments.
Susan Oliver displayed recent acquisitions of the Faeroe Islands stamps and postal history.
Chris Oliver showed two censored covers of WWl South Africa. One had been cancelled with a mechanical “Passed by Censor” cachet of Cape Town. This was only used for one day before being abandoned.
Alan Tyler had been sorting out some stamps and ephemera relating to the Singapore Stamp Club. He brought along several maps of Malaya and Singapore of 1970’s and letters, publications and year-books of stamps which had been produced by and for this cosmopolitan Club which embraced all sections of the community in its membership.
Brian Sole had used lockdown to write up some postcards on cycling. He displayed nine sheets from this collection showing early cycles produced by Lawson of London & by MacMillan. We saw the Parisienne tricycle and various penny-farthings used by postmen and by ladies.
THE PRESIDENT'S EVENING
June 29: Our last meeting of the season.
Our President, Susan Oliver, entertained us with a fascinating display of letters, covers and postcards related to the historic village of Ham: on the banks of the Thames below Richmond Hill.
These few illustrations give a taste of what was a very detailed and interesting display. A full account of the meeting will be given in the next edition of our Newsletter soon after the start of our next season in September 2021 - the Newsletter is distributed free to Members.
After the display we discussed our experience of on-line meetings and how people viewed continuing with these should we encounter further Covid Restrictions at the end of the year), or as an occasional addition to our 'face to face meetings in Surbiton once we are able to restart these.
A variety of views were expressed highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of Zoom gatherings; and the hope for many that we would be able to resume physical meetings in order to chat more freely, and inspect philatelic material more closely.
We will take these views into account as we plan for our next season: and monitor the still changing Government advice on meeting safely indoors.
FROM HAM TO ABERDEEN: 1848, SHOWING THE HAM 1D PAID STAMP APPLICABLE UNDER THE UNIVERSAL POSTAGE REGULATIONS.
THE HIGH STREET - VERY LITTLE CHANGED TODAY
AN EARLY USE OF THE 1D BLACK AND WITH A VERY RARE HAM HANDSTAMP
TO THE POST OFFICE THEN BASED WITHIN THE "STAR AND GARTER" HOME: SHOWING THE SCARCE "STAR AND GARTER" CDS (1903)
PREVIOUS MEETINGS
15 June 2021: "The Letter 'U' or 'V'?
A subject that initially had our members scratching their heads as few collected stamps from countries whose initial letter was U or V, and then produced a very entertaining and varied evening of material that we rarely see.
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AIR MAIL STAMPS FROM THE USSR
Roger Holden, who presented Andy's material as he was on holiday, illustrated the developments in air mail stamps from simple overprints to sophisticated designs
PERFINS FROM VYSE AND COMPANY
Melvyn Green gave us an engaging display of perfins (an area of collecting that we do not often see) focusing on the issues of Vyse and Co, a celebrated manufacturer and supplier of straw hats and boaters. In addition to examples of the stamps we were shown covers and postal history relating to the business.
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MOROCCO AGENCIES
Michael Pitt-Payne offered us two displays from his Queen Victoria albums. The overprints of the Morocco Agency showed how these had to change as the currencies changed.
VICTORIAN GIBRALTAR
In a second display by Michael Pitt-Payne he delighted us with some mint stamps from Queen Victoria's reign - which he started collecting years ago because they were then cheaper than used copies!
UNDERPAID MAIL
Chris Oliver showed us a whole series of letters and cards where the correct postage rate had been underpaid - resulting in postage dues, and a variety of handstamps and postal marks. as one Member commented it seemed that the people on the Isle of Purbeck had problems in working out postal rates.
VIETNAM
Chris Oliver surprised us with the Elephant stamps of Vietnam telling the story of the Trund Sistersn and their role in the foundation of the country ADn 39-43.
VAUX-LE-VICOMTE
Roger Niven outlined the development of three French Royal Palaces; Vincennes, Vaux-le-Vicomte and Versailles. using stamps and postcards he described some of the features and the integration of structure, decoration, and landscaped grounds from the 16th Century on.
"MAIL BETWEEN THE UK AND THE USA DURING THE 19TH CENTURY" BY MICHAEL PITT-PAYNE FRPSL
25 MAY 2021
With other Member's presentations on "International Mail".
