Jubilee Articles from our Members

The Joys of Membership of the CSPS by John Davies
Soon after joining the staff of the Post Office at King Edward Building in 1967, I was invited by Glyn Weale to attend a meeting of the CSPS. I was informed that the annual subscription was 3/6d, that at each meeting there would be an auction plus an annual competition. I joined immediately and felt ‘at home’ as everyone was so friendly. In those days the regular auctioneer was Mr Turner who often sold 1d Blacks in 6d steps. He had a great sense of humour. When decimalisation took place, the annual subscription was reduced to 15 pence for ease of collection. At a later date a life subscription of £5 was introduced.

It was in 1971 when Tony Brander invited me, one lunchtime, to his office and suggested that I should consider entries for the annual competition. Apart from the main cup, a ‘replica’ was given to the winner, plus £3 and for the runners up £2 and £1. I began competing in 1972 and did so on a regular basis with some degree of success. My purpose was not ‘pot hunting’ but to prepare the way for national (Stampex and BPE) and eventually International Exhibiting. I came to the notice of Tony Rigo de Righi who was the Curator of the National Postal Museum and he invited me to join his staff. During the time I was with the Post Office, I was a Council member for many years and was the Exhibitions Steward. I remained with the NPM until 1985 and a year later I became Curator of Philatelic Collections at the British Library. I continued being a Council member until my retirement in 1993.

When I was with the Post Office, I was a Packet Superintendent but I had to give this up after leaving the NPM. Now well in retirement, I still enjoy collecting but certainly without CSPS and the encouragement of others such as Tony Brander, Neville Jones and Fred Brandeis, I would be philatelically the poorer. I look forward to receiving and reading ‘The Bulletin’ and try to support the Postal Auction. I, for one, wish the CSPS all the best in its Diamond Jubilee year and wish to thank those who now run it so well. Long may it continue.

Carriage of Mail – Airmail ‘All Up’ Scheme UK - Europe 1934 – 1938 by Laurie Farrell
‘ALL UP’ means the carriage of first class mail wherever possible by air with a surcharge and should not be confused with those services already in operation but on which special airmail rates were payable.

An experimental service to the Orkney Islands began on 29 May 1934 and proved such a success that Highland Airways Service were awarded a twice weekly contract to operate between Inverness and Kirkwall. The plane flown by Captain Fresson, a De Havilland 84 Dragon, carried 2000 letters and newspapers.

There followed a quiet period until the 17 March 1936 the commencement of the first ‘All Up’ scheme operated by British Airways to Europe (Copenhagen and Stockholm). This further developed into a night service from 27 July 1937 to Hanover and Berlin, this service being operated by British Airways and Lufthansa. It is now a well known fact that the German Air Force used this night service as a training run for bomber crews who were later to use this experience to attack Britain during WWII.

The European sphere was finally completed when in November 1938, the service was extended to cover some 24 countries and first class mail therefore did not need to have a blue airmail label affixed to them. The letter rate to Europe was 4d.

UK to America and Canada Pan American Airways and Imperial Airways 1939 by Laurie Farrell
This route had long been discussed and was considered by many as the most difficult to operate, mainly due to the long distance over the Atlantic Ocean and the lack of suitable aircraft capable of undertaking such a journey. Routes to Europe, South Africa, India and Australia were much easier to operate due to the fact that it was possible to land at various points en route to refuel and overnight stay if need be. To Canada and America it had to be non-stop over water.

However, the changing and improving aircraft design was slowly moving towards the point when this was becoming possible and in January 1939 Pan American Airways took delivery of the first of the mighty Boeing 314 Flying Boats, which eventually became known as the Yankee Clipper. Finally on the 20 May 1939 the first airmail service between the USA and the UK left New York flying on what was known as the Southern Route by way of the Azores and Lisbon (Portugal) then Marseilles (France). For the return flight mail from the UK to the USA was sent to Marseilles to connect with the journey on 31 May 1939.

The first scheduled airmail service was inaugurated on the 24 June 1939, by Pan American Airways, operating from New York via Shediac (New Brunswick), Botwood (Newfoundland) and Foynes (Ireland). Mail for the return journey to the USA left the UK on 28 June, thus establishing the first scheduled and regular air mail service across the Atlantic Ocean by the mighty Boeing ’Clipper’ Flying Boats. (See picture above.) This service was rather short-lived, its operational life was greatly curtailed by the outbreak of World War II in September 1939.

Carriage of mail between UK – Canada – America continued throughout WWII on a very intermittent basis, mainly being carried on flights conveying pilots back to the USA who had ferried planes to England during the War. Services after 1945 make another interesting chapter in the Airmail Story.

