http://www.stampandcoin.co.uk JANUARY 2016^73Out and about
Your guide to stamp and coin collecting fairs, auctions and society meetings
A recent meeting at Dundee and District
Philatelic Society saw Terence Pickering
FRPSL give a talk and display on ‘Japanese
Military and P.O.W. mail of the Thai-Burma
railway’. His talk gave a graphic insight into
this area of conflict with examples of letters as
a poignant reminder of the hardships endured.In his recent presentation to The Royal
Philatelic Society London, Malcolm
Fenning examined the postal history of
Scotland from 1591 to 1711. The starting
date was chosen as the earliest cover on
display was sent in that year to London
possibly from Kincardine. On 1 June, 1711
the Post Office Act saw the abolition of the
Scottish Post Office upon the creation of the
General Post Office in London. Malcolm
explained that Scottish postal history can be
divided into three sections: privately carried
letters; Burgh Posts, many towns having
their own messengers; organised posts. He
focused mainly on the development of the
latter. For Society details contact tel: 020
7486 1044; web: http://www.rpsl.org.uk; e-mail:
[email protected]Derek Burton from Poynton Philatelic
Society treated our members of Rochdale
Philatelic Society to his collection of
Germania stamps from 1899 to 1922.
During this period Germania experiencedmany changes as reflected in its stamps,
through overprints, surcharges and shade
changes. Derek said the complexities
encountered made him regard any stamp
valued over £50 as a probable forgery.
The spark of enthusiasm for Germania
happened for Derek when he acquired an
obscure German 1912 picture postcard in
English, which he investigated by contacting
the German Embassy. They established
that the card showed an East Prussian
border crossing to Russia. This crossing,
he eventually found out, was the Russian
invasion route on the 17 August, 1914 to
Konigsberg, which began the First World
War. For Society details contact Neil on tel:
01706 665698; or e-mail: neil.wharmby@
gmail.comOn 27th October, the speaker at Chelmsford
& District Philatelic Society was Ben
Palmer of Cavendish Philatelic Auctions,
who presented a superb display of the 1888
Centenary issues of New South Wales.
In 1888 the Philatelic Society of Sydney
persuaded the Postmaster General to issue
a set of stamps to celebrate the centenary,
these were the first commemorative stamps
issued in the world. The set consisted of
eight values from 1d to £1 with some in use
as a late as 1912. There were several changes
in watermark, and colour changes for somevalues. They were also overprinted ‘OS’ for
use by government departments. As well as
a comprehensive range of the issued stamps
Ben’s display also included artists’ essays for
proposed designs, colour trials, imperforate
errors, ‘Specimen’ overprints and many
examples on cover including multiple use.
Many of the items were of the utmost rarity.
For Society details contact John Rawlins on
tel: 01245 420196 or e-mail: john@jr226.
plus.comLeamington & Warwick Philatelic
Society members recently celebrated the
group’s sixtieth anniversary, with members’
displays on the theme of ‘diamonds’ and
‘jubilee’. Nick Bridgwater showed Queen
Victoria’s jubilee charity labels, diamond-
shaped stamps from Lithuania and Tuva,
and some humorous postcards; while Ray
Fisher showed 1955 issues from the UK and
Spain. Steve Bence showed the so-called
‘jubilee’ issue of 1897, all with perfins. Ken
Flint, a guest from the Coventry Stamp and
Postcard Club, showed a very nice full set
of the Canada Queen Victoria Jubilee set.
During the tea-break, the Society’s jubilee
cake was happily bisected. For Society
details contact Nick Bridgwater on tel:
01926 423685; web: https://sites.google.
com/site/warwickshirepsSociety news
The Society was formed in 1957 with an aim of expanding the knowledge
of the postal history of the county of Yorkshire. This it has done and is still
doing, by having regular meetings, publishing a quarterly journal, Yorkshire’s
Post, and printing books about the County.
The membership stands just over sixty, mostly people based in Yorkshire,
although the group does have members in Canada, Germany and South
Africa – two of whom have recently been to meetings!
From September to May, the society holds meetings which are timed
coincide with the Morley Stamp Fair which is held on the last Saturday in
the month at St Mary’s Church Hall, Commercial Street, Morley LS27 2HX,
commencing at 2pm.
Membership of the Society is £5 UK/ £6 overseas. For details, contact
Honorary Secretary David G Horner, 18 Broadgate, Ossett WF5 0PU;
tel: 01924 271364.Yorkshire Postal History Society
SPOTLIGHT ON
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