(Page 34) Summer 2015 Newsletter

JAMAICA IN WARTIME: THE AMERICANS ENTER THE WAR

IAN JAKES

In the last newsletter, I mentioned that the British aristocracy used Jamaica as a fall-back war base in case Britain was overrun by the Germans in the early years of world War 2. When America entered the war in 1941 there was great rejoicing in Jamaica. Postal envelopes were hand struck by a marking in red in a single line square 30mm x 30mm with a letter ‘V’ for ‘Victory’ in each internal corner and bearing the words ‘THANK YOU AMERICA’ below the crossed flags of the USA and the United Kingdom. A cover, displayed below, from Cecil de Cordova & Co, 146 Harbour Street, Kingston to New York, with the stamps postmarked ‘27 JA 42 ‘ bears one of these handstamped marks.

German submarines were a menace during the war. British ships had to hug the coastline and sail in very shallow waters where the German submarines could not operate. The British ships frequently changed their route to avoid detection whilst travelling to join a convoy to cross the Atlantic. Occasionally, heavy seas and overloaded ships resulted in British ships being wrecked when hitting rocks on the seabed. A good example is the loss of SS Politician off the Scottish island of Eriskay in 1941 whilst travelling to meet a convoy to cross the Atlantic. The cargo of whisky and Jamaican banknotes was lost. The film ‘Whisky Galore’ was made after the war. To learn more, google ‘The legend of Whisky Galore'.

The USA used Jamaica as a base for their armed forces, providing hope, encouragement and jobs for Jamaicans during the wartime period. Shown below is a cartoon propaganda postcard boasting about the success of the North Atlantic convoys of war material from the New World to England. Note the words on the postcard: ‘JANUARY 1941 GERMANY BOASTED… Every ship that appears before our torpedo tubes is going to be torpedoed’, ‘August 1941, President Roosevelt and Mr Churchill meet on the Atlantic’, ‘…MOST OF THE WAR MATERIAL AMERICA HAS SHIPPED TO THIS ISLAND HAS ARRIVED HERE…’ and ‘Mr. Harry Hopkins, The American President’s Representative in charge of the Lease and Lend Programme, London, 27th July, 1941’ This postcard was addressed to the Fire Brigade Headquarters, Kingston, Jamaica and bears an ‘OFFICIAL FREE’ mark.

The reality of the success of the convoy is perhaps best summarised in a patriotic cachet on a cover from the philatelic dealer, L. Barrington Smith of Halfway Tree, Jamaica to Chicago.. The patriotic cachet is in green at the top left of the cover, being a green hanging sign based upon the 1938 3d ultramarine and green .’bananas’ Jamaica postage stamp (SG 126), a copy of which appears at the top right of the cover. The cachet includes the British and American flags displaying a ‘V’ shape with the word ‘VICTORY’ underneath the flags in the place of the head of King George VI which appears on the postage stamp, and the words ‘DAMN THE SUBMARINES’ appear in the place of the word ‘JAMAICA’ which appears on the postage stamp. At the foot of the cachet are the words ‘Jamaica still sells her bananas and stamps’ Our philatelic dealer was anxious that his Chicago customer should not pay tax on the Jamaican stamps included on the envelope. Note the words ‘Postage stamps. Not dutiable. May be opened for inspection.

TELEGRAM FROM THE KJOBENHAVENS TELEFON AKTIE SELSKAB

SANDRA POOLE

This is the latest acquisition to the telegram section of my collection of Private Local Post and Telephone Companies of Denmark. It was sent in 1900 and the sender is offering congratulations to the recipient.