Tudor Posts by John Dennett
From earliest times only the Kings Posts were available, which was used by the Royal family, official affairs of state and any private business of the Crown. The royal messengers were heralds, pursuivants, chamber and court messengers. Where possible the messengers were chosen to match the importance of the recipient. First were the heralds, then the pursuivants, a rank below the heralds and both types would carry very important letters, for example, from the Privy Council to particularly distinguished persons. The Chamber messengers handled the exchange mail between council and court. The main administrative offices of government were in Westminster and court messengers would carry baskets and pouches of mail between the Exchequer, Chancery and the law courts.

The nobility in castles beyond the London court would have their own messengers attached to their households. The county sheriff’s messengers distributed some royal letters, transferred mail to town mayors or town postmasters, who in turn would either deliver locally or pass to another town’s post. Failure to deliver could result in a summons to appear before the Privy Council who had almost absolute powers to fine, imprison or even torture.

In times of war other temporary offices were opened on the spot to deal with official correspondence. When at war with Scotland, as in 1509-12, horsemen waited at every 20 mile stage, letters carried from messenger to messenger a hundred miles a day. At this time, Cardinal Worsley was approached by King Henry VIII, as he wished firmer control over the couriers and posts in general. Brian Tuke was Worsley’s Secretary, now put in charge of the posts and knighted in 1516. Sir Brian was entitled Governor of the King’s Posts. Tuke was rewarded for his reliability and held many high positions: French Secretary to the King, Clerk of Parliament, Treasurer of the King’s chamber amongst them. He remained Postmaster-General until his death in 1545.

As postmaster all letters were delivered to Tuke, who sorted them personally as a one-man censorship principally for the king, but Worsley, now Lord Chancellor, was kept informed, especially with foreign mail. Tuke’s workload became increasingly onerous and it became necessary to set up a special department with employees known as ‘searchers’. This was the beginning of the Secret Office and searchers were provided with a ‘black list’ from the Privy Council.

The Royal Posts carried nothing but official mails in the early days, but gradually important civilians were granted permission to make use of the service. In 1517 the Bishop of Worcester wrote a letter in which he described Tuke as a ‘scoundrel’, overlooking that fact that Sir Brian read all mails. From that moment the Bishop found that he had to pay for all his personal mail! A letter was written in 1528 where Tuke mentioned to the Bishop of Bath, how he examined the mails in bed.

There were no official public posts at this time, but the few that were literate sent letters by servant or a friend when the recipient was local. For long distances, the commonest means was the county carrier, usually well known to everyone along his route. He was regular, reliable and trusted not to open the letters. For this service the price was high, but the carriers would carry almost anything. Life was at a slow pace, so the delivery times were not important. The general public received their information relayed by the priests from their pulpits on Sunday’s.

All the merchants guilds and livery companies in England stem from the ancient Merchants of Staple. ‘Staple’ was applied to those towns appointed by the King as centres of trade, and merchants who had a monopoly in the purchase and export of the staple commodities; wool, taffeta, leather, tin and lead. From these beginnings, the merchants formed into two groups; the merchants of the staplers and the merchant adventurers; the former had monopoly on wool and the latter on cloth. These merchants dealt with their own mail and the merchant adventurers headquarters was at Mercers Hall until 1526, then moved to the continent, leaving a branch office in London.

The year of 1533 saw the war with Scotland at an end, also the appointment of Thomas Cromwell as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Sir Brian Tuke, Postmaster General, knew Cromwell seventeen years before when they both worked for Cardinal Worsley. Tuke’s long awaited reforms would now receive available funds and Cromwell’s sympathetic ear. When Tuke had been sent abroad on official business, he noted the efficient postal system in operation and was determined to set up a similar service in England.

‘Standing Posts’ would be in place along the main postal routes, where the mayor of each town would be responsible for the choice of inn to be used as the posthouse of that town. The inn-keepers sometimes called postmasters, would be required to keep available at all times a supply of horses. When a mounted postboy arrived at the posthouse, he would hand the bag of letters to the inn-keeper, which were then handed to the inn-keepers postboy, to take to the next post town. (Postboys were not boys but mostly retired cavalry men) The postboys were given refreshment and rest and awaited the arrival of the next postboy. The distance between posthouses was from ten to twenty miles. This was not a public service, restricted only to crown or government mail. There was no ‘official’ service for the public in England during the last half of the 16^th century and letters endorsed with a rate, indicates they were carried by messengers.