Our Members and guests were treated to a magnificent display by Michael Pitt-Payne; and afterwards we saw some interesting covers from: Detroit as it changed from Canadian to USA ownership (Graham Searle): early international air mail (Andy Cox): redirected international mail (Russell Hill): mail to and from Ireland (Stan Challis) and some routings through France (Roger NIven).
THE CHANGING RATES THROUGH THE CENTURY
Michael gave a superb explanation of the complex rates for mail through the century with variations by weight, routing, carriage by ships, currency and direction of travel.
FULL SUMMARY IN OUR NEXT JOURNAL
Michael has very kindly agreed to prepare a succinct summary of this very complicated story for the next edition of our Journal - issued to Members - which should be published in early June.
LETTERS WITH AND WITHOUT ADHESIVES
Michael showed us a wide variety of letters and covers with UK and US adhesives and postmarks; and explained the routes and difficulties involved with sometimes perilous sea crossings, lack of overland infrastructure and the US civil war,
ILLUSTRATIONS
Throughout the presentation Michael was able to identify many of the vessels that carried the mail, and to show us illustrations of these ships: ranging from full sail, side-paddle, hybrid steam and sail, to full steam.
KEITH JOHNSON: 11 MAY
"PACIFIC ISLANDS AND FATHER EMMANUEL ROUGIER
Keith gave us two wonderful displays of material from islands about which most of us had no knowledge and based upon meticulous research. A number of Members and guests then contributed some short presentations on a variety of themes - which gave rise to a very varied and entertaining afternoon.
FANNING ISLAND
Keith gave a fascinating presentation about Fanning Island - in the middle of the Pacific Ocean - which few of us would have been able to place on a map. It is now part of Kiribati. The island was leased out by the British Government in the 19th Century and various lessors of decidedly dubious backgrounds took on the lease with varying degrees of success.
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DUCK SHOOTING
Keith showed a series of postcards and covers, mainly from the early 20th Century which showed the island paradise of duck shoots and the farming of coconut oil and copra; although heavily dependent upon labour from other islands such as Fiji. The island used stamps from New Zealand and Australia together with some local issues. The covers and postage details highlighted the very remote nature of the islands.
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THE WORLD OF INSURANCE, MUDLARKS AND BUTLIN'S
Brian Sole gave a well-researched presentation of philatelic material and other documents about the history and development of the world of insurance - and its roots in the City of London. Melvyn Green entertained us with material from Brentford and Kew based upon Thomas Layton and the mudlarks. Russell Hill showed us some very engaging material from the early days of Butlins and the role of the camps in WWII.
ITALY, BERMUDA AND THE TRAVELS OF PATRICK MASELIS
Kevin Newsome showed us some interesting early Italian covers with a variety of stamps, cancellations and decorations; Roger Holden teased us with whether stamps of the dry dock in Bermuda actually showed a wet-dock, and amazed us with the story of the transportation of a dock from London to the island. Michael Pitt-Payne showed us some wonderful postcards from the seemingly never ending travels of Patrick Maselis - the extraordinarily energetic recent President of the RPSL.
GRAHAM SEARLE: APRIL 27
A superb display of the stamps and mail of the Colony of Canada which fully utilised the technology of an on-line presentation to highlight details of the stamps and complicated postal rates within an engaging narrative.
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THE FIRST POSTAGE STAMPS TO BE USED
A map of the Colony of Canada emphasised how little of Canada as we now know it comprised the Colony - essentially just Ontario- and prior to 1851 the first postage stamps to be used in the Colony were American as US stamps could be affixed to mail in prepayment for mail to the USA and some of the main post offices in Canada were supplied with US stamps for this purpose.
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THE FIRST CANADIAN STAMPS
Three stamp values were issued during 1851 as imperforate with the values being Colonial pence - slightly lower in value than the UK pence.
The 3 pence paid the domestic letter rate for up to 1/2 ounce sent anywhere within the Colony. Showing a beaver it also lays claim to being the first stamp in the world with a thematic design.
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LETTER RATES TO THE UK
Graham explained how the Colony did not have a stamp value to cover the costs of postage to the UK; nor a combination of stamp values that would pay the 1 shilling and 4 pence required. This resulted in some covers with combinations of stamps - and still a requirement for an additional fee on arrivals.
