kkkk The Bulletin of the Founded 1948 Civil Service Philatelic Society

No. 454 February / March 2019

Society website http://www.mynetservices.co.uk/csps/ Society e-mail: [email protected]

Editor’s Introduction Welcome to the latest Bulletin and firstly an apology from me for the delay in producing our 70th Anniversary edition which I had hoped to complete for sending to Members in October. I hope it was worth waiting for and that you found something of interest to read. The delay to the special edition has had a knock on effect to this edition as well, which is a few weeks late but hopefully normal service will resume for the July Bulletin. The Society is sorry to hear of the passing of Trevor Willes. Margaret

GB stamp programme for the rest of 2019 There seems to have been some secrecy concerning the Royal Mail Stamp Programme for this year and as 2018 drew to a close it was difficult to find any details. Even at the time of writing in late February one of the issues is still marked as to be announced. Queen Victoria and D-Day seem to be the only anniversaries to be marked by a stamp issue. The D day issue features again on page 16.

April: Birds of Prey May: British Engineering May: Queen Victoria Bicentenary June: D-Day July: Curious Customs August: Forests September: Royal Navy Ships October: To be announced November: Christmas

On 25th March new postage rates come into force. Basic First Class rises from 67 to 70 pence and second class from 58 to 61 pence, with large letters rising to £1.01 and 83 pence respectively.

At the time of writing no new Post and Go pictorial designs are planned for issue and there si some more information on these stamps on page 18.

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What you missed at recent meetings….. 2nd July 2018 Members’ Displays Apologies were received from Mick Coad and Eddie Weeks. The Society is grateful to Members for bringing in items to display. Mike Blackman: Mike started by saying that the CSPS had been celebrating an important anniversary and that it set him thinking, realising that he had been collecting mainly on a theme rather than by country for 50 years! This happened by chance as Mike had at that time a general collection arranged alphabetically by country and largely created from Woolworth’s packets, with a few countries developed with help from local stamp shops By 1968, it had stalled due to other priorities like getting a qualification and a job and then while working in the Holborn area of London, one lunchtime Mike went with a friend to a stamp shop in the nearby Sicilian Arcade. The friend knew what he wanted and Mike went along not expecting to buy anything, but flicked through some loose stamps for a few coppers each and spotted some attractive Spanish stamps with the coats of arms of the provinces. It turned out that the stamps were coming out at one each month over about 4 years and Mike was hooked! He gradually learnt about the symbolism and language of heraldry as he accumulated stamps, postmarks, meter marks and postcards. It largely petered out in the 1990s and has not been updated since but a few sheets of heraldry were displayed. Also largely by chance, Mike started a new topic in the late 1980s, umbrellas and parasols and this was displayed to the Society a few months back, stemming from Mike having to get up to speed on the technology for producing umbrellas and parasols as part of his work in the Patent Office. The technology is not very exciting we are told, but the books Mike read had much information on their use as symbols, going back thousands of years. A few sheets were displayed. The next topic Mike developed was on transporter bridges as he had to work in Newport, South Wales for 5 years and it has one of these very rare bridges in good working order. There are a handful of stamps showing these bridges, also known as aerial ferries, and rather more postcards. In his display for the 70th Anniversary, Mike explored his home town of Beckenham and on this occasion a few postcards and photos were shown. Mike has added the following comments. This was a 50 year personal story, but that thematic philately itself has of course developed enormously in this country. From a very minor and often not much respected aspect of the hobby it now has a regular place in club displays and national exhibitions, and has its own Society, the British Thematic Association. A final thought is that to survive perhaps philatelic societies may have to widen their scope to include postcards, as many already do, and other paper collectibles such as invoices and letters. And maybe even wider still to ‘small collectables’ for want of a better expression. The final items in the display were a group of small porcelain items decorated with coats of arms, collected due to the interest in heraldry. Researching their origins, manufacturers and so on became a hobby in itself. Many are exact miniature replicas of ancient pots, jugs etc by the main manufacturer, W H Goss, and described as such on their bases. For quite some time in the late 19th century and early 20th century, they were very popular as souvenirs of holidays or people could collect different items with their local town coat of arms. Mike displayed a few pots and jugs, a practical item, candle snuffers, which do work, and finally a crossover