Sir Brian Tuke died in post in 1545 and was succeeded by John Mason, who made little change to the service. However, Privy Council did impose instructions as follows: Postboys known in their own localities, were provided with written orders permitting them to take any horse upon payment. When special messengers were riding the entire route, these written orders enabled them to demand horses from total strangers. Between 1547 and 1552 these orders were extended to include not only horses but men, who could be pressed into service. The Privy Council sent money to John Mason on a seasonal basis, which meant that special couriers who set out in the summer ‘to diverse parts of the Realm’ had to wait until October before they received their wages.

During Queen Mary’s reign, the French were laying siege to Calais in 1557. Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports had his relieving army beyond the French lines, but he was unable to break through. Vital informatiom was needed to communicate with the besieged port, but every effort had been defeated. A solution was found, but it required London’s approval. The Privy Council met in January 1558 and approved the scheme worded as:

‘ A letter (to be sent) to the Lord Warden signifying unto him the device of shooting of letters with crossbows into Calais is well liked, and because they may light on the tops of houses or other places where they may not be come by, he is willed to cause divers doubles of the same letter to be made and so shot.’

In those days the distance between two hostile parties must have been in excess of a quarter of a mile. Since Calais fell to the French, it is probable that all the English documents were destroyed. If any have survived, they can only claim to ‘airmails’ if they bear a date subsequent to January 7^th, 1558. To be continued

1948 The Berlin Airlift by Ron Oughton
Airlift Philately
The philatelic significance of the Berlin Airlift centres mainly on the half-size 2pf Tax stamps (SGAT136) first issued on 1 December 1948, some five months after the Russians initiated their blockade. These stamps were issued imperforate and with 7 and 8 perforation varieties respectively. The 2pf tax was nominal only, equating to about one-fifth of an old penny at the current exchange rate. The main purpose of this modest tax was, probably, to promote public awareness of the airlift throughout West Germany. Shortly after on 9 December 1948 two stamps bearing the legend ‘Help Berlin’ and showing the Brandenburg Gate (SGA140-141) were issued in the British and American Zones with values of 10pf+5pf and 20pf+10pf, the surcharge being dedicated to the Airlift.

Later issues of the 2pf Tax stamp were made in West Germany in March 1950 (SGT1043) and January 1954 (SGT1103) long after the Airlift had finished, the purpose in this case possibly being to maintain public awareness of the Airlift. At the end of the Airlift, commemorative postcards and covers were produced in the Allied sectors (see illustrations). Most of these were put to philatelic use, many being postally used in the Soviet sector of Berlin, perhaps with the object of taunting the Russians over the failure of their blockade. Commemorative stamps were issued for the 40^th anniversary of the Airlift by West Berlin in 1989 (SGB823) and by re-united Germany in 1998 (SG2903) for the 50th anniversary.

Top picture : Sovereign card cancelled in the Russian Zone
Bottom left: Souvenir cover featuring the three nations flags
Bottom right: Souvenir cover featuring the Brandenburg Gate

The Prelude
Russian ambitions were to ‘convert’; the whole of East Germany into a communist state and the Western presence in Berlin undermined these aims. The Allies had taken on trust access arrangements to their Berlin sectors by road, rail and canal in addition to the air routes and there was no written agreement. 1948 saw the Russians mounting an ever increasing level of harassment on allied transport, stopping vehicles, trains and barges, minutely inspecting cargoes and challenging passengers. Roads were arbitrarily closed for ‘repair’, trains were shunted into sidings and left for many hours and requirements for ‘passes’ were changed without notice. Finally, on 24 June 1948 all road, rail and canal links were severed completely.

The Logistics
West Berlin was totally unable to support itself in any respect. Electricity was supplied form the Russian sector and all food, coal, liquid fuel and other requisites had to be imported. Initially, the Allies held the optimistic view that the blockade would be ‘over in a few days’ but the Russians were convinced that supply by air alone would not be feasible and that the Allies would eventually be forced to abandon Berlin.

The Airlift effort developed quickly, that conducted by the RAF being codenamed ‘Plainfare’ with the USAF codename being ‘Vittles’. In addition to the armed services, a significant contribution was made by British civilian companies under charter to the Air Ministry. These companies were mainly small, post-war ventures set-up by ex-service entrepreneurs using MOD surplus aircraft. Their main contribution was in transportation of bulk liquids including milk, petrol and diesel and fuel oil.

Four minute take-off and landing intervals rapidly became standard practice, the record for single day (16 April 1949) being 1398 flights over a 24 hour period, delivering a total of 12,940 tons of cargo. In the 12 month period from June 1948 to June 1949 the total sorties and tonnages were as follows:

USAF RAF (inc RAAF, RNZAF, and SAAF) Total Sorties 162,273 76,298 238,571 Tonnages 1,514,087 461,194 1,957,281

Clement Atlee who, unlike some politicians, used words with care, commented during a VIP morale-boosting visit on 3 March 1949, that the Airlift was ‘one of the wonders of the world’.

