(Page 13) Spring 2010 Newsletter
DERRICK AVERY’S CELEBRATION OF 60 YEARS MEMBERSHIP
After two false starts, the above celebration eventually took place on Friday 5 March. After displays by Barbara Inger and Andy Beech, our President, Bryan Button, gave the following speech:
This evening, we are celebrating Derrick Avery’s sixty years as a continuous member of our Society – a remarkable achievement. He has served: as our President four times, more than anyone else since our Society was formed in 1913; as Honorary Auctioneer for many years and as Honorary Secretary on many occasions. Now of course he is a Life Member and an Honorary President. Perhaps some of you know that Derrick has been a member of the Canadian Philatelic Society of Great Britain continuously for sixty-one years! They bestowed on him an Honorary Life Membership in 1999 and at the same time the Smythies Gold Award to mark fifty years of continuous membership.
What I have not included here have been his contributions as President and Secretary to other Philatelic Societies.
Derrick has frequently given displays to our Society ranging from Beeston to World Postal History, a wide range of topics on Canadian Philately, not forgetting displays on the countries of Belgium, Great Britain and Switzerland. He is always willing to discuss and share with us his knowledge of philately. Derrick is at all times mindful that contributions made by fellow members to our Society and its reputation should be acknowledged in our meetings and the order of business should be properly observed.
For several years after he joined the Society he took a very active part in encouraging, with success, children to take part in stamp collecting and competitions. In addition, he gave talks to other local societies on stamp collecting and publicised it in general. When The Postal Stationery Society of GB was in its infancy in the 1950s he was their first Secretary. Over the years, he has given more than forty displays to other philatelic Societies including Alfreton, Birmingham, Beeston, Canadian (of GB), Derby, Greater Nottingham Cooperative, Lincoln, Loughborough and District and probably others I am not aware of. He has often entered the Phoenix and Huston Memorial Trophy Competitions with distinction.
Before presenting him, on behalf of the Society, a special Certificate to celebrate what is by any standards a remarkable achievement of sixty years as a continuous member I would ask you to please raise your glasses to “Derrick”.
DERRICK'S REPLY
I am writing to record my sincere thanks to all my fellow members of the Notts P.S. for the manner in which they celebrated my 60 years of membership of the Society. It was unfortunate that I was unable to attend on the original date arranged, but I understand that you all enjoyed the cake created by Steve Speak.
Through the efforts of our President, Bryan Button, who, despite several hospital appointments, made sure that everything was as he wished for the meeting on March 5 2010, including the provision of cakes by Mrs Tennant, Mrs Button and Mrs Poole.
To me, it was an evening I shall never forget and it proves that belonging to a society such as ours and doing what you can to further its objects will bring you friendship and well-being.
The certificate marking 60 years of membership presented to Derrick Avery (Left) by President Bryan Button
THE PRESIDENTIAL CHAIN OF OFFICE
WELCOME TO PRESIDENT DENNIS BOOT
Welcome to Dennis Boot who succeeded our retiring president, Bryan Button, at the AGM on 16 April. Dennis has been a member of the Greater Nottingham Co-Operative Philatelic Society for many years and joined our Society in 2007. He collects Pre-Stamp and Victorian GB. We wish him a successful presidential year.
At our last general meeting, Bryan Button brought along the presidential chain of office, which was presented to the Society in 1946 by Mr and Mrs Widdowson. It had been broken for some time and had been stored over the years by each new president. Members at this meeting decided it should be repaired and, thanks to new President Dennis Boot, it has now been restored to its former glory, as can be seen in the above photo. Bryan wore it at the AGM and then passed it to Dennis when he was installed as President. It is intended that it will be worn on special occasions.
President Dennis Boot wearing the refurbished regalia
YOU’LL SOON GROW OUT OF IT
(A personal perspective on collecting stamps)
Alan Squires
It was my first visit to a stamp fair. I had no idea what to expect and as I looked around the hall I realised this was very different to the 8 year old going into Woollies with his 1/6d pocket money all those years before.
My excitement was tinged with a degree of anxiety. I did not know the rules of engagement here and there were about 15 dealers to choose from. Where should I start? “What are you interested in?” asked a dealer as I looked at the collection of stock books spread out on his table. “Commonwealth, the three kings,” I replied confidently, trying to sound like an old hand. “Everyone starts with the Commonwealth” said a seated collector, “you’ll soon grow out of it and advance on to something more interesting.”
I sat down next to him and took the proffered stock book. Opening it revealed mint Aden and the Arab dhows. I looked at the fellow next to me. He was studying a page of small, smudgy looking stamps; obviously these were more interesting and more advanced than I was ready for. He already had a number of them laid out in front of him and was removing another. “German states, pre 1900, used”, he informed me. “You’ll need plenty of cash for that set,” he said pointing to the Arab dhows without even looking up at me..