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between Mike’s heraldry and umbrella interests, small china umbrellas with coats of arms. Margaret Emerson: This was a two part display, the first consisted of recent Post and Go issues which were for Royal Mail heritage. The Post and Go sets were entitled, mail by sea, mail by rail, mail by air and mail by bicycle. The second part of the display was of the New Zealand Centenary issue which was displayed in blocks and imprint blocks. Mile Thatcher: Mike displayed a number of postcards showing the Derry and Toms Roof Garden which was built between 1933 and 1938 at a cost of £25,000. Opened in 1938 and covering 1.5 acres, at that time it cost a shilling to enter. The postcards were issued for the Comfort Fund in World War II. There were three gardens, Tudor, Spanish and Woodland and the latter had 100 trees. Other cards were issued for the Festival of Britain but Mike has not seen these. The garden is Grade II listed. The roof has three feet of soil, so little depth for the 30 species of trees, which are now 60 years old. The gardens can be rented for events but have now closed to the public. The Tea Pavilion has been replaced with a night club. Fin o’ Donoghue: This display consisted of a number of sheets for various countries covering issues from 1970 so a link to 70. Fin had originally tried to find issues for countries to spell out anniversary. Austria had 3 sheets including clocks and dance sets and France another 3 sheets. Germany had 5, Israel 5 with all the stamps having tabs and these issues included animals. Italy had 2 sheets as did the Netherlands. Russia yielded 11 sheets including issues for Stalin and flowers. Spain had 5 sheets and Sweden 6 including several birds. Bob van Goethem: The first display of 10 sheets by Bob was for the American Space Age and specifically the Gemini Space Programme covering Gemini 1 to Gemini 8, also known as Agena. Gemini 1 was launched from Cape. Kennedy on 8th April 1964 and completed 64 orbits. Gemini 2 launched on 19th January 1965 after a delay from the planned launch on 9th December, due to a hydraulic fault. This mission lasted 18 minutes and 16 seconds, reached a height of 98.8 miles and was a test of recovery. Gemini 3 launched on 23rd March 1965 was the first manned mission and a test was carried out of altering an orbit and making manoeuvres. Gemini 4 with 2 astronauts launched on 3rd June 1965 and laned on 7th June so was in space with the crew for 4 days. Gemini 5 with 2 astronauts launched 19th August 1965 and landed on 29th August. This mission tested rendeyvous and link up but some trials were abandoned. For Gemini 6, Bob displayed two covers showing recovery Vessels. G This mission was rescheduled after the target failed to launch and was called Gemini 6a. it was a one day flight and the craft stayed on station keeping for 5 hours and 18 minutes. Gemini 7 launched 4th December 1965 and the mission lasted two weeks. Rendezvous sessions took place and medical tests. The mission lasting 13 days 18 hours and 35 minutes and was a flying record at that time. Gemini 8 launched in March 1966 lasted 10 hours 41 minutes and one astronaut was Neil Armstrong. Docking was tested but there were electrical faults and control issues. A cover with a facsimile signature was shown. Bob van Goethem: The second contribution from Bob consisted of amusing or out of the ordinary pictures from newspapers of animals and birds. The display included a weasel taking a ride on the back of green woodpecker and jackdaws removing wool from a sheep, a crow hitching a loft on a bald eagle and a cuckoo chick being fed by a massively smaller dunnock. A police horse was shown half on a London bus, squirrels in funny poses and a raccoon who recently made the news as it climbed the outside of a 25 storey building in Minnesota, a feat that took 24 hours. A

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dog was shown mimicking a group of soldiers, badger and fox babies that were good friends and a white hare. There was also a picture of fox that had caught a rabbit but an eagle had taken a liking to the rabbit and lifted the fox and rabbit twenty feet into the air.

3rd September 2018 A talk and Display by Mark Routh Apologies were received from Mick Coad and Eddie Weeks. Mark started by explaining that Doctor Who is as old as him. He displayed an autographed photograph of from 1966 and also a thank you letter from the same year to a local scout group. The next item was a 25th anniversary card for Doctor Who. Issued in 2000 there were only 25 cards and Mark has card number one which is the only one signed by the artist Brian Partridge. Five doctors were brought together for the anniversary in November 1983, with Richard Hundall standing in for the , William Hartnell, who passed away the following April. Mark has two signed cards. Next came Patrick Troughton cards from the Five Doctor special. The Dalek stamp featured on these and Mark produced several to post and he also displayed a ticket to Who Exhibition. There were also items showing Peter Cushing who took the role of Doctor Who in the film and is better known for the role in the United States. Between 1st and the 18th of January 2000 there was a special handstamp, not displayed, items for the first and last date of the council. A second cover was issued and again Mark has cover number one signed by the artist. A special cover was issued on the 2nd January, only 10 of them, and again Mark has number one and just one of the three signed. There were several showing Daleks. Jon Pertwee, the third Doctor Who, was Mark’s favourite and again there was a card from the Five Doctor special. Mark showed a signed card from Tom Baker, the fourth and longest serving Doctor Who, and a rare item from the 2001 festival. The show at Earls Court in 2000 and again Mark has cover number one. Mark had supplied the artist with the images for the covers. A small sheet picturing Tom Baker was shown which was the first batch of Smilers. There was another card signed by the artist and Tom Baker plus an item showing Mark’s favourite artwork, two versions of Larkfield cards. Anthony Ainley, The Master, was next and the first day of the Tardis stamp. These have been signed by Tom Baker and the master. Several more cards were shown and trade cards, some of these are rare if they have been signed. The sci-fi set from 1995 was shown. There was a Colin Baker card, the sixth Doctor, and Peter Davison ad this item had been signed by Tom Baker. There was a Children in Need postcard signed by Colin Baker and advertising items when Doctor Who was off the television from 1989, and a cover signed by Sylvester McCoy at the event. Some Dalek artwork was also shown and then from the Festival in 2000 an item showing Liz Sladen and Tom Baker. A number of Strand Covers were shown with Peter Davidson and Sylvester McCoy, one had been signed by seven doctors. In 1996 another movie was released with McGann in the role of Doctor Who and this was filmed in Canada. In 2005 the series returned to television with Christopher Ecclestone in the role of Doctor Who for the first series and a signed card was shown which Mark commented was hard to obtain. David Tennant had been a long- term fan of Doctor Who. Copies of the Radio Times were also shown and then Mark moved on to Dr Who’s assistants. From the 1960s came a photocard showing Carrie and one of the cards has no e on her Carol. The 25 years of the BBC cards had one

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show in Doctor Who. Peter Purves was the first Doctor and an item was shown. There was a Dalek card, signed by Bernard Cribbins from the second film and the second Doctor’s assistant Deborah Waterfield, also shown with her father. Jon Pertwee and his second assistant, Katie Manning and Caroline John were on an item also signed by the third assistant Wendy Padbury. There was a little Elizabeth Sladen signed photograph and Mark commented that he had met her several times. The dinosaurs in Doctor Who were the worst animation in Mark’s opinion. There were also items for Louise Jameson and Lala Ward who married Tom Baker for a while. Tom Baker had several assistants including Sarah Sutton. There was print run of the card which was not liked, but Mark has signed copy of the preferred card. Next came another print run of Janey Fielding and a signature with Mark Strichson wearing a tie and Nicola Bryant. There was a card of Bonnie Langford about the time she was playing the Doctor’s assistant and a more recent signature of Sophie Aldred. There was a convention in 1998 and two cards were shown. The 2003 issue for the 40th anniversary was hand stamped on the exact anniversary.