The Aircraft
Many different aircraft types played a part in the Airlift, the largest contribution being from the ubiquitous Dakota. Sunderland and Hythe RAF flying-boats took part providing a spectator attraction for Berliners, landing and taking off from the Havel Sea. Bulk liquids, including milk as well as fuels, were carried by Lanacastrians. Fairchild C82’s transported heavy construction equipment for the new Tegel Airport (see below) and C74 Globemasters and civilian Bristol Freighters carried other heavy and awkward loads.

The Air Bases
There were eight bases in various sectors of West Germany and, initially, two airports in West Berlin; Gatow for the RAF and Tempelhof for the USAF. To relieve serious overcrowding at these two bases, a third airport at Tegel in the French Zone of Berlin was built from scratch. Tegel was completed in November 1948, only four months after the first groundbreaking using 17,000 German construction personnel, 40% of these being women.

Flying Arrangements
Three air corridors served Berlin varying in distance through East Germany from about 80 miles to 190 miles and being 20 miles wide. The limited width and considerable length of the corridors required extreme accuracy of navigation to avoid overflying the Russian Zone. Also, the air traffic density necessitated strict flying instructions regarding time-windows for take-off and control of air speed and altitude. Flying continued day and night in all weathers.

Arrivals in Berlin were controlled by ground Control Approach (GCA) radar and, despite strict regulation of take-off times and air speeds, two, or even three aircraft would appear on the screen at the same time. To identify each particular aircraft the GCA operator would request each pilot, in turn, to perform a 2 second manouvre to confirm identities. Even this did not always work and one USAF pilot being ‘talked down’ to Rhein-Main airport in West Germany emerged from low cloud at 75 feet to find himself over the centre of Frankfurt!

The pilots duties were made more difficult by the Soviet Air Force, referred to as ‘Joe’s Boys’ who frequently ‘buzzed’ aircraft and fired across the corridors at air to ground firing ranges deliberately sited adjacent to the corridors. Searchlights were also directed at cockpits during night flying, increasing the difficulties for pilots.

Airlift Humour
Typical phlegmatism of service personnel came out in humorous banter over British and American accents and terminology. Many pilots, unware that they were being tailed by Russian aircraft would receive the message ‘You are not alone!’ from the GCA controller in a ghostly voice. Eternal rivalry between ground and aircrews was exemplified by a pilot vaguely writing on Form 700, ‘Something loose in compartment F’. On returning to the aircraft the pilot found the fitter had written ‘Something tightened in Compartment F’.

Tragedies and Triumphs
Inevitably, with such a vast and high density operation there were fatalities, 18 RAF aircrew, 36 USAF airmen and 24 civil airline aircrew being killed in aircraft crashes alone. Without doubt, there were many fatal accidents on the ground with the hectic activity levels at the West German and Berlin airports.

The triumphs, quite apart from literally keeping Berlin alive, were numerous, 1500 TB patients being flown out of Berlin as well as 15,426 children, many of whom were orphans.

Perhaps the most touching of the ‘human’ stories of the airlift is that of USAF pilot, Lt. Gail Halverson. Taking an off-duty stroll near Templehof, he noticed that , unlike youngsters he had encountered elsewhere, the Berlin children, despite their parlous conditions, did not beg from Allied personnel. He stopped to talk to a group of them and said that, if they waited at the end of the Tempelhof runway, he would throw out some candy and gum as he flew over tomorrow. He did this and was pleased to see the children pick-up his gifts. This gesture spread rapidly through Lt. Halverson’s squadron and was soon taken up by other squadrons, the goodies being dropped on tiny, home-made parachutes. Knowledge of the airmen’s kindness spread and Halverson was invited back to America to tell his story on a national radio show. The public response to this resulted in a whole range of gifts being sent from the USA in vast quantities, necessitating a more formal means of distribution to the needy children.

The Finalé
Although the Russians formally lifted the blockade on 12 May 1949, Airlift flights continued until September. On 23 September 1949, the last RAF Dakota of the Airlift touched down at Gatow. Chalked on its nose was the inscription, ‘Positively the last load from Lübeck; Psalm 21 v.11.

Verse 11 reads, ‘For they intended evil against thee; they organized a mischievous device which they are not able to perform.’

An apt epilogue – even for a communist!

Airlift data gleaned from ‘The Berlin Airlift’ by Robert Jackson 1988, published by Patrick Stephens Ltd (160pp) ISBN 0-85059-881-8