HMS ENDURANCE 2

BRIAN CLAYTON

This Naval Ice Patrol ship, which could break ice up to a metre thick travelling at 3 knots, replaced a previous smaller ship of the same name at the start of the 1992-93 austral summer season. She was chartered for use in the previous summer season as the Norwegian ship MV Polar Circle before being purchased outright and the name changed. For most of her career she performed her varied duties well with an RN crew and civilian scientists on board. However, her last 4 years of service were problematic as she suffered various machinery and rudder failures. The final ignominy occurred on 16 December 2008 when she was seriously damaged by flooding of lower decks and machinery spaces following an error during routine maintenance on a sea-water suction strainer south of the Magellan Strait. She lost all electrical and propulsion power and a camera crew on board captured the drama of the near capsize which was shown on Channel Five TV in the final episode of a five-episode series in 2010 (which I watched at the time!). Total disaster was averted by everyone on the ship joining a long line and baling water overboard using any suitable containers until the ship drifted into the calmer waters of the Strait where anchors, lowered manually, held the ship head-to-wind. After a Chilean tug towed Endurance to Punta Arenas she was carried back to Portsmouth on the semi-submersible transporter ship MV Target, arriving on 8 April 2009 and dry docked. After detailed examination and official enquiries it was deemed uneconomic to pay at least £30m to refit the ship and in October 2013 it was reported that the ship was to be scrapped; it has now been replaced by HMS Protector.

PHILATELY AND FITNESS FOR PURPOSE

ALAN SQUIRES

In a previous incarnation I was a Technology teacher. For those people of a certain generation this translates into Woodwork, Metalwork, Cooking and Sewing. The names had to be changed to protect the innocent and keep everyone confused. Part of Technology was Product Design, which translates as ‘Yes it looks beautiful, Norman*, but does it work?’ This is known as Fitness for Purpose. I became able to see quickly where products needed to be altered to make them work properly and where products had been designed to work. Where do stamps fit in all this? I do not think stamps are designed with fitness for purpose in mind. Yes they stick to envelopes and they carry the country of origin’s name and their value. All of which is necessary.

BUT I was trying to mount a set of stamps in my album when I ran into a problem. The twelve stamps in this set range in value from 1p to £5. I maintain this set was primarily designed for philatelic purposes. The set is from the Falkland Islands from 2003 and features Birds, presumably from the Falklands. The individual values are designed in both horizontal and vertical aspects. And this is where the problem comes. Each design alternates from vertical to horizontal.

Do I mount all the horizontal stamps together and all the vertical stamps together, thereby limiting the number of Hawid mounts I use? This may be an efficient method, but it upsets me because it does not feel right tohave the stamps in the wrong order!! (I am still battling my obsessive compulsive disorder.) For my sanity’s sake, I had no choice but to move each stamp individually and keep them in order. We hear many complaints that stamp producers are issuing too many stamps each year and this is obviously not just for the sake of postage. So if stamps are being issued for philatelists, the producers and designers ought to give consideration for ease of mounting in our albums. By all means have different orientations, or even unusual shapes, but let’s keep the orientations together so they are easier to mount, please. I still think this issue is a beautiful set of miniature artwork, but look at it, it’s higgledy-piggledy all over the place.

*The Norman in question being Sir Norman Foster, who designed the Millau Suspension Bridge, which did work, and the Millennium Bridge, which did not, but they both look great!

UM

DOUGLAS HARVEY

As a frequent supporter of Stanley Gibbons, I have long regarded their catalogue appendix as a sort of joke region for those poor unsuspecting philatelists who have fallen into the trap of buying stamp-sized pretty pictures from an unscrupulous dealer. The illustration shows an airmail letter, which was sent from the government of Um-Al-Qiwain to Mrs. Loader, British Philatelic Association, Stoke Poges ("Itake Pages") and cancelled 7 August 1970. Royal Mail presumably handled it in the usual way, accepting that all foreign mail is regarded as high priority and incorrect English village names are just another challenge. The SG listing is in the Um Appendix, Apollo 16 series (1970). So why Appendix? Perhaps this stamp was not on general sale, although readily available to collectors, so should it be classified as an "Official"? Or was this a challenge to the British Philatelic Association, which has a committee, which offers an expert opinion service? Unfortunately, their deliberations on this cover are not available and I wonder if it is really just a hoax.

