SOCIETY NEWS
Members of the Chelmsford And District Philatelic Society were delighted to welcome Charlie Mead for the final meeting before the summer break. Charlie displayed a comprehensive, very attractive selection of King George VI Fiji issues including plate blocks and complete sheets. When Sir Harry Luke, a keen philatelist, was Governor he objected to the colour of the 5d blue and red stamp showing rice growing and arranged for the rice to be printed in green instead.
Charlie explained that the 11/2d stamp originally depicted an empty canoe, but later had one man in it, although the original essay showed two men. The display also provided booklets of stamps, postage dues and stationery as well as labels sold for the Bomber Fund which raised £22,500 towards the war effort. The second part of the evening began with free postage used by the post office and government departments as well as facilities for the public to pay postage in cash. In June 1940 Pan American Airways commenced flights from San Francisco to Auckland (FAM19) and on 9 November 1941 called at Suva, Fiji. Much souvenir mail was carried and examples were shown with the relevant cachets for the various legs of the flight. The next flight from the USA arrived in Auckland just after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour and the pilot was ordered to return to the USA by westward route, and not across the Pacific. Charlie described the adventures associated with this flight. The evening concluded with a display of Forces and censored mail plus paquebot mail landed in Fiji.
In what proved to be a somewhat different, but totally fascinating, presentation given to the Royal Philatelic Society London recently, Vincent Schouberechts FRPSL unravelled the background of Jeanbaptiste Moens (1833-1908) and Louis Hanicau (1835-1924), who came together in the philatelic trade and became well known as publishers of
catalogues, albums and philatelic magazines. Through correspondence, photographs and other documents Vincent traced the background of their joint endeavours. Among the many surprising facts revealed was that as early as 1862 there was a great interest in forgeries, while in a newspaper advertisement in 1866 they were offering 2fr for 1,000 Belgian stamps. In addition to giving his presentation Vincent was able to display a selection of the items featured, including his own collection of albums and books that came from Moens’ private library. Reg Harrison, sharing Vincent’s interest in stamp dealers and invited to give the Vote of Thanks, noted that Vincent had provided both the unexpected and the unusual in his presentation. Peter Cockburn FRPSL, President of the Royal Philatelic Society London, added his own thanks, presenting Vincent with a certificate and the Society’s plaquette.
The guest speaker at the recent Poole and Bournemouth Stamp & Postcard Club meeting was Len Yandell who gave a comprehensive talk on his Le Havre display. Len spoke about the history of Le Havre and the twinning with Southampton. He explained that the number 1769 cancellation on stamps of old France was for Le Havre, and also showcased intriguing items depicting the SS Normandie which are collectable in their own right. The ship, registered in the Port of Le Havre had its Maiden voyage on 29 May 1935.