"THE TEN POUND BRITANNIA"
TUESDAY 6 APRIL: GREAT BRITAIN
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Henry Coward gave us a fascinating display on the £10 Britannia stamp. He explained the history of the design and the innovations in security such as the coloured fibres in the gum and perforations. He also explained that this was the first British stamp to have a section in Braille.
The symbolism of the stamp was of interest - linking to that used in the famous "seahorses" issues of George V, and to British coinage.
A very detailed and fascinating presentation including rarely seen items such as training stamps and security packaging.
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Melvyn Green displayed an interesting cover to the gardener at Syon House about seeds to be sent ot Calcutta - possibly from the Duke of Northumberland.
Keith Burton showed us a picture postcard of the 1919 Peace march in Haslington - where he grew up.
Roger Niven presented some covers and picture postcards relating to the grace and favour residents of Hampton Court Palace.
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Recorded delivery. Roger Holding showed us a first day cover of the new service (not shown here as it contains personal details). The illustration shown is from The Great Britain Philatelic Society Web-site.
Michael Pitt-Payne first showed us examples of the 1d Blackand 1d Red wit Maltese Cross cancellations. He then h displayed a fascinating ticket and some photographs relating to Henry Fawcett. The ticket was for entry to the gallery of the House of Commons but the back story was that the ticket was authorised by Henry Fawcett; Postmaster General. Amazingly Henry Fawcett was blinded when a young man but went on to high office, and with his wife (Millicent Garrett) was a key figure in the movement for female suffrage.
"Great things are done by a series of small things brought together"
Vincent van Gogh
TUESDAY 23 MARCH 2021
Nineteen Members and Guests attended online as we continued to explore the use of Zoom as a means of staying in touch with each other, and sharing our philatelic interests.
The theme was "NEW ACQUISITIONS OR FAVOURITE ITEMS".
We saw eight short presentations on a wide variety of topics including - line engraved GB (with some unfortunate stamps made into cuff links!); The Jute industry and perfins; Victorian Manchester hand cancellations; unusual markings on a Victorian cover; Irish 'fresh salmon' labels and the family history of rifleman Callow; mail from the Island of Purbeck; Danish bisects of the provisional Faroe Islands issue; and some strangely contemporary early 19th Century French disinfected mail.
There was a general view that we are becoming more comfortable with this medium and we look forward to future meetings. We especially enjoyed having so many guests join us for the evening.
TUESDAY 9 MARCH
“A Visit to County Down 1714 -1999” – Stan Challis
Stan entertained us with a wonderful presentation of material relating to County Down assimilated from a shoe box of material that had accompanied him on his Covid imposed exile from the rest of his collection in London.
The display also used some of the photographs taken by Tony Graham over a number of years from 1990 - 1998. He covered around 1000 post offices in Northern Ireland and did a potted history for each of them.
The photographs included shops, railway stations, and even farms where mail was collected and received.
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RATHFRILAND 1798
Note R.F.Land the abbreviated name in use until 1798
Dublin circular date stamp DE 10 98
MCADAMS CROSSROADS 1996
Still in use.
Opened Oct - Dec 1880 according to first entry in quarterly P.O. Guide 1 Jan 1881 and appears in all subsequent PO lists as sub office to Dromore.
21 Apr 1904 : PO upgraded to Minor Money Order Office with ‘Climax’ type rubber datestamp issued for use on postal orders & mail. One of the last batches of small sub PO’s thus upgraded prior to 1905, by which year all PO’s were to have this facility.
1 Sep 1905 : P.O. Circular advised all R.S.O.’s (Railway Sub Offices) [Dromore] to be ‘redesignated’ S.O. (Sub Office) status.
(these notes are from Tony Graham's very detailed work).
KILLYLEAGH 1862
To Alpha, Navada County, USA. registered and pre-paid with an additional 5c charge to Calfornia applied in the USA.
The routing was via the "central Overland Route" from Saint Joseph, Missouri via Salt Lake City.
NEW ZEALAND AIRMAILS
Graeme Ashdown
Graeme gave us a very informative display on the origins and development of air mail to and from New Zealand and the stamps. Although only two sets were ever issued the choice of designs, varieties and the influence of the early pilots provided for a very ful and entertaining account of a subject that few of us had been familiar with before.