DANISH SOLUTION TO HEAVY POSTMARKS AND RUINED STAMPS

SANDRA POOLE

Royal Mail protects FDCs and special postmarks, but this is just for philatelic items that they themselves deal with. Obviously, stamp collectors cannot protect their stamps in the same way, as these could not then be cancelled. Non-collectors could also use this method, leading perhaps to fraudulent reuse of the stamps. The Danes have a simple solution to this- a piece of paper, 10 x 5cm, with a 9mm strip of gum (that you have to moisten), all down the right hand side.You stick it over the stamp, but slightly to the right of it, so that it may be lifted in order for a perfect postmark to be applied.

MISCELLANY

From John Waller, Waikato PS New Zealand:

I liked Alan Squires’s article about his untidy study. Mine is no better, with all surfaces occupied, including the desk, and I have to work on a makeshift table in the family room, which also has stacks of stuff on it. Only once have I tripped in my office and fallen into the stacked boxes of covers etc. However, the chaos is no barrier to buying and acquiring more items!

Again- John Waller, referring to Doug Stubbings’s article (Spring 2015 Newsletter):

NZ rural letterboxes are often quite different to ‘normal’. In this region, you very often see them painted in red, black and yellow which are the colours of both the Waikato Rugby team and the Chiefs (the local Super 15 team). Letterboxes made from old milk churns and so on are quite common and there has been a stamp issue of quirky letterboxes. Urban letterboxes are mostly fairly plain, often only adorned with a ‘No junk mail’ sticker.

(I’ve got some of these stamps and never realised what they were! I went to the NZ Post website to find out more. In 1996, a competition was held to find the ‘wackiest letterboxes’ in NZ. Over 300 entries were received and 10 of those deemed to be the best appeared on these stamps, issued six months later on 19 March 1997. Ed.)

And, finally:

(on receipt of our newsletter with miniature sheet and special Stampex cancellation on the envelope, which was wrapped in plastic by Royal Mail):‘The plastic cover certainly helped as it is very rainy (and cold) here at present, and mail often gets water damaged. The water problem might be on the way out as NZ Post is trialling in Taranaki motorised tricycles and quad bikes (with trailers), which should keep the mail waterproofed.’

The Phoenix Trophy Competition

On 1 May 2015, this competition celebrated its 21st anniversary this year. Philatelic societies in Derbyshire take it in turns to organise it, but Nottingham P.S. takes part by invitation only. Normally, we have a reasonable number of members attending either as competitors or supporters, so it was disappointing that on this special occasion, there were just 3. However, it was an enjoyable evening with a celebratory cake and exhibits of the usual high standard.

From Roger West: Many years ago when I was a draughtsman, I did enlarged drawings of several stamps and had two of them etched onto metal. The PUC £ is etched on stainless steel and the other was the St. Helena 2s 6d Badge etched on to brass (to represent yellow paper). At the time, I was going to do a range of stamps as they would sell like hot cakes and I’d retire by the time I reached 30. Everything went according to plan except the bit about them selling like hot cakes. I had 12 of each plaque made and having got a few of each left over, I decided to use the PUC as a trophy for an inter-club stamp competition. Early discussions were with Ron Stammers and, later, representatives from the other Derbyshire clubs and all agreed it would be a good idea. Our first competition was 21 years ago. The idea was to create a step between club level and national level which otherwise can be an enormous jump (9 sheets to 32). I don’t think any of us realised how popular it would become as a ‘social event’ and this is illustrated by the number of people who come, but don’t always submit an entry.

(This is a one-frame competition, 16 sheets, and the classes are Thematic, Postal History, Traditional and Social Philately. Ed).and exhibits of the usual high standard. Roger West, who made the impressive annual trophy for the overall winner of the competition, wrote later: ‘Please convey my thanks to all your members for their support over the years and I very much look forward to seeing some of them next year.’ Next year’s competition will take place on 5 May, so there’s plenty of time to think about it.