Undeterred I started to look through Aden and Antigua and was struck by the range of colours and designs. Then, as I went through the stock book, I came to Ascension and the start of a fascination with certain Commonwealth sets. Occasionally I looked across at my neighbour’s growing collection of dull coloured, but obviously interesting and advanced, stamps. I could not see anything to compare with what I was sorting out.
I have to admit I did go a little over my stated budget for the day, but I came away with several complete sets of stamps. I think I got as far as the Cayman Islands before bankruptcy emptied my wallet. I soon had to buy another stock book to house a growing collection and looked forward to those trips to the stamp fairs where I could continue to indulge myself, always hoping that my ‘wants’ list would get smaller – it never has.
Four years on my small collection of Commonwealth now occupies fourteen stock books. Whereas Gibbons quotes for a set of 16, I found that by collecting listed shades and perforations my Ascension set has grown to 32 stamps. Though a full set would number 55 this would include flaws which are beyond my budget and interests at the moment. I have narrowed down the number of countries within the Commonwealth which I now collect, but have also added some of the early Queen Elizabeth II sets to the list.
I still feel the excitement when I go to a stamp fair or auction. And the anxiety is still there too, only now it’s whether I will find the one stamp of good enough quality to complete a particular set. I do find myself looking at the stamps from other countries and seeing many wonderful pieces of art. Looking at the displays we have at the Society meetings makes me realise how much further I still have to go and I find lots of inspiration which spurs me to try and fill those gaps in my own collection and knowledge.
Have I grown out of it yet (the Commonwealth that is)? No. I think I will stay with the Commonwealth for some time to come.
MISCELLANY
MEMBERS' DISPLAYS TO THE SOCIETY :
"Official Mail": Dennis Boot, 5 February 2010.
Here is his introduction: “Since 1652, members of Parliament and officers of state enjoyed a free franking privilege for their mail. The system was abused and with the reforms of 1840, this system was abolished and signed official mail was then sent to the post office in sealed bags. It was then charged by weight to the govt dept concerned and stamped ‘post paid’. Government postage stamps were issued in 1882 for use in the provinces as mail to and from
the head offices was sent free,” The display, starting from 1709, showed the variety of free franking marks, the abuse of privilege, the charges applied and official overprints that were used during this period.
Minou Button followed with a short display which she prefaced with the following notes: ‘These documents give an indication of the changing pattern of death announcements and acknowledgements in Belgium between 1877 and 2007 covering five generations. They are all related to me, Anne-Marie Button-De Groote, called Minou, as they are either family members or very close friends. Over the years, the formality changes ending with announcements in the newspapers, but also now by telephone and email, with a very contemporary, informal and lovely photograph acknowledgment for my cousin Rene 13 August 2007, as compared with that of my mother, myself and my brothers after the death of my father Alfred De Groote, on 22 March 1946. Over the years, these documents have also proved to be invaluable in family genealogy research.’
Barbara Inger gave a 90-sheet display on Ceylon/Sri Lanka on 5 March. Here is her introduction: Other than minor skirmishes, the war in Sri Lanka has ended and the Tamil Tigers have been defeated, But what was it all about in the first place? Tea bushes arrived in Ceylon from China and in 1873, the first Ceylon tea arrived in London and one of its first devotees was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Ceylon quickly became the 2nd largest tea producer in the world. In the Ceylon census of 1871, 2½ million people were living on the island and 1 million were directly or indirectly involved in tea production. Lipton’s, founded by Sir Thomas Lipton, a Scot from Glasgow, was the biggest tea producer on the island. Its slogan was DIRECT FROM THE TEA GARDENS TO THE TEA POT. He needed workers and the Ceylon people did not like to work in the fields much, so he asked for immigrants from Tamil Nardu in India and 100,000 originally came. They did well in Lipton’s and the company looked after its workers well. Lipton’s share of the rapidly declining tea market of the 60s and 70s fell sharply and many Tamils could not find work. The minimum age for a tea worker is still 12 years old as it was in 1873. Tamils are now mainly rejected by the indigenous population who want them returned to India. Lipton’s have now left production work in Sri Lanka and are now owned by Unilever and are based in Kenya. Sri Lanka is now the world’s fourth largest tea producer.’ Barbara followed the tea theme, focussing on Lipton’s, and illustrated her display of stamps, covers and special marks with tea cards, picture postcards, advertising labels and even a Lipton’s tea caddy and lorry.