Part 2 Mark produced covers to get the postmarks in the Post Office Bulletin. Invasion Earth 2150 AD was featured and Mark commented that money is paid each time the Dalek features in a story and that the movement was done by numbers. The covers included The Master, signed, Peter Purves and Carole Ann Ford. There was a hand painted original cover of Davros by Mark Millingo and a selection of the handstamps 1 to 10. The gave a Dalek freebie card. There was a card from the Dalek mania set and more Maurice covers and of course Mark has cover number one. There were 100 copies of the Millennium Entertainers set and an estate agents card was shown. At the Longleat exhibition there were three postcards and these come in two types. Mark commented a third was produced for a small period which was a one off. The Dalek stamp from the millennium set appears in several places and from 2000, special packs and a card were shown and these are now sell for £400 if they are complete. They were printed by White D in Mark’s home town. From Stamp Show 2000 was the miniature sheet and also a Strand cover was shown, which was only available at the show. Tom Baker also signed these items and at the show only you could get Elizabeth Sladen signed cards. On the Saturday of the show, there were free covers and a cachet and post mark with your own stamp. There was a promotional card that but Mark does not know the origin but it includes a stamp and there only appears to be one. Mark also displayed an uncut block of Daleks on Weetabix giveaways. From Australia there were stamps with a map and a picture of the Doctor alongside. The artist did the postcards of the Ice Warriors and Daleks and the envelope was hand done. They were signed cards of the Dalek stamps including one signed by Ray the designer. There were PHQ cards of the Dalek stamp and these had been signed on the front and back. Initially Lord Snowden who was asked to take the photograph, queried if he was the right person, as he thought he was being sent to photograph garlic and commented that wasn’t normally what he did. There are various other cards including Tom Baker and other people from the series with different handstamps. Other items include coasters and a free print Dalek stamp from June 1999. Mark displayed a copy of the Radio Times from November 1999 with a Dalek on the cover and two items of Royal Mail promotional material.

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Cards and covers by the same artist were shown with the small Dalek stamp. There was Mark’s own card down for Bipex and a copy of a picture from the Postcard Show 2000 with a signed card. There were various signed picture postcards from IB productions, such as Dave Prouse, Brian Blessed and Carole Ann Ford, with the Tardis stamp and various postmarks. Various postcards included one with the autograph of John Nathan Turner the producer were shown. For a time a cachet card could be obtained with either Longleat or the BBC. There are 3 BBC official cards for exhibitions in Blackpool and Longleat and these are the rarest. The Dalek card by Larkfield Printer was signed by Sylvester McCoy and there were more Tom Baker cards. There was a card signed by Billie Piper and a Blackpool multicard with the Doctor and the cybermen. Related cards depicted Christopher Ecclestone. Doctor Who is now produced by BBC Wales and there were some official cards including K9 signed by the voice-over artist. For Comic Relief, Lunn Poly issued six cards and one was for television with the sea devils. From Larkfield again came Colin Baker signed items including trade cards. Mark also showed a picture of some Cybermen in a phone box in their costumes. Book marks an artistic card, and a special set of 2 with Daleks and special cancels. There was the basic first day cover from the entertainers set and the presentation pack, many signed Dalek photos and to conclude Mark showed some Doctor Who wrapping paper. The vote of thanks was given by Margaret Emerson and the Society was especially grateful to Mark for re-scheduling the evening, as he was due to attend in March 2018 but the weather defeated us in the form of the backend of the Beast from the East.

1st October 2018 Aspects of Mexico A talk and display by Ray Barton Apologies were received from Mick Coad, Fin O’Donoghue, Ron Oughton and Eddie Weeks. Ray started by explaining that Mexico has often been at war with the United States and during the period covered by the display was known for bandits. In 1848 the Mexico succession took place and fifty five per cent of the country was given up for $15m. Ray started the display with some pre-stamp covers, for example from Saltillo and Cordova, explaining he had a few of these. Early material is expensive but has different and often fancy cancels such as the Mexico eagle. The first stamps came in 1856 and were overprinted with the district name once received in the country meaning there were of no value without the overprint. A half real was the local rate and 1r the national rate, yellow stamp but the rates were changed the next year with an increase from ½ to 1 and 2 real respectively. Covers with the first postage rates are difficult to obtain and due to the size of the country and slowness of information, even in early 1857 the old rate can be seen on items. The country ran out of 2r in the largest districts of the country and 4r were bisected and even 8r into four pieces. One real bisects can be found too but a certificate is required to prove authenticity and Ray has one of these and this is the rarest in his collection. Vertical and horizontal bisects can be found. A 3r with a red postmark was displayed and a 4r on cover with a red postmark. The second issue of stamps had a colour change. The 4r is common mint but rare used, overprints on cover are rare and on cover very rare. This part of the display showed a cover with an incorrect cancellation which meant it was not genuine.