THE LAST AIRMAIL ISSUE
Designed by R.G.J. Berry showing an AvroX about to land at Mt Egmont. Issued 4 May 1935
THE FIRST OFFICIAL AIR MAIL ISSUE
Pilot C.T.P Ulm was allowed to print a special stamp for the carriage of official air mail from New Zealand to Australia. Issued 17th January 1934
FIRST DAY COVER
Flown at the official opening of the Te Kuiti Aerodrome on 27 October 1936. Signed by the pilot D. McClean; and stated to be on of 15 covers carried on this flight.
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TUESDAY 23 FEBRUARY
BRIAN LIVINGSTONE
We had a good ‘attendance’ at our first experiment with an on-line meeting. It was nice to see so many familiar faces, and a bonus was the ability to welcome some Members who because of distance or other challenges find attending our regular meetings difficult.
We were treated to an outstanding presentation by Brian Livingstone titled “Edward VIII, Straits Settlements, from the Bradbury and Wilkinson Essays”.
Brian showed us rare material from the Bradbury and Wilkinson archives and other sources of that period - including from the Royal Philatelic Society.
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PICTURES COURTESY OF GEORGE VI SOCIETY
Brian shared with us material from the printers’ archives. The pictures shown are from the 'scrapbooks' kept by the printers - hence the low resolution. He explained the discussions that surrounded the desire of the uncrowned King Edward VIII to have a degree of uniformity in the stamp issues for the British Colonies; with single colours and simple designs featuring the monarch.
Several of the colonial administrations, however, would have preferred to issue their own designs, in colour, and showcasing their territories – and may also have hoped that such issues would generate additional revenue.
He then explained the philatelic complications consequent upon the abdication and accession of King George VI, not least the speed required to replace the portrait of Edward VIII in the proofs, and the sleight of hand used in some in terms of the uniform apparently worn by the king.
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CHRIS OLIVER
Chris Oliver then gave a short presentation on the South African antelope stamps, with examples of the rejected designs and explanation of the final selection of new designs by the artist Denis Murphy. (Pictures not shown here).
Finally, we had a discussion chaired by our President on Member’s reactions to this on-line format of meeting. There was general agreement that we should continue with the experiment, with the next meeting planned for Tuesday 9th March.
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"LA PLANÈTE EST SENS DESSUS DESSOUS"
"the world is upside down"
Writes Sophie Bastide-Bernardin in the editorial of the September issue of 'L'Echo de Timbrologie'.
A sentiment echoed by Tony Bard FRPSL in the September editorial of "The London Philatelist"; when he reminds us that six months ago "we could be as sociable as we liked, visit local stamp shows, society meetings, and occasional international shows".
However, despite current warnings of renewed 'Covid Spikes' there are signs that the Harry Potter's of the stamp world are looking to try and return us to a 'new normal'.
For now we will meet twice a month on-line. We may not have Hermione Grainger's 'Time Turner' but we hope to be able to meet together again, and welcome our new members in person, perhaps in the Autumn, 2021? Please keep looking at this web-site for further updates.
OUR 2020 ANNUAL COMPETITION AND ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
A Number of Very High Quality Displays
PRESIDENT PETER WOOD PRESENTS THE AWARDS AFTER THE JUDGING BY BARBARA PRIDDY (FROM THE WIMBLEDON P.S.)
Chris Oliver was awarded the Harmer Bowl for traditional philately; and Russell Hill the Kay Horowitz Shield for picture postcard philately.
THE COMPETITION
Eddie Weeks was awarded The Thames Trophy for the Open Class Philately; and Roger Niven the Millenium Trophy for Postal History. In addition to the four winners four other entries were Highly Commended
THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
A highlight of the meeting was the award of Honorary Life Membership to Alan Tyler for his services to the Society. Christopher Oliver will become President from September, with Susan Oliver as Vice-President.
