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What you missed at recent meetings….
12th January 2009
Postcard Evening
The following members brought in items for display:
Bob Van Goethem: London Foil Cards; Post Office Tower – approximately 40 Post Office (5 missing), 12 private; Felix Cat Cards; 2 Dog cards.
Derek Rock: Cards relating to views of London
These included: Raphel Tuck ‘Oliette’ and ‘Penpoint’, early 1900’s
Landecker and Land ‘Colour-crayon’ from drawings by Joseph Pike, 1930’s
Charles Skiltons ‘London Life’
Pre WWII Aerial views of London
Cards of the Diamond Jubilee of Metropolitan Railway 1868-1928
Trade cards: Birds and their eggs
George Goodall: Post cards – Commemorative for Christmas, Birthdays, Relatives etc 1904-1920
Peter Harris: Post Office Transport postcards, Receipt cards from Philatelic Bureau with stamps affixed.
Ron Oughton: German Postal Stationary cards, 3 Zeppelin cards, Victorian GB Postal Stationery.
The Society thanks all the above for bringing items for display.
2nd February 2009
Croatia Talk and Display by Tony Bosworth
Due to heavy snow predicted for London and the southeast the unusual step was taken of canceling this meeting on 31st January. As it happened this was a correct call with the heaviest snowfall in London for 18 years falling through the Sunday night and Monday and few buses, mainline trains or London Underground services operated on the day. We have been able to reschedule Tony’s talk and display in our 2010 programme.
2nd March 2009
Talks and Displays by three members
Bob Van Goethem - Reader’s Digest
Bob started by saying that his display would either be interesting to members or they would be totally bored. The display started with machine and roller cancels and a letter from the Post Office in response to a query about special stamps being produced and not being generally available. Stamps were printed and then supplied in strips with Reader’s Digest mailings to increase the number of returns and in June 1981 five stamps appeared in a strip. In the September they were available with a message saying the stamps were for a mailing organisation and were from a strip of 700. They can be found on the ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ envelopes and Bob also showed the first window envelope version. As postage increased a different strip of values was required. He had a First day Cover and on that the ½ p value is a different size.
Different arrangements of the stamp combination exist and that could be achieved by starting on the strip of 700 in a different place, ie ½ p first, last etc.
The mailings had card inserts and Bob told us there are at least 60 different cards and they have code letters at the base but he has no idea what they stood for. The last strips that are available contained three 5p values and a 4p. Some of the prize draws had bonus money for sending back early and ‘coins’, which if returned were exchanged for a free gift and a full set of these was displayed. Bob concluded with labels on the outer wrappers and some South African Reader’s Digest labels.
John Dennett – Railways
John’s display concerned railway items and associated perfins on issues from Queen Victoria to George VI. There was a nice selection of Great Northern Railway items on 1d reds. A list of all the railways companies that issued perfins was shown. The perfins for the London Southwestern Railway had larger holes initially but smaller more regular size holes later. There were some perfins for the London, Tilbury and Southend railway and some railway parcel stamps. There was an interesting 1d Lilac with a Canadian Pacific Railway overprint, which is not catalogued, and John wondered if this is because nobody realises it is a GB stamp underneath.
The GWR was the most prolific company and the display included a double perfin and one on a 1d Red with an inverted watermark. A number of postcards followed with station office marks and items with embossed railway monograms.
Derek Rock – Unusual Machins & other rarely seen stamps
Derek’s display was mainly concerned with Machins that are not normally seen and they are so called because of the Machin head. The display started with a set produced by Derek Warboys for the 10th anniversary of the Sierra Leone self-adhesive stamps. They were on square paper with rounded corners. There was another group that may have been a trial. A 1½ d version in peel and stick format was shown and these had an unapproved slogan. Stamps were issued for events and anniversaries such as Churchill, the United Nations and the UPU but who produced them and where remains a mystery.
He had another group of items he had bought at the National Stamp Exhibition including a presentation pack and a cover. There was an anniversary cover but the reason is unclear. There were others for a Royal Baby in 1977, Christmas 1977 and Europa 1978, the 25th Anniversary of the Coronation and Halley’s Comet. There were some overprints for the 2004 Tsunami appeal, being overprints on previous issues, and an English miniature sheet for the same.
There were examples of the Frama labels and the latest Post and Go FastStamps. There were self adhesive trial issues and Scout stamps. In total there are 635 Scout stamps and the display included one on a letter and ‘charity’ stamp.
The vote of thanks was then given by Margaret Emerson for the three talks and displays. Members applauded another interesting evening.
6th April 2009
The 1951 Festival of Britain Talk & Display by Mike Thatcher
Part 1 The display started with some Eagle comics which had centre spreads about the Festival of Britain and then a V & A book marking the 25th anniversary, which Mike told us was the best one. There was also the South Bank Guide. The Festival came in the post war years and as early as 1946 the V & A was promoting ‘What Britain can do’ and there was an industry guide. An international exhibition was suggested coming 100 years after the 1851 Great Exhibition but it was deemed too expensive. Britain had to pay for the 1948 Olympics, being the only country to offer to stage the first post WWII Games, the Festival and in 1953 the Coronation. The South Bank was picked as the venue for ‘State sponsored gaiety’ but the funfair did not open on Sundays. Examples of the publicity and stationery from the Festival offices was shown including the ghost emblems on the envelopes, where the emblem was inside and showed through. The emblem picked was of Brittania, the lets get ahead element, and the compass points with flags for the fun element.