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The cancels at this time were like cork cancellations. Ray showed an example of an 8r cut into 8 to make the 1r rate. Ray speculated that one cover he owns is probably not a genuine example of this type of bisect, as it is probably not small enough! Eagle strike postmarks were shown and we were told there were a lot of forgeries especially during the civil war. Ray showed a double bisect 3r cover and Vera Cruz grid cancel. In the French period there were 5 periods of use. These had a district name, district name and serial numbers and different numbers. The 1864 Maximilian stamp brought the change to cents and examples of covers in the 1 to 5 series were shown. In 1868 the Maximillian regime collapsed and there were no stamp issues. A blank handstamp was used for the rate. In 1867 Gothic overprints appeared mainly in Mexico City, and the Chalco Stagecoach Company and these come with stop and no stop. The Hidalgo side face stamps 1872 to 1874 were shown. Forgeries defrauded the post office and examples were shown where the pink tinge to the paper was too intense. The 25c rate in blue is plentiful as you could use 2x12 c stamps. Straight line cancels in this period are unusual but included Tuxtepec. The first perforated issue brought an end to the district name but they had the year of use and consignment numbers. Porte de Mar stamps were paid to ships as a way of paying the captain to carry mail. These are not rare off cover. Registered items were next and a registered letter had the front cutout as the receipt and Ray displayed one almost from the last issue. Red and blue cancels were employed. The Hildalyo medallion issue was next and these were also used as officials minus the postage rate and they only appear on foreign mail. A selection of covers with for example the 30c rate and the normal 10 cent rate were shown. Different papers and colours with the numeral issue, from 1st July 1886 were not displayed but there were many covers including registered items. The first pictorial definitives 1895 to 1898 are difficult on cover and Ray showed an item with the lower rate on cover. Covers from 1910 were displayed and these are almost in the civil war era.

Part 2 This started with the 1910 issue. The revolution came in 1910 and a civil war followed in the time of President Francisco I Madero. On 15th August 1914 Mexico City was taken and occupied by the ‘Constitutionalist’ in autumn 1914. In 1915 the whole country was taken and this was approved by the US. In 1916 there was severe inflation which lasted until 2nd December 1916. White and green seals, some with a circle above and others below were shown on cover. There was shortage of stamps and so revenues were used. There were a lot of manufactured covers and one postal official took a date stamp, which explains why Chinese covers are ‘likely’ to be genuine. A bisect on cover was shown and these were allowed for a few dates, 16th to 29th July 1914. One item from the correct period was shown. The Sonara coach seal was regularly used for postage and sent to Mr Vergoblin. The anvil stamp issues was made in 1915 and. A lot were produced with 2 values for registered use. The constitution followed and the Denver issue, so called as the stamps were printed there. The US controlled Vera Cruz and a large cover was displayed with postage dues added probably due to underpayment as US stamps had not been used. Civil war overprints, locals and different types are known and one in mauve from the provisionals was displayed. Officials overprints were in black and mostly straight lines although some are round. An overprinted item was possibly produced after the stamp was attached. There are 2 types of black overprint, 1913 to 1916, some are

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inverted and may be seen with dollars on the same sheet. There are different styles for example on postal stationery after the war. There was a period of inflation with 5c overprints found on 1c, 10c on 1c and 25c on 5c. At this time to be sure an item of mail would be received it was sent registered. The commemorative issue of 1916 featured portraits and these were shown with bow tie overprints, which come in different sizes and colours. They were also used after the war to use stocks up. An official cover was shown and then normal issues. One had been used for tax purposes 30th April 1928 and could be used for postage. Ray tries to find higher values used for example a dollar. A parcel label was displayed and airmail and first flight covers. Hand stamps were added for events, meant to be on the envelope, but a few have this as a cancel. Different airmail labels were produced and the Mexican airlines one is rare. A label on the reverse of an envelope was advertising a hotel and there were others for cigars and various ones were applied as seals on covers. From 1938 a 4 block airmail was shown and from 30th May 1939 an airmail cover to Hawaii. This had a 60c US postage due. It was delayed for a time but once mail reached the US it could be relied on to arrive. Meters marks as registered items were shown, postage due marks including on hotel covers and various return to sender arrows. Censor interrupted mail was next and one item was 6 years late and diverted. A philatelic cover with censor tape featured and an item with hand written postage stamps to the US. A reply card specimen was shown and items with Wells Fargo detail, Hidalgo Express postal stationery, a paquebot item and a registered postcard. An item damaged by water was next and the cachet had the word sea deleted from the cachet. Mexican labels in different colours were next. The last 2 items were large and an example of revenue paper from 1782/3, the earliest, and for mining tax 14th August 1902, a payment of 353 pesos and 28c tax.

The vote of thanks was given by Margaret Emerson for an interesting display with material from a country that is not often seen and members showed their appreciation.

5th November 2018 Aspects of Russia A talk and display by Marcus Sherwood-Jenkins Apologies were received from Mick Coad, Ron Oughton and Eddie Weeks.

Marcus started by saying his display covered 1750 to 2000 and went on to give a few facts about Russia and commenced by saying that even today to cross from west to east takes 6 days. A hundred languages are spoken and the Urals have virgin forest the size of France. The display started with cards showing the history of the Russian post and the comment that Feldpost took less than week to be delivered. A selection of old letters followed including one dated 1698 from Edward the Great. Such items are scare and was followed with a letter from 1797, an Imperial Messengers letter signed by Tsar Paul I. A letter from 1798 shown next was a decree from Catherine the Great for the region now consisting of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. In 1741 the Russo Swedish war took place and mail was suspended. From 1830 came an item with a straight line cancel, used in the public postal service. Mail was carried in hayboxes and rates were based on distance and weight. Delivery was by horse drawn cart. An engraving followed showing the style of Russian post offices and a notification for post horses from the Crimean War period. Marcus explained supply was based on