Europhilex 2015- a Volunteer’s Observations - Allen Wood

My role was to help place the exhibits into the frames, part of a team of 3. Our allocation was 150 frames. Collection of frames was from a secure area, 3 frames at a time, all of which had to be signed for. This was my job, it being assumed that I was a fast walker. Once a routine was established, it became quite easy. It was surprising that some exhibitors used protectors, the quality of which reminded you of a £1 shop. Although there was little spare time, it was possible to admire some of the displays, in which there was much superb material. The physically hard part of the job was fitting the Perspex sheet to the frame- they are heavy. Having started at 10:15 am on the Tuesday, by 6:00 pm it was a case of waiting for the commissioner to arrive with his exhibits. At this point, a number of dealers were willing to conduct sales. This enabled me to bag a few bargains. On the Sunday, we did the job in reverse and by 5:30 pm, all was safely gathered in. A great experience, which I would be happy to do again.

Fruit Stickers Update- Sandra Poole

In the Spring 2009 Newsletter, I wrote an article on Becky Martz, collector of banana labels, which currently number 15,156 (all different), not to mention 93 broccoli and 157 asparagus bands- just in case you fancy a change from stamp collecting. Not so long ago, I had my attention drawn to an article in the Sun relating to a collector who has 30,000 fruit stickers and believes this is the second largest collection in the world- he is currently being beaten by a collector in France. However, new technology using lasers to remove pigment from certain fruits to show ‘branding, sell-by-date and price’ is now being trialled and could mean the end of the road for these collectors. But can we ourselves be complacent, when letters bearing stamps are becoming a rarity!

The Nottingham Stamp Centre

Previously known as Curtis Rawson, the shop was taken over by Dave Hardy on 24 June. I went in to find out what changes there were. Nothing looked different inside- Dave bought up all the stock, but he has also added his own. He specialises in GB and Postal History, particularly that of the World War II period. He also has 300 albums from around the world. Why not pay him a visit? (Ed.)

WELCOME TO OUR NEW PRESIDENT, MINOU BUTTON

Minou needs no introduction, as she has been an active member of the Society since 2006. Unfortunately, she was away for her inauguration and therefore did not address members in person. However, she has prepared a ‘welcome’ message:.

MEETINGS REPORTS

‘Travel through the Ages’- D. Boot and D. Harvey, 15 May 2015

Dennis Boot’s display focused on the carriage of mail in 19th century Britain, beginning with the mail-coach, continuing with the railways and ending with sea travel’ Examples of mail carried in these different ways included a selection of entires bearing the additional ½d mark and an Admiralty entire dated 1818, covers with TPO marks and railway stamps, and an entire sent from Taunton to Bombay in 1808.

Douglas Harvey moved us into the 20th and 21st centuries with his collection of modern illustrated covers and commemoratives depicting a huge range of ways to travel- from the simple Shanks’s pony and pennyfarthing to hot air balloons, passenger ships and Concorde. The display also included sections on RAF illustrated covers, the London 1980 Exhibition and US inaugural flights. (S.P.)

‘18 Aspects of Cinderellas’- Chris Tennant, 3 July 2015

Chris Tennant explained that the popularity of collecting non-postal items had declined during the 20th century, but was now increasing again. He had assembled 18 frames of examples of different types of Cinderella stamps and documents from around the British Isles, which ranged from revenue stamps through railway newspaper and parcel labels to tax discs. Not only taxation of motor vehicles and their drivers, but items issued when horses were hired for licensed carriages and when tax was levied on playing cards, dice, tea, entertainment and almost everything, even bath chairs. Private issues were for copyright payment and contracts and a curious attempt to circumvent Royal Mail by the National Delivery Company. This was a colourful display of interesting items, which philatelists are

now taking with increased seriousness, especially when the selling prices are revealed. (D.H.)

