New RDP signatories
Five collectors have been named as new signatories of the prestigious Roll of Distinguished Philatelists for 2021, with the signing ceremony set to take place in Harrogate in September.
The Board of Election of the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists recently agreed that the following philatelists be invited to sign the Roll: Dénes Czirók, RDP, FRPSL (Hungary), Seija-riitta Laakso, RDP, FRPSL (Finland), Jose Ramon Moreno, RDP, FRPSL (Spain), Henrik Mouritsen, RDP, FRPSL (Denmark), Randolph Neil, RDP, FRPSL (USA).
The invitation to sign the Roll is the highest and most prestigious of honours in philately, recognising achievement, research, publication and service in many areas of philately. The Roll was instituted in 1921 and the signature of His Majesty King George V appears at its head as the first signatory. Its design contains the names of 42 ‘Fathers of Philately’, great philatelists who would have been invited to sign had they been alive at the time. The initial 39 signatures were added at the first ceremony in Harrogate in May 1921.
This year’s signing ceremony, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the first signatories to the Roll, will take place on 24 September 2021 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Harrogate, during the Philatelic Congress of Great Britain. The venue has been chosen as the very first RDP ceremony took place in Harrogate in 1921. Attendance at the ceremony is open to all.
The centenary of the RDP has also given the Board of Election the chance to correct ‘a historic injustice’. The Roll was instigated just after the First World War when there was strong anti-german feeling in Great Britain. Germany had been a strong philatelic nation with many eminent philatelists but when the 42 ‘Fathers of Philately’ were inscribed on the side panels, no German or Austrian names were selected. There were, however, some empty name banners at the bottom of the scroll, four of which were filled in the 1950s, but two remain empty to this day.
The Board of Election, with guidance from Wolfgang Maassen RDP, has selected two eminent philatelists to occupy those spaces, one German and one Austrian. A spokesperson said: ‘They undoubtedly deserve selection as “Fathers of Philately” but they also stand to represent many of their countrymen who would also merit inclusion.’
They are Otto Carl Alfred Moschkau (18481912) of Germany and Victor Suppantschitsch (1839-1919) of Austria.
You can read full biographies of each signatory, including the posthumous awards, on the website at www.allaboutstamps.co.uk/news