MEETINGS POSTPONED BY THE PANDEMIC
NEW DATE TO BE ARRANGED: "Philippines During the Spanish Occupation 1854-1880's"Fri 17 AprLocation is TBD
NEW DATE TO BE ARRANGED: THE OLYMPIC GAMESThu 02 AprSurbiton Library
NEW DATE TO BE ARRANGED: Joint Auction with Epsom and Ewell P.S.Fri 20 MarSurbiton Library
WHILST WE AWAIT NEXT SEASONS MEETINGS
We will post occasional philatelic snippets that may interest people
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POSTPONEMENT OF TOKYO OLYMPIAD
Baron de Coubertin revived the Olympic Games in 1896 and with them the spirit of friendship between nations based upon sport. With the exception of the Two World Wars the games have been held every four years since 1906: until Covid 19 caused the postponement of the Tokyo Olympiad.
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THE 1924 OLYMPIAD IN PARIS
It was in this second 'olympic games' in Paris that the games started to resemble the format with which we are now familiar. Including the issue of special commemorative stamps. Olympic Games commemorative stamps are now issued by many countries and are not restricted to the host nation.
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THE 1900 'GAMES'
The 1900 games in Paris were rather overshadowed by the World Exhibition for which they were something of a side-show. These games saw the experimentation with sports that have never been staged again in the Olympics. These included cricket, fire-fighting and kite flying. None of these have continued as Olympic sports, and nor have ballooning, and a swimming obstacle race.
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THE CRICKET MATCH
Only a single match was played between a British team largely drawn from local clubs in Devon and Somerset. The 'French' team depended very heavily on expatriate workers engaged on the construction of the Eiffel Tower! The match was rather a one-sided affair but the hospitality afterwards was apparently of Olympian proportions!
NOTES ON OUR MEETINGS DURING 2019/2020 THE SEASON
(until they came to an abrupt end in March 2020!)
Friday 21st February - The Faroe Islands - A display by Susan Oliver
Susan treated us to a fascinating display of philatelic material from these isolated islands in the North Atlantic. Not an easy place to visit as her tales of storms, fog, shortage of landing places and circuitous steamer routes illustrated. Also not a straightforward country to collect: requiring a knowledge of geography and postmarks to identify usage when the only stamps were those issued by Denmark.
DETECTIVE WORK
Spotting cancellations, addresses, and ship names
COMPLEX ROUTINGS
An 1852 cover from Robenhaven to Lerwick via Hamburg, Ostend, and Aberdeen
SIGNED PHOTOGRAPH OF MR ANDERSON
The assistant postmaster in Robenhaven who created the 1919 provisional issues
BRITISH FORCES STATIONED ON THE ISLANDS DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR
Personnel from all pars of the Commonwealth found themselves in a very different topography and climate.
PETER WOOD: THE PRESIDENT'S DISPLAY
Peter treated us to an astonishing display of philatelic material and ephemera charting the "Road to Irish Independence". He showed us material from 1656 through to the present day and took us through the often complicated strands of pro-union and pro-independence groupings.
Thursday 6 February
THE ACT OF ATTAINDER
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PETER IN FULL FLOW
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SINN FEIN LABELS
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FRIDAY 17 JANUARY
Some Philatelic aspects of France: Roger Niven
MAPS, CHANGING BORDERS, HISTORIC CONFLICTS, AND RIVER BASINS.
FROM COURIERS AND MAIL COACHES, TO PNEUMATIC MAIL AND SELF-ADHESIVES.
THE POSTAL SERVICE IS A FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENT IN FRENCH LIFE, BUSINESS, AND CULTURE
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THURSDAY 2 JANUARY
King George VI.
We saw several fascinating displays. In addition to those briefly described below we read some fascinating correspondence from a British Army Captain as he travelled from East Africa to Ceylon and then Burma in WWII, and some of Bob Holmes favourite definitives from Ascension, Barbados, Ceylon and the Sudan.
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A CZECH ENGRAVER
Brian Livingstone set us a puzzle! Could we find Bohumil Heinz's signature "H" in the hair of Kinge George VI?
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POSTCARDS AND MACHINE CANCELLATIONS
Russel Hill took us on a trip to the Sussex Coast, exploring postcard cancellations.
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THE CORO
Chris Oliver helped us to celebrate the Coronation and the start of "all-up" air services
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THE 1948 OLYMPICS AND THE FESTIVAL OF BRITAIN
Brian Sole confessed to steaming stamps from a first day cover and showed us poster stamps.
