In our opinion the British Postal Museum and Archive (BPMA) deserves much credit for a lot of work they do which helps raise awareness of the history of the postal service, philately in the UK and stamp collecting in general. Here we highlight some of the information and learning resources they make available to schools which, after all, hopefully contain the postal historians and philatelists of the future!
It's a pleasure to be able to report the launch of a new stamp club, the Ripley Stamp Club, in Woking, Surrey. Plans are to follow a "philatelic fair" format at meetings with no formal membership structure. Visitors will be encouraged to buy and sell their stamps during meetings and, if they wish, take part in discussions and displays.
This years Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Society for specialist collectors of the stamps and postal history from the Channel Islands recently took place at the Royal Philatelic Society in London. With the exception of the Internet Officer, a post that will now be abolished, all the existing officers of the Society were re-elected.
The widely acclaimed 1936 short movie "Night Mail" - produced by the GPO Film Unit - has been featured on our home page for some time now at GBStamp.co.uk and, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the classic collaboration between poet W H Auden and composer Benjamin Britten, the British Postal Museum and Archive (BPMA) have annouced an event that will include a public screening.
The stamp collection built by Hugh Greenwell Fletcher throughout his life is simply amazing. When Mr Fletcher died in 1968 the collection was left to the the Bruce Castle Museum in London, once home to Sir Rowland Hill. The stamp collection was transferred to the care of the British Library in 1989.
Since the early trials of gummed Frama Labels in the 1980s Royal Mail has continued looking to reduce queues in Post Offices by using self-service machines that offer more flexibility than simple stamp booklet vending machines. Many stamp collectors screw their noses up at machine printed labels and some even fear the demise of their hobby. But is this a valid opinion?
English football fans still recall 1966 as the pinacle of our national team's achievments when Bobby Moore captained the team to lift the trophy following an exciting and controversial 4-2 defeat of West Germany in the Wembley Final. It remains the first and only time to date that England have either hosted the World Cup or won the title.
The Redditch Philatelic Society has moved to a new meeting venue at St Luke's Memorial Hall, Headless Cross, Redditch B97 4JX. Upcoming meetings in the new venue will feature a display of Postage due mail of Great Britain on 17th November and a single sheet competition on December 1st.
A simple question on the face of it but many enthusiasts would answer this question differently. Personally I see postal historians as philatelists with a speciality interest in the actual usage of postage stamps. They focus attention on the charges levied, the rules of carriage and understanding the postal markings which can evidence the rates, services and historical changes to the mail over