Andy Beech followed with a 90-sheet display on James Bond and his creator, Ian Fleming. On view, were picture postcards, thematic stamps which included some Australian locals, booklets, miniature sheets and covers..
On 19 March, Sandra Poole gave a presentation on Cinderella Philately. This was an introduction to the many different non-mainstream stamps and labels that came under the Cinderella umbrella, including local, private and Christmas posts, revenues and telegraphs, seals and charity stamps, poster stamps, strike posts, soldier, ship and railway stamps.And more!
George Kirkham introduced his display on April 2 with another of his inimitable poems! The display itself was a collection of stamps- some printed on the back of maps or banknotes- from 1919 to 1941 and showed the different papers, varieties, perforations, watermarks and overprints. It also included a section on the postal history of the area, with material ranging from 1838 to 1944.
Latvian Lament
Latvia is a country lying on the Baltic
With visitors of industry and scenes exotic
Peopled by clerics and randy civilians
The population now numbers about 6 millions
Exporting leather, wool and various woods,
Importing iron, coal and rubber goods
Rubber for making the tyres on cars
And the red sealing ring round kilner jars.
1919 saw the first stamp issue
On paper so thin it was almost like tissue.
They looked round desperately to fill the gaps
Their eye fell upon banknotes and maps.
And so it continued with defins & comms
Civil unrest threatened with bullets and bombs
Till President Ulmanis put an end to unrest.
He promoted one lot and imprisoned the rest.
Stamps were issued with gay abandon
Celebrating all sorts of things with the date on.
One such issue celebrated ‘Cemetery Gates’
I kid you not, it’s a pretty green one,
I’ll tell you all about it anon.
All staggered on till 1939
The Russians nosed in, the dirty swine
1941 the Germans came along
By 1945 the blighters were gone
So it proved till 1993
The Russians moved out to general glee.
There’s no more to be said Minou my dear
Cos that is the story of Latvia
ENVELOPES AND STAMPS
(The following article appeared in the Waikato Philatelic Society (Inc.) newsletter No. 2010/01, and I reproduce it below in its entirety and with thanks. Lots of things get sent round in e-mails- some true, some false- I leave readers to make up their own mind on this one. Ed.)
A woman was working in a Post Office in California. One day she licked the envelopes and postage stamps instead of using a sponge. That very day the lady found a cut on her tongue. A week later, she noticed an abnormal swelling of her tongue. She went to the doctor and they found nothing wrong. Her tongue was not sore or anything. A couple of days later, her tongue started to swell more and it began to get really sore, so sore that she could not eat. She went back to the hospital and demanded something be done. The doctor took an x-ray of her tongue and noticed a lump. He prepared her for minor surgery. When the doctor cut her tongue open, a live cockroach crawled out!!!. There were cockroach eggs on the seal of the envelope. The egg was able to hatch inside of her tongue because of her saliva, which was warm and moist. This is a true story reported on CNN.
Andy Hume wrote: Hey, I used to work in an envelope factory. You wouldn’t believe the things that float around in those gum applicator trays. I haven’t licked an envelope for years! I used to work for a print shop (32 years ago), and we were told NEVER to lick the envelopes. I never understood why until I had to go into storage and pull out 2,500 envelopes that were already printed and saw several squads of cockroaches roaming around inside a couple of boxes with eggs everywhere. They eat the glue on the envelopes.
OBITUARY: Geoffrey Charles Taylor 1930 - 2010
Geoff Taylor was born in 1930. At the age of 16 he joined the RAF, trained as an armourer and had several postings overseas, including Egypt and Germany (where he met his wife), before returning to England to RAF Newton. There he worked in bomb disposal and in that capacity moved around the British Isles from Scotland to Cornwall. On leaving the RAF he took up a position at MoD Chilwell. Geoff was a man of wide interests but he was particularly passionate about wildlife (he was a long-term member of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) and philately. He joined Nottinghamshire Philatelic Society in 1971 and, despite his MoD work taking him to Carlisle for many years, preserved his membership and maintained his contacts with the Society. After he and his wife returned to Nottingham just a few years ago he again attended meetings regularly. At the national level he was a member of the Royal Philatelic Society, the Germania Society and, through his deep interest in the history of Gibraltar, the Gibraltar Study Circle. He was an enthusiastic and frequently successful entrant to philatelic competitions.Geoff passed away on 6th February 2010 whilst staying with close family members. His funeral took place on 17th February at Bramcote Crematorium where the Society was represented by David Shipstone. (Obituary by David Shipstone)
DISCLAIMER: While every care is taken during the production of this newsletter, neither the editor nor the Society officers can accept any liability for views, opinions or unintentional publication errors that may occur.