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rank and this determined how many horses could be used and the time interval between changes. People travelled on the mail coaches and a timetable was shown. The mode of transport could vary from a small wagon, an image showed one person sitting on mail sacks, to larger wagons taking 3 or 4 passengers. Owing to the size of Russia and the desert to the south, camels were also used as a means of pulling wagons. Another image showed a wagon on runners. Marcus had purchased a glass slide at a flea market and he had blown up the picture image. The first stamps issued were for Poland and Russia, with SG2 displayed on cover. Next was an item which was sent to a revolutionary and the wording says ‘to be removed and destroyed’, although clearly this did not happen. It was sent in 1866 from Costa Roma to St Petersburg.There were different post marks for morning and afternoon post and the arrival mark could be the next day if the item was an afternoon receipt. A postcard from the far east and a prison was displayed and this would have employed a dogsled team for the post. Imperial post operated in major towns and the country was divided into individual counties and so this was a local mail system for accounting and issue of tax for horses. St Petersburg stamps were shown from 1863 as it was its own post town along with Moscow. There was a pre-paid green error of rate on the back of a 3 ½ Kopek item. Pictures from newspapers of the postal operation were displayed including the interior of the post office in Odessa.The Post and Telegraph Department seconded workers and it was run on military lines. Russia had a sparse population and mail coaches operated to remote areas and were armed. Trials of the 1880 issue were displayed and Marcus showed a picture of a post office with the Chief of the Odessa Post and Telecommunications. References for members of staff were shown and these had to be witnessed and the items included witness one for a woman. Of note today is that 80 per cent of postal employees are women. Railway post was next and a New Year card from St Petersburg to postal colleagues in Paris. Waterborne mail featured and we were told there are six rivers the size of the Mississippi in Russia, for example the Volga. There was a postcard from a post office sanatorium. Posties delivered court summonses and the person named on the summons was charged for postage. The money was collected by the postie and a stamp was attached. Marcus displayed the use of multiple stamps on one document which named four defendants, so four charges were levied. A telegram was shown and these were prepaid for the recipient to reply. Newspaper stamps on a wrapper to the governor of Helsinki and on a newspaper from 1911 were also shown. Swedish cancellations on Russian stamps were displayed as the items had travelled via a steamer. There was an employment medical for a postie and then cards of the uniforms were shown. From 1917 the stamp set for the Romanoff Centenary was displayed including 22 one Rouble stamps in a block. There were receipts for mail bags from companies and the stamps showed the cost levied. WWI charity labels organized by the post office came next and a commercial cover. An item from the Finnish post office and postage due items for a copy of a book followed. Photographs of the post office during the strike of 1905 came next and pictures of volunteers during the strike from The London Illustrated. There was a picture of a sledge on a river pulled by dogs. In 1917, the National Geographic featured a village post office and they had a second trade. From 1915 a picture of a rural postie was shown and they were on a contract to the city posties. Internal covers were also displayed, court correspondence and a registered letter from 1874 Korsyn to Simbirsk.

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Part two The second half started with a selection of Inland Revenue items from ‘the back of the book’ and covers from 1930 to modern days. From 1930 came educational postcards, for example how to use the Postal Service. From World War II was an ID and a fieldpost commendation. There were a number of cards showing postal uniforms and also from the 1946, postal uniform buttons. There were various items of newspaper mail and an Imperial telegram. There were a number of postcards from the rural and city post showing the uniforms 1940 to 1960. Redirection triangles followed, applied in red when the item had been sent to the wrong office, including one with two such triangles, so it was incorrectly sent twice. This procedure died out during the Revolution but carried on in the Soviet period in a different format. Postal orders were next including those with Zemestva stamps, imperial postage, bisected stamps and postmark. There was also special use postal stationery and an address enquiry form. The police station would find the person. A mail order for train tickets and books was a good way of free publicity in post offices. The next items were photographs of workers in the Baltic post office, although technically photography inside was illegal. A postal savings bank form followed and ID for a postal wagon worker. From the 1960s came a number of cards which were postage paid. From 1960 was an item of postal fraud, with a label on a cover for membership due for volunteers of the Sports Society of trade unions. Postal transport from 1960 to 1980 was displayed with ponies and reindeer which were used for local delivery and also mail by helicopter. A modern set of stamps showed postal uniforms and more post office pictures followed, including from Archangel, Father Frost’s house, Vladivostok and St Petersburg. Marcus mentioned that St Petersburg post office is very similar today to how it is depicted on the cards. Fieldpost cards were also displayed and a press photograph depicting use of the field post. Postboxes from various areas were also shown and propaganda postcards from the Soviet area. The city post was re-established in 2004 and there was a green edge on the envelope for St Petersburg and blue for Moscow. The colour meant this post was easy to sort but it is seldom seen outside Moscow. Thematic items including those for stamp dealers in the Imperial and Soviet eras and the hobby of philately if you were a Soviet. Correspondence outside of Russia was awkward. One item was from a Soviet spy for the UK Atomic Energy Authority. Marcus then turned to significant moments starting with aviation, including a design essay, the first Polar flight, and a World War II fighter ace, Major Alexi Smirnov. The space era started with Yuri Gagarin and included a signed cover and a letter to his wife. There was an item signed by Tereshkova, the first woman in space, and an item depicting Alexei Leonov, and the first person who conducted a spacewalk, Vladimar Mikhailovich Komarov. There was also a card left by Apollo 9 to all those who lost their lives in the space race at the Fallen Astronaut Memorial. There are a number of statues outside post office and some were shown and a local postie on a cartoon poster of Postakvashinsc. Limited edition cards are issued when a new post office opens. From 2015 came images of the new uniform of the Postal Service, which looked very much like an SS uniform and so it was withdrawn. To round off Marcus displayed the Imperial 1 Rouble stamp in different formats. The 1917 Duma issues were displayed with plates, imperf and perforated stamps. This section included the final Bolshevik printings from November and December 1919, some with a shifted centre. Items for the inflation period of 1921 rounded off the display.

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The vote of thanks was given by Margaret Emerson for what had been a very interesting and informative evening and members showed their appreciation with a round of applause.

3rd December 2018 Grand Auction Night Apologies were received from Mick Coad, Ron Oughton and Mike Wilkinson. The last meeting of 2018 was as usual our Grand Auction night, although it was commented by the Secretary that perhaps the title is inappropriate now, as the number of lots entered and the number of Member’s attending is low. It was a successful evening however, with the star item being a cover with Australian 1937 Coronation stamps that had been carried by Tin Can Mail.