20 December 2019
"Great Britain"
A very good meeting with several Members entertaining us with some superb displays:
Stan Challis displayed examples of the short-lived Swift Air Royal Mail service: Chris Oliver showed Postal History of Swanage, beginning with the earliest markings from the 1800s: Russell Hill provided us with examples of all the shades of GB mint definitive stamps from the Silver Jubilee of King George V to modern QE II stamps: Eddie Weeks produced a display of 2d blues all chosen with the letters “AA” from the top left hand corner of Queen Victoria sheets of stamps. Brian Sole showed items for Stamp Exhibitions in GB, commencing with a label for an Exhibition at the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours, Piccadilly, 1897: and Peter Wood began with a Royal Mail newspaper announcement that imitations of GB stamps would not be allowed through the post and then showed examples of illustrations of GB stamps, including the 1d lilac, 1d black and £5 orange in magazines and elsewhere!
THURSDAY DECEMBER 5 - OUR "CHRISTMAS SOCIAL"
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WINNER OF THE SINGLE SHEET COMPETITION
Russell Hill with Brian Sole: a sheet showing some modern GB varieties
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CERTIFICATES AND REVIEW OF LAST YEAR
Our President, Peter Wood, addressing the large gathering.
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A QUIZ, RAFFLE, DELICIOUS FOOD, AND CONVERSATION
The Quiz was light-hearted, and there were displays of Cinderella's and local postcards.
FRIDAY 15 NOVEMBER: THE LETTER "T".
members presented a variety of displays with some examples shown below.
TRAIN "POSTER" STAMPS
And associated postmarks and ephemera
STAMPS FROM TURKEY ("THEN KNOWN AS THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE")
A bewildering display of minor variations and colours
THE PENNY BLACK
The plates of this iconic stamp - and the story of the toy van that went through the post!
TRANSVAAL
The Thanksgiving Cavalcade and Fair: and postage of the Western Defence Force
THURSDAY 7 NOVEMBER - BOOKLETS AND MINI-SHEETS
This meeting attracted a large attendance, despite some notable absentees due to seasonal colds and coughs. Three of the displays are illustrated below. In addition we saw booklets and mini-sheets from Guernsey, The Crown Agents, and Great Britain.
LUNAR ECLIPSE IN THE FAROE ISLANDS
STAMP BOOKLETS OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
GB BOOKLETS CELEBRATING THE 1953 CORONATION.
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SURREY FEDERATION EXHIBITION AND STAMP FAIR: SATURDAY 26 OCTOBER
Our Society hosted the 2019 event in the Claygate Village Hall on 26 October.
The Fair was graciously opened the mayor of Elmbridge, and, despite competition from the rugby world cup and some travel obstacles presented by road works and railway engineering, attracted a steady flow of visitors throughout the day.
The exhibition displayed individual and society entries on a range of topics, with the Mason Cup being awarded for the entry by the Woking and District Philatelic Society whose three displays comprised : GB KGV 4d issue of 1913-1923; London Late Fee Mail; and Recovered Mail, from USA air disasters 1921-1938. An outstanding entry.
Kingston and District achieved a creditable second place for thweir entry of British Levant PO's in the Turkish Empire 1857-1914; A Glimpse at the World of Insurance: and French Cross-border mail during the Second Empire.
Eight other prizes were awarded; the raffle was drawn, and, despite the increasing rain outside, Claygate Village Hall provided a warm and welcoming atmosphere for this successful event.
OUR MOST RECENT MEETING
Brian Warwick: Cinderellas and the Postal History of Wimbledon and Raynes Park
Brian provided us with two magnificent displays. The first an all encompassing introduction to the incredibly varied world of 'Cinderellas'. The second a treat of mixed postal history, photographs and ephemera relating to postal services in Wimbledon and Raynes Park.
MECCA STEALING A MARCH ON ADVERTISING
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MICHAEL WARWICK WITH THE FIRST PART OF HIS STUNNING 180 SHEET DISPLAY
EPSOM MAINTAINS POSTAGE DURING THE POSTAL STRIKE!
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OCTOBER 3: ALAN TYLER
Reflections and Material from a lifetime of collecting.
