Volume 25 Issue 4b TORCH BEARER THE 1948 OLYMPIC GAMES, LONDON 999 ELPO. SOCIETY of OLYMPIC C OLLECTORS SOCIETY of OLYMPIC COLLECTORS The representative of F.I.P.O. in Great Britain YOUR COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN Bob Farley, 3 Wain Green, Long Meadow, AND EDITOR : Worcester, WR4 OHP, Great Britain. [email protected] VICE CHAIRMAN : Bob Wilcock, 24 Hamilton Crescent, Brentwood, Essex, CM14 5 ES, Great Britain. [email protected] SECRETARY : Miss Paula Burger, 19 Hanbury Path, Sheerwater, Woking, Surrey, GU21 5RB Great Britain. TREASURER AND David Buxton, 88 Bucknell Road, Bicester, ADVERTISING : Oxon, OX26 2DR, Great Britain. [email protected] AUCTION MANAGER : John Crowther, 3 Hill Drive, Handforth, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 3AP, Great Britain. [email protected] DISTRIBUTION MANAGER, Ken Cook, 31 Thorn Lane, Rainham, Essex, BACK ISSUES and RM13 9SJ, Great Britain. LIBRARIAN : [email protected] PACKET MANAGER Brian Hammond, 6 Lanark Road, Ipswich, IP4 3EH new email to be advised WEB MANAGER Mike Pagnamenos [email protected] P. R. 0. Andy Potter [email protected] BACK ISSUES: At present, most issues of TORCH BEARER are still available to Volume 1, Issue 1, (March 1984), although some are now exhausted. As stocks of each issue run out, they will not be reprinted. It is Society policy to ensure that new members will be able to purchase back issues for a four year period, but we do not guarantee stocks for longer than this. Back issues cost £2.00 each, or £8.00 for a year's issues to Volume 24, and £2.50 per issue, or £10 for a year's issues from Volume 25, including postage by surface mail. If ordering single copies, please indicate which volume you require. Cheques should be made payable to the SOCIETY of OLYMPIC COLLECTORS and sent with your order to David Buxton at the above address. If you wish to receive back issues by airmail, please add 75 pence per issue (£3.00 per volume). LIBRARY: Photocopies of articles are availble through the Librarian at 10 pence per sheet. Please enclose payment with the order. Books may be borrowed, but postage must be paid IN BOTH DIRECTIONS. The Librarian's address is listed above. COPY DATES: TORCH BEARER is published four times a year in March, June, September and December. Articles or adverts for inclusion in a particular issue should be sent at least two months in advance. THE 1948 OLYMPIC GAMES, LONDON In June 1939, just before the start of the Second World War, the International Olympic Committee awarded the Games of the 13 Olympiad. 1944, to London. The war meant that those Games were never held. The war finished in May 1945 and by October 1945 the British Olympic Council were in discussion with the President of the IOC, Sigfrid Edstrom of Sweden, about the possibility of London hosting the Games of the 14th Olympiad in 1948. A formal bid followed and in March 1946 a postal vote by IOC members resulted in the award of the Games to London. As in 1908, London had just two years to prepare for the Games. Unlike in 1908, at least the stadium was ready, Wembley Stadium, built in 1923 for the 1924 Empire Exhibition: Lord Burleigh In July 1947 the Postmaster General authorised the issue of two stamps and in August 1947 invitations to submit stamp designs were issued to twenty artists and printers. One of those designs proved controversial. At the Antwerp Olympics in 1928 David Cecil, Lord Burghley won Gold in the 400 metres hurdles. In 1933 he became a member of the International Olympic Committee, and in 1936 Chairman of the British Olympic Association. From 1946 he was Chairman of the Organising Committee for the 1948 Olympic Games One of the artists, G.T. Knipe, working for the printers Harrison & Sons Ltd, was inspired to include two hurdlers in his design, one of those hurdlers being Lord Burghley. He anonymised the image, removing the number '10' from the jersey, modifying the face to make it unrecognisable. and darkening the hair, but the fact that the image was based on a photograph caused considerable concern. The photograph was owned by Reuters and the Post Office were worried about copyright. It REPUBLICA DOMINICAN A was felt that Lord Burghley's permission would be needed, but the real worry was "that it would hardly be proper to depict one of his Majesty's subjects on a postage stamp bearing the King's effigy." Nonetheless Knipe's design was one of the six chosen to be submitted to the King; four were recommended, Knipe's was one of two reserve designs so that the King had a choice. The King however followed the recommendations, and did not choose Knipe's design. The delicate problem was therefore avoided. Olympic collectors had to wait until 1957 for a stamp depicting Lord Burghley, issued by the Dominican 5s Republic as one of a set commemorating Olympic medallists. 