4th February 2019 Postcard Evening and Members’ Evening The Society is grateful to those Members who brought in items to display. Apologies were received from Mick Coad, Ron Oughton, Eddie Weeks and Cyril White. Margaret Emerson: This was a three part display and started with the various Christmas Post and Go issues, beginning with the Robin issue of 2012, which was the same design as in the Garden Birds series which started off the pictorial Post and Go issues in October 2008. The distinction is that se-tenant copies are issued. There was a robin issue from the following year which had been dispensed at the Pop up Post Office in Covent Garden. The following issues were winter greenery in 2014 and winter fur and feathers in 2015. The issue in 2016 was hibernating animals and then reissued winter greenery in 2017 and 2018. Margaret explained that the winter greenery issues have different year codes in the background security printing. The second part of the display consisted of a selection of covers and cards showing Rochester cancellations, the earliest being a pre-stamp entire from 1821 and the most recent a Rochester and Chatham machine cancel on a postcard dated 7th August 1919, as shown below. It reads ROCHESTER & CH. Margaret mentioned that Rochester postmarks no longer exist, as the mail will have the Medway Mail Centre centre postmark, which also covers post from Maidstone.

The postcard contribution to the evening was a mixture of greeting postcards that Margaret had acquired a few months earlier. Most were American and were for Valentines Day, Easter, Birthdays, Christmas and New Year. One Easter card produced by Tucks in Great Britain was posted in America. Paul Harris: This display was of Paul’s recent postal history acquisitions and included some nice Penny Black covers, Penny Reds, halfpenny bantams and newspaper wrappers. There was a Penny Black on cover from Skipton to London and another on an Ashford, Kent Cross Post cover. There was a registered cover to

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Berlin and another with the Pitt Street cancellation. The newspaper wrapper rate was ½ d, hence the Bantam part of the display, but uprated examples were shown, for example from Barclay and Brand, Glasgow, with a penny rate. Bob van Goethem: This was also a three part display and started with a selection of Post Office posters for new issues. An anomaly was the Rowland Hill set. The main stamp issue was made in August but the mini sheet was not issued until October. Items which had a North Sea interest were shown, as Bob had been involved in telecoms to the oil and gas rigs. There were postal stationery posters and an oddity, Donald Duck is 42, which was probably from the USA and may not have been stamp related. The second part of the display showed Post Office transport on cards, for example a mobile Post Office, Mail Rail and a bicycle, transport posters sent to schools, the Waterloo centenary and a motor parcel van from 1910. The third part consisted of damaged in the post items. First up were delayed or undelivered items with different labels and marks. The oldest was from 1886 with a cachet applied. Items sent during World War I were next including one sent in October 2015 that went back and forth to Field Post Offices, back to London on 22nd October and returned on 4th December with a red cachet. There was a GWR undelivered item and a return to sender item delayed for eight and a half years with an apology. There was a No post town cachet and insufficient address marks and a return postal packet. From the 1980s were a combination of reasons for return and then an item from 1985 marked for destroying with a cachet, clearly not carried out! Damaged George VI Items included a repaired cover which was reposted from 1947, a stuck in the machine item with a P125H label, a red ambulance cover and different wording on ambulance bags. There was an item damaged before arrival in the UK, one from Ireland eaten by snails dated 1967, another folded over and torn, an item damaged by fire in the postbox with a return to sender cds, and a more unusual Royal Mail Parcels cachet, damaged in the post. Bob then displayed redirection sheets showing the front and back of the forms, with a charge of £2.75 for 7 days, then a more modern one from 1992 charged at £3.50 and for a longer period £7. Postage dues were used to collect custom charges and these were shown together with a Speedpost item, where an item in the mail by 1200 was delivered at 1630. This was trialed in two places and the item shown was from Brighton. Australian Flying Doctor photos and covers were next, Railway Air Services with covers marking the 40th anniversary of GWR, three Airway Services items to Guernsey. Finally came Intelpost, which was a satellite fax transmission service which operated from London around the UK and to the USA, Canada and Holland. There were mini sheets on cover and those with a nice cancel or none.

From our 70th Anniversary Bulletin In the Anniversary Bulletin I included an article by Ron Oughton entitled ‘Assistant Coxswain L F Oughton HMA R101’. Ron has been in touch with me and I include below an update with some corrected dates to one of the key paragraphs.

Prior to this incident plans had been made to install an additional bay and gas bag, between existing frames 8 and 9 to improve the airships lift, now becoming R101C. The installation of the additional bay and gasbag adding a further 54 feet in length and was completed giving time for a trial flight of 15 hours on the 1st and 2nd October 1930, before departure for India on the 4th October 1930. In the build up to departure the crew were allowed leave and

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Len took this opportunity to visit his family telling his three brothers that he did not expect to survive the flight but insisted that, ‘under no circumstances’ should they tell his parents this. The R101C left the Cardington mast in atrocious weather with heavy rain at 6.36 PM on the 4th October 1930. The crew had been reduced to 2 watches from the standard 3 as a weight reduction measure and with the build up to departure, had been under intense working pressure for several days with minimal opportunity to rest and were crashed at Beauvais at 2.09 am.

In addition the second paragraph should read: Len was the second of four brothers and was born in Little Britain on the 18th April 1901, where his parents ran a Coffee House. This is just 500 metres from Bow church which probably led to his company nickname, ‘Mush’, of cockney origin. As with all Royal Naval personnel, he formed a very strong association with his air shipmates.

Postal History and Postmarks Recent Postmarks As now seems to be customary for this edition, I include some postmarks on mail in the run up to Christmas and also this time around, from other periods. Firstly, a couple of cancellations from 2017. Bottom left is one of the dumb cancels used by a postie with a self-inking canceller and you may remember these marks were mentioned in the 70th Anniversary edition. To the right below, is a rather worn packet or parcel handstamp canceller used on a Christmas card envelope and applied at Croydon Mail Centre. It is possible this was done on an unfranked piece of mail at the Mail Centre in lieu of a biro ‘cancellation’.