Alan Tyler was born in 1924 and his initial interest in stamps was further developed when he inherited his father-in-laws collection - from which he displayed numerous examples of George V British and Commonwealth stamps - including the Beautiful 1929 UPU £1, and the similarly attractive issues from Cyprus.
His naval career took him to the Far East and the Mediterranean where he collected fascinating examples of stamps from Hong Kong, Singapore, Burma and Malayan States - including overprints from wartime occupations and military administrations.
With his son and grandson in attendance he reminded us that stamp collecting is a lifetime hobby.
SEPTEMBER 22: A POT-POURRI OF VARIOUS ITEMS SOURCED FROM DEALERS, FELLOW COLLECTORS, STAMPEX, AND FRIENDS.
20 September 2019. A pot-pourri of various items sourced from dealers, fellow collectors, Stampex, and friends. Here is a sample of the richness and variety of the acquisitions and finds; not shown are some old French postcards; Butlin's Holiday Camps ephemera; covers showing the language of stamps' and Irish soldiers under the UN in Somalia; and Channel Islands stamp designs. A meeting that had to be attended to appreciate the material.
THE BOTSHABELO MUSEUM IN MIDDLEBURG
A mission station founded by Alexander Merensky of the Berlin Missionary Society in 1865: with the cover showing the original station and Fort Merensky.
USA SPECIAL DELIVERY STAMPS
Often with fascinating postmarks such as this cover with a "steamboat" cancellation
PROMOTIONAL PACK
the 1948 London Olympic Games Issue, printed by Harrison's.
AUTUMN STAMPEX 2019
Several of the Kingston and District Society Members exhibited at the Autumn Stampex.
Brian Livingstone displayed a study of the George VI 'heads' designs.
Chris Oliver showed his collection of mobile post offices in South Africa - which served the rapidly expanding townships until permanent offices could be established.
Brian Sole displayed a collection of ephemera about Mrs Dibben - a legendary stamp dealer whose shop was in Kingston upon Thames. He also showed a one frame study of the Welsh regional issues from 1958 - 1970.
Peter Wood entered in the open class with a display about the Irish Sweepstake and the postal and other material that supported this operation - which was legal in some countries, and illegal in others.
5 SEPTEMBER 2019: MICHAEL PITT-PAYNE "ASPECTS OF POSTAL HISTORY"
MICHAEL GAVE US A SIMPLY STUNNING DISPLAY OF POSTAL HISTORY.
"Aspects" included postage due: pre-stamp, stamp, and machine label examples: the surcharging of early postcards when they failed to conform to regulations: and research into social history associated with specific letters.
A LOCAL CONNECTION
Michael showed us his first letter applying to join the Kingston & District Philatelic Society (in 1963) as this was 'returned to sender' because of an incorrect address. He also reminded us that some early meetings were held in the Surbiton Assembly Rooms.
HISTORICAL INSIGHT
Early mail to Australia was difficult. In 1850 one ship took 112 days, and the service was frequently disrupted as shipping lines went bankrupt, or their ships were commandeered by the Government in times of war. A more recent war is with the Royal Mail in their 'cancellation' of stamps with pen or labels - and in one case 22 stamps being hand-stamped with 44 cancellations!
For notes on our meetings in our 2018/2019 Season see "Previous Meetings" under "More" in main menu.
ABOUT US
Visitors and New Members Welcome
Our Members share an interest in philately in all its aspects.
New members constantly add new perspectives and areas of interest, and our guest speakers show insight and depth of knowledge on topics we are often unfamiliar with.
Current Members are interested in stamps, postal history, postcards, and social history across a wide range of countries. For example, Great Britain and Commonwealth, Ireland, France, Germany, Island States, Palestine, Romania, South Africa and the USA. Also across a range of thematic topics from cycling to social and local history.
New Members will be warmly welcomed whether they be experienced philatelists, collectors returning to an earlier hobby, or novices entering the field for the first time.
PLEASE CONTACT US:
Please get in touch with us to learn more about our activities, and to arrange a visit. Either use the form on the right or send us an E mail with your name and contact details. Adding a "Subject" or a "Message" are optional.
Honorary Secretary
F. Brian Sole. FRPSL
49 Westcar Lane, Hersham.
Walton-on-Thames. KT12 SER