1 The Issued Stamps Four stamps were issued, on 29 July, the opening day of the Games, each designed by a different artist: Value Postal purpose Designer Number sold* Cylinders# i 2 1/2 d Letter rate Percy Metcalf 155,350,000 21, 2B, 2.1; 31, 313, 3.B 3 d Registration Fee Stanley D. Scott 32,554,000 11, 1.1 6 d Air mail letter Abram Games 24,397,000 91, 9.1 Overseas & parcels Edmund Dulac 32,187,000 31, 3.1, 3.B * Numbers exclude stamps overprinted for use in the # 'I' indicates bottom margin imperf, top margin British Post Offices in Bahrain, Kuwait, Muscat, perf; Morocco Agencies and Tangier (see p. 4) '13' indicates both margins perforated Although Harrison's designs were not chosen, they printed the stamps, by photogravure on multiple crown GVIR watermarked paper, in sheets of 120 (6 x 20), perforated 143A x 14 (three comb). It does not seem that the International Olympic Committee were consulted about the designs. Had they been, they would almost certainly have asked for changes to three of the designs. The 21/2d stamp, designed by Percy Metcalfe CVO, RDI flattens the Olympic Rings into a line. The 3d stamp designed by Abram Games FSIA spreads the rings rather widely, while the 6d design by Stanley D. Scott interlocks them incorrectly. The outline design on the 1/- stamp by Edmund Dulac reproduces the rings most closely. BY APPOINTMENT PRINTERS TO HIS MAJESTY THE KING HARRISON AND SONS, LTD. OLYMPIC GAMES COMMEMORATIVE STAMPS PRINTED IN PHOTOGRAVURE FOR THE POSTMASTER GENERAL BY HARRISON At SONS LTD., LONDON : HAYES : HIGH WYCOMBE 2 9T. JULY. 1948 2 Varieties and errors LYNN OLYMPICX) There are numerous constant varieties on the stamps. Some of the more , interesting occur on cylinder blocks. 2' • z On the 21/2d, cylinder 2 dot, stamp 19/1 cruff, GAMES (TUX) GAMES there is a pronounced "ear-lobe" flaw. LYPIPICI,M; i 0 LY I On the 3d, cylinder 1, stamp 19/2 there is a 'hooked 3', while on stamp 20/2 • 2", • there is a prominent gash on the crown CIILID GAMES MU) GAMES which was re-touched out during the print run. D GAMES '111_§') GAM F S The 6d value has a unique variety, the letters "HLP" on the jubilee line (cylinder 9 dot). These are believed to stand for "Harrison London Printers". How they came to be there is unknown, but they were quickly retouched out early in the print run. The varieties can be found on the overprinted stamps though the relevant cylinder was not always used in each territory. The `HLP' variety for example can be found on Tangier, and possibly on Kuwait printings. 01 I MIA GAWLS./9-18 Oit if I'll: 6.4.111. 0 .8194.8 Paper folds are known, and sometimes lead to part- tILI Wit 111%U.S imperforate stamps. Carlhitn, Brothers Bouniville 'ChB' per/in 3 Overseas Value Bahrain Kuwait Muscat Morocco Tangier Territories Agencies Overprints: 2 1/2 d 99,304 89.264 73,998 107,309 101,965 d 112,515 91,203 72,226 100,020 101,638 6 d 112,919 83,677 68,904 94,278 101,175 1/- 87,858 83,395 66,867 93,304 96,190 4 Presentation Cards, Packs and Folders Although official presentation packs were not to be issued for another 16 years, there is an interesting variety of packs and cards carrying the 1948 Olympic stamps. Harrison's produced their 'Printers Card' (p. 2) for some years—later printings bear the arms of Queen Elizabeth. The packs and cards illustrated are unique to the Olympic issue. Special Issue of Postage Stamps A pack produced in a numbered edition of 110 and containing the British stamps and the overprints for the 5 territories, in glassine pockets. It is believed to have been produced by Harrison's for dignitaries. Q-3 o ()-21/pic ciNo Chrisnnas card pradured in .1GL 7714, vamp., an, affixed by hinge Aeronautical d General instruments inntted CROYDON • ENCL..° 5 Pack produced by the GPO for ITTC delegates United Kingdom Postage Stamps in 1949. The stamps are in glassine pockets Commemorative Olympic Games, r94,t With the Compliments of the United Kingdom Delegation Ildtrnatintal Tdqmpb ma T4M. Colfinsa Paris, 1949 Postage Meters The Wembley Ticket Office used a meter showing the Olympic Rings encircled by a running track. This was in use from late 1947. The Rank Organisation, who made or distributed the Olympic film, also had a meter, which has only recently been discovered, more than 50 years after the event! From OLYMPIC PHZ...