The next two cancellations are from 2018 with the slogan ‘Stay well this winter! Find out more at nhs.uk/staywell’. The first example from Croydon has a fault with the machine producing a series of lines right across the cover over the top of the regular inkjet cancellation. The second example also from Croydon, shows the more usual format.

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Slogans reminding us to post early for Christmas always feature in the selection of postmarks applied by Royal Mail. The example below is from 2017 and the Medway Mail Centre and the second example, also from Medway is from 2018 and is in a different format.

A reminder of last postings date also feature each year and two examples follow from Norwich and the Bath Bristol Gloucester and Taunton Mail Centre. They are in two different formats.

The next cancellation is somewhat of an oddity, applied at Romford in December 2018. It was applied to a square envelope which the sorting machines seem to have an issue with,

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but in this case the wavy line portion of the cancel is still tying the stamp, although as presented to the machine, it was top left and not top right. Would the sorting machines be intelligent enough now to recognise the stamp and re-order the cancellation? The Royal Mail indicia would not normally be to the far right, and can be compared with the cancellation shown from Bath etc. The slogan reads, ‘Royal Mail supporting youth mental health with action for children’. The next two cancellations commemorate events, the first the 2017 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for literature, Kazuo Ishiguro, and the second below right ‘100th Anniversary of Merchant Navy Convoys, Serving the need, Supporting a nation’ from October 2017. Both were applied at the Medway Mail Centre.

Finally, for this edition, two cancellations from this year. One is for Young Carers Awareness Day 31st January 2019, applied at the Dorset and SW Hants sorting office and I note that is no apostrophe after the s of carers. The second cancellation below is marking Valentine’s Day with a quotation from Emily Bronte and was applied at Croydon Mail Centre.

A New ABC of Terminology (Continued) Makeshift booklets: This term is used to describe U.S. stamp booklets which have been made up of stamps normally issued in individual panes and then packaged in generic blue cardboard covers. They are then dispensed by vending machines.

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Marcophily: This term is used to describe a specialised study which relates to postmarks, handstamps and cancellations, which have been applied by hand or by machine. In short, we could simply say postmark collecting.

Mat: The term mat is used to describe the hard rubber plate which is used to apply overprints on postage stamps.

ME block: This is another term from the United States and describes a U.S. marginal marking block, normal of 4 to 6 stamps, with the selvage bearing the inscription ‘Mail Early (in the Day)’. They were first used in 1968 but have subsequently been replaced with a copyright notice.

A Glossary of Postcard Terms (Continued) Timbre Cote Vue: This term was given to a fashion of placing the postage stamp on the picture side of the postcard. The term was used to tell the authorities that the stamp had been placed upon the view side, either in hand writing or applied with rubber stamps.

Tinsel card: This is used to describe a type of decoration used on cards, the tinsel being similar to glitter in appearance.

Topical: This term should be familiar to stamp collectors as we sometimes call a thematic display as a topical display. For postcards it means a card that fits into a specific subject category.

Topographical: A card is so called if it shows a view and so view card is another alternate description.

Snippets of news A problem with the language The United Nations Postal Administration was due to issue 18 World Languages stamps on February 21st this year, but ran into some issues with some of the 40 or so languages on the three panes of stamps. Each stamp in a three stamp pane contained at least one word that raised concerns, as highlighted by a Linns Stamp News reader, so the UNPA decided to correct them, reprint the sheets and destroy the original printing. The 55¢ stamp from the first row of the U.N. headquarters pane originally had the word Hujambo which was corrected to Habari. The text of the word below it was updated and another word in the pane selvage altered. On the Geneva pane, the second stamp in the top row, the first stamp in the second row and some words in the selvage were changed. On the Vienna pane the first stamp in the second row was updated, and an additional four words were updated in the selvage. Reported on Linns.com 28th February 2019.

A problem with the stamp Royal Mail is issuing a set of commemorative stamps to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day in June. It was noted in the philatelic press and elsewhere, that the image selected for one of the stamps, which appeared in publicity material, and captioned ‘D-Day: Allied soldiers and medics wade ashore’ was incorrect. It in fact showed US marines wading ashore at Sarmi, Dutch New Guinea, now Indonesia, on an image 16

taken weeks ahead of D-Day and the landing craft was of course not of the type used by British troops on D-Day, being American. As a result Royal Mail has stated that ‘This stamp will not be part of our set to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings’ and the error was spotted before any stamps were printed. They made an apology to the veterans’ associations.

USA Forever stamps On April 12, 2007, the United States Postal Service introduced the first forever stamp and these non-denominated stamps have the word “Forever” inscribed on them. They are always valid for the postage rate for a 1 ounce, first-class letter. In 2007, it had a face value of 41¢ but now the rate is 55¢, an increase of about 34 per cent. No matter when the stamps were purchased, they all now have a face value of 55¢ and of course this system is familiar to us in the UK as we have NVI or No Value Indicated stamps. USA details from article on Linns.com 5th February 2019

Self-service postage labels I have displayed on many occasions to the Society Post and Go stamps, or Faststamps, as they are sometimes called, and also Horizon labels. The Faststamps come from the self -service Post and Go kiosks in Post Offices and the Horizon labels are so called as they are dispensed by a Post Office clerk using a system known as Horizon. The number of services that can be accessed at the Post and Go machines have expanded from their first inception to include signed for items. Initially if you posted a packet that was over the large letter size a printed Faststamp would be issued. More recently an additional printer has been added to the kiosks and a label similar to the Horizon type will be produced. This addition was first trialed in September 2016 and the eventual roll-out will be nationwide. Below are two labels, reduced in size, the one to the left is of the Horizon type and so was issued at a Post Office counter and the example below right is from one of the Post and Go kiosks. There are some differences and some similarities. Both depict a Machin head of the Queen top right, the Horizon version being larger, and both have security printing in the background in the top portion of the label. The Post and Go label is smaller, 600 x 550mm against 650 x 580 mm for the counter Horizon label. Both have the destination house number and postcode printed, the weight of the item, the date of posting, the postage class, here 2C Large Letter for 2nd Class Large Letter and Signed for 2C for Signed for Second Class, the VAT code, a QR code *, the Post Office branch number and a string of numbers after PRN. In the bottom right the Horizon label has within a double arc SINGLE USE ONLY and L for Large while the Post and Go label has a simple L. *A QR code or Quick Response Code is a mobile readable bar code which can store a variety of information which is scanned by a mobile device.