SOCIETY AND OTHER NEWS

Sad news- Tony Plowright died suddenly and unexpectedly on 1 May at the age of 71. He was born in Sheen, London on 22 March 1944 and was educated at Wimbledon College. In the 1960s, he married Frances and they had two sons, Mark and Brian. He worked for Plessey and Everest. For over 40 years, he was a member of the NPS, where he was a regular attender. His philatelic collecting interests included Victorian GB and Morris cars depicted on stamps and postcards. He also had a collection of model cars. Other interests, which he shared with Frances, were caravanning and vintage Morris cars. These he painstakingly restored to their former glory and used to tow the caravans, one of which, at least, was also vintage.

Tony’s funeral was held on 1 June at the Church of the Assumption, Beeston and was attended by 8 members of the Society.

Deputy-Vice-President: We are very grateful to Gerry Rose for agreeing to take on this rôle.

Members’ Displays to other Societies- Bill Whitaker gave a display entitled ‘An Evening with Bill’ on 8 May at Alfreton, followed by Mike Siverns with ‘Military India, Part I’ at Leicester on 9 June. Brian Clayton presented his display on Australian Antarctic Territory at Burton on 7 July and Alan Squires was at the GNCPS on 8 July with ‘South Atlantic Islands’.

Forthcoming Displays at our Society

4 Sep Military India, Part 2- Mike Siverns

18 Sep Visit to Alfreton PS, Pentrich Village Hall, DE5 3RE

25 Sep The Variety of Collecting Belgium- Nick Martin

16 Oct History of the USA- Mick Inger

6 Nov Mainly Black- Mike Brindle

Displays at the Greater Nottingham Co-operative P.S.

12 Aug Graf Zeppelin 1928-1937- Brian Hyner

9 Sep World War II- Peter Ball

14 Oct Dominica Roger West

Displays at Derby P.S.

13 Aug AGM, Bring and Buy

10 Sep President’s Evening John D’Arcy

Displays at Radcliffe-on-Trent P.S.

13 Aug Anything but Stamps Members

10 Sep Large Items Richard Farman

8 Oct Medley of Items Mike Siverns

22 Oct Two Kings Ian Shaw

Visit to Alfreton PS at Pentrich Village Hall on 18 Sep- this has been a popular event for many years, although our numbers were down the last two visits. It is always a friendly visit and members are invited to take along 9 or 18 sheets. (1 or 2 boards.)

Stamp Fairs at the Nuthall Temple Centre, Nott’m Road, NG16 1DP

12 August, 7 October and 9 December. .

Autumn Stampex- 16-19 Sep, Business Design Centre, Islington.

Article in the Nottingham Post. 4 May 2015- this two-page article celebrated the 175th Anniversary of the Penny Black and gave good coverage of the event, stamp collecting in general, our Society and the former Curtis Rawson stamp shop. Douglas Harvey, as Publicity Officer and webmaster, acted as our spokesman. A copy of the article is available to view at our meetings.

Our Newsletter- I first had contact with Brian Birch when he requested a copy of our library list and a NPS library bookplate. I have seen a copy of his book on philatelic library bookplates and it is an impressive work. Next came a request for our Society Newsletters, back to the very first copies produced by Gordon Hall, as he also collects information on philatelic periodicals (an entry for the NPS, 2000-2003, appears on p599 of 974 in his ‘A Bibliography of Periodicals’) in order “to preserve the information for posterity. The photocopies and printed versions of your newsletter will eventually find their way into the Royal’s Library.”

At his request, he still receives a regular copy of our newsletter.

I expect you all know by now that they’re printing euros on Greece-proof paper!

Annual Society Competition, 5 June. Seven people took part and the winners were: Dennis Boot (Traditional), Tony Sibley (Postal History), Bill Whitaker (Thematic) and Doug Stubbings (Open). The competition was followed by a short members’ evening, to which 4 people brought short displays.

Packet circuit- Mick and Barbara Inger: (if two packets or more arrive at the same time) ‘please only look through one packet at a time and finish that paperwork before starting another packet.’ (This is to avoid some booklets ending up on the wrong circuit, as has happened recently.)

DISCLAIMER: While every care is taken during the production of the reports, neither the editor or Society Officers can accept any liability for views or unintentional publication errors that may occur.

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