Four London buses went round Europe to fourteen countries to publicise the event. The offcial opening was on 3rd May by the King and Queen and there was a dedication service at St Paul’s Cathedral and a photo was shown. The South Bank events opened the following day. A number of press and newspaper photos were shown and mention of the Queen having a new hat as well as a picture of Princess Elizabeth and the Duke on official postcards. In all 8 million visitors went to the South Bank with a similar number going to the Battersea site during the 5 months of the Exhibition. The 22nd September brought the biggest daily attendance when Charles Elleano from Billy Smart’s Circus walked over the River Thames on a tightrope. He was due to start at 1pm, low tide, but had forgotten his pole and so he set off finally at 4pm. The river was in use again and a tug boat passed under the tightrope and covered him in smoke.
When work started on the Festival Hall site, the lions from the Red Lion Brewery were moved, the small went to the Festival and is now on Westminster Bridge and the big lion went to the GLC stores before being erected at Twickenham Rugby Ground in 1971.
The Skylon we were told was 300 feet high and the beacon 250 feet. There was the Dome of Discovery and a photo of the Campania was shown and another of a sack race. There was a map of the events around Britain. The site in London was 27 acres and had two sections, Land of Britain and People of Britain, either side of the railway. There was a Festival church, St John’s in Waterloo Road. The site at Battersea opened late due to flooding. Other items shown were a cutout book to make up a train, which was still in tact, and a selection of monthly programs, a Leonard Sachs programme, cards of the Pride of London Girls and special rail maps. There were some weird topics produced as souvenir booklets one being from the Fire Protection Association, a booklet on Six Historic Fires but it excluded the Great Fire of London!
Between 2nd and 30th April pre-Festival slogans appeared and in Cardiff they continued in use until May. There was a stamp issue and there are some varieties, if you have the patience to look for them. Essays, stamps and FDC’s were shown but there were no last day covers. Meter labels, (TIM meter labels), were shown but the dates are incorrect being 1st May 1951 so they must have been pre-prepared. There was mobile Post Office. The Chelsea Flower Show featured and meter marks, fund raising stamps and labels, for example from Carlisle and a perfin from London Insurance. There were official labels and others. The Hull PS produced a set of labels bearing Edward VIII as they often have done.
Part 2
The second part started with various items from around the country including Bristol and Liverpool, Burnley, Wales, Scotland and a souvenir guide from Dagenham. The Egyptian Block typeface was used on most items. Coastal resorts joined in and there was music for the festival with programmes displayed for example a jazz concert. Plays were performed including Alec Guiness in Hamlet although he received poor reviews. Chipping Norton produced cards of the events and a boyhood scrapbook, typically unfinished, was shown. Uphill produced a mini-programme stating it had the oldest church in Weston-super-Mare. There was school poetry and a recipe book from Penrith. Postcards featured for example a public house in Burley which was recreated in Exeter. Valentine’s cards with and without groups of various people were shown, as some were modified to remove people from the scene or tidy them up generally. There was sporting trophies exhibition and in 1951 only 3 out of the 36 starters made it to the end of the Grand National.
Other times included a copy of the Naturist, a magazine entitled Health and Strength, a Navy ship flotilla and bus tickets, 3d for an adult and 1½ d for a child. There were special Festival ale labels and Sherman Pools got in on the act. We were told that there were 3000 car spaces in the car park but only 2100 were used. Buses ran to the venues and Mike displayed a bus blind.
The closing ceremony was on 30th September 1951 although the Battersea fair lasted into the 1970’s. Finally some 2001 anniversary items were shown.
The vote of thanks was given by Derek Rock and seconded by Margaret Emerson. Members showed their appreciation in the usual manner.
11th May 2009
Members’ Displays
Four members brought in items to display.
Margaret Emerson:- Various mostly pre-stamp entires, wrappers, fronts and letters with Faversham (Feversham) marks plus two postcards with duplex cancels. Some of the items illustrated the route taken by the mail such as ‘Turn at Rochester’ or ‘By X bag’ where the letter was carried by cross post.
Bob van Goethem: - Various envelopes of modern mail carried by other companies (Downstream access), a folder containing 1937 Duke of Windsor wedding covers, various slogan marks from the 1940’s to the 1960’s with lovely pen illustrations, including a very nice Fred Bassett.
Bob van Goethem: - Plates removed by the Post Office from post boxes and some day and time plates, several cards for Two Way Family Favourites, BFPO covers and a complete sheet of stamps for the New York World Fair 1939.
Ron Oughton:- This display consisted of various photographs of the R101 Airship and its hangar but also of its sad demise with family connections. One photograph showed several male members of the Oughton family. Leonard Frederick Oughton, Ron’s father’s brother was killed at Beauvais in October 1930 on the R101.
Derek Rock:- A selection of cards confirming radio messages (QSL cards) with the call signs, including some Russian ones.
Derek Rock:- Numerous postcards showing the Queen’s Doll’s house and the furniture as featured. There were a few blanks in the pages so that work is still in progress.
The Society thanks the above members.
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