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Using stamps that have been used before Stamps once used should not be re-used but offers of unfranked stamps can be found on websites and the Daily Telegraph newspaper carried out an investigation. They quote that 2,100 items were on sale on eBay for used stamps. Royal Mail should of course cancel stamps and they say this is still a priority but the re-use of stamps could be costing them £10m per annum in lost revenue. You will have seen articles in this Bulletin recently bemoaning the lack of a cancellation of any form and the use of biro and felt tip pen. The security features which have appeared for 10 years now on Machin stamps, were supposed to make the soaking off process harder and limit re-use. There is a knock on effect to charities that sell kiloware with the Charity Commission warning of the risks. Following on from this, a couple were sentenced to two years in jail for selling cleaned stamps for use as postage over a five year period. The face value of the stamps sold was over £440,000. Reported in Stamp Magazine February and March 2019.

Do I smell cookies? The Christmas issues from Iceland and Greenland in 2018 were scented and the aroma was of freshly baked cookies. Iceland’s stamps smelt of gingerbread and Greenland’s of cinnamon, but on the 16k Greenland design, the scent is pine, as the image depicts cookies hanging from a pine tree. Reported in Stamp Magazine February 2019

Jersey Post 2019 stamp programme to June 2019 5 March Europa 2019 – National Birds: Birds & Symbolism 2 April Dame Margot Fonteyn - 100th Birth Anniversary 2 May TRHs The Duke & Duchess of Sussex – First Wedding Anniversary 24 May Queen Victoria’s 200th Birth Anniversary 11 June Girlguiding Jersey - 100 Years

Jersey Post Europa Issue 2019 A set of six stamps featuring birds which can be sighted in Jersey was due to be issued by Jersey Post on Tuesday 5 March as part of the 2019 Europa stamp issue, National Birds. Illustrated by Mark Wilkinson, the set includes two Europa stamps which incorporate an innovative feature, enabling those with a smartphone to scan the stamps and hear the sounds of the birds.

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‘As birds by their very nature are migratory and representative of countries all around the world, we chose to depict six species which can be sighted in Jersey,’ explains Melanie Gouzinis, Head of Philatelic at Jersey Post. ‘I was keen to take an original approach to the designs and had the idea of showing the birds, together with their traditional symbolic meanings.’ ‘Having seen Mark’s initial designs, we decided to print the stamps with a blue metallic hot foil which gives them a beautiful iridescent finish.’ Featured across the six stamps are: the kestrel, the swallow, the swan, the peacock, the kingfisher and the stork. The two Europa stamps have also been presented together in a Souvenir Miniature Sheet. Extracted from a news release by Jersey Post 6th February 2019 Post and Go stamps and machines As noted on page 1 of this Bulletin, no pictorial Post and Go issues have been notified by Royal Mail and the Post and Go stamps are being reviewed. Royal Mail is expected to remove some of the machines located at military sites and museums this year and at the time of writing, machines are unlikely to be making a return to exhibitions such as Stampex for now at least. Jersey Post is going the other way and their counter top machine was at Spring Stampex and will now be in use on the island. It is possible that no more Post and Go pictorials will be issued. I for one will miss them as some of the series were nicely designed such as the original bird series and some of the flowers, but as with many stamp issues, they started to proliferate and some of the reasons for issue were contrived. How many did you ever see on mail? Reported in Stamp Magazine February and March 2019

The future of Spring Stampex The organisers of the twice yearly Stampex exhibition are considering its future and may reduce to just one event per year. The autumn exhibition is rumoured to be the favourite to be retained. The Spring Show in 2020 will not be held to avoid an unnecessary clash with the London 2020 exhibition. Reported in Stamp Magazine March 2019

London 2020 will run from Saturday 2 May until Saturday 9 May 2020 and will be held at the Business Design Centre in Islington.

Inverted Jenny I often post snippets concerning the US Inverted Jenny or the controversial miniature sheet issue, so here goes with another one. Last November a rediscovered example of the Inverted Jenny, position 49 from the sheet, was sold at auction and realised £1.24 million, including the buyers premium. The previous record was US$1.35 million in 2016.

Staying with the USA The 22nd state of the Union, Alabama, was admitted on December 14th, 1819. The USPS will be issuing a stamp this year commemorating the bicentennial, depicting sunset in Cheaha State Park. It will include a view of Talladega National Forest, which surrounds the park.America’s last battleship, the USS Missouri 7 was commissioned June 11th 1944 and a stamp to commemorate the 75th anniversary will depict the ship in its ‘disruptive camouflage’ period of 1941-45. Four postcard-

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rate stamps displaying the beauty of coral reefs will be issued. The stylized artwork depicts a different type of stony coral and associated reef fish on each stamp. The $25.50 Priority Mail Express stamp in the American Landmarks series issue will depict an autumn scene of the Bethesda Fountain in New York City’s Central Park. The fountain was dedicated in 1873. Details from https://www.linns.com/news/us-stamps-postal-history/

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