Philatelic fund-raiser

AT THE meeting of the Loughborough & District Philatelic Society on 27th April, members were asked to produce 5 sheets (on any subject and using any media), or to pay £1 into the society’s funds.

This is annual topic has proved very popular with society members over the years, and needless to say, the income for the society is very small. On this particular evening, 18 members produced their 5 sheets.

The first to display was Ruth who produced 5 sheets all relating to the Red Cross. First stamps issued by Latvia in 1920, printed on bank-note paper, then BT ‘phone cards sold in aid of the Red Cross; a small record produced by the USA Red Cross and sent to soldiers during WWII; a sheet of ‘Match-box Labels” produced in Czechoslovakia, advertising then work of the Red Cross and a USA stamp issued in 1931 to commemorate the founding of the American Red Cross.

The position of the red cross on the stamp changed slightly on each printing run that Ruth cleverly displayed.

Next came Mary with envelopes, each with a date relating to her family. 1947 her Wedding year; 1949 eldest son born; 1952 Brother-in-law born; 1953 daughter born and 1954 youngest son born. Her second! Contribution was a set of Victorian covers and stationery cards.

It was then then turn of her youngest son, Frank, to produce sets of badges, all relating to “Busby”, the character used to promote Telecommunications in 1976 that included a set from Finland; Cardiff (a variety of 7 or 8 designs); a set of 12 showing different characters and some with “Look Out! There’s a Busby about”.

He was followed by Colin – making his debut – who displayed a variety of stamps from Bavaria (1876-1919); Bulgaria (1907) in a variety of designs; Costa Rica (energy and the environment), Reunion and France 1906-70.

Lionel then produced a group of covers issued in 1950 that related to the routes taken by the Railway Travelling Post Office. All with red stamps ranging from 2½d-3½d rates.

David Gabe displayed his plating of the QV 1d reds (except for No 77 of which there are only 10 known examples left in the world), plus some 2d blue plate numbers.

He was followed by Garth who displayed East Africa & Uganda stamps showing Edward VII issues of 1904-7 and 1907-8 with colour changes and 1908 to the end of the reign. Don then produced his sheets of USA Flags of 1968 that showed the 1775 “Sons of Liberty” flag and the 1977 “Stars and Stripes” (with the then 13 stars, one for each State). These were followed by two sheets of “The 50 State Flags”. His last sheets showed “Flags of the Oppressed Nations set issued in 1943.

Brian W. followed by displaying 5 sheets he had designed himself when he was 13/14 years of age. It was noticed that the writing-up was beautifully done that gave an early indication as to what a wonderful artist and calligrapher he was to become.

He was followed by Mags who produced a display of “British Currency Notes”, ranging from the 10/- to the recently defunct £5 note and included two varieties of the £1 note and the blue £5 note of 1957-67).

She was followed by her husband Brian who displayed a series of Queen Elizabeth (Prestige Booklets) produced each year. Those displayed were for the first 5 years from 1980. Each booklet gave a full description of the issue and the history and designer, printer etc. Brian said that they were produced with the collector in mind, as one would rarely use any of the stamps for postage.

Chas came next with his display of “Belgian Airmails”, that included the 1930 Stamp Exhibition in Brussels, some commemoratives; one with a Tax Stamp affixed; some ‘First Flight’ covers and some ‘Special Events’ covers.

He was followed by Ray, who displayed Mozambique (1929 onwards) showing different printings by Waterlow & Sons and Harrisons.

Derek came next with his “GB Regionals” (now known as ‘Country’) stamps, from 1999-2006. All were in mint condition and the single ones were from the left-hand corner of a sheet that showed the printer, and the Blocks that showed the Cylinder numbers.

Trevor followed with some beautifully designed covers issue by the RNLI from the Isle-of-Man with designs depicting various Lifeboats and Lifeboat Stations.

Christine, his wife came next with a very colourful thematic display of stamps, covers and booklets, relating to “Bees” showing the varieties and lives of the bees, issued by GB in 2015.

Lastly came the president with his display of “Post-andGo” booklets. Plus, a bi-monthly magazine titled “Variables” issued by the Spanish Study Circle”, of which he is a member, showing the world-wide use of these stamps (labels), available from machines in some Post Offices.

In his vote -o-thanks, Rowland thanked everyone for a wonderful evening of such a variety of displays, something that the Society is well-known for. The next meeting will be on Thursday 11th May with Lionel Blower presenting his display of “Rhodesia & Nyasaland” (Note change to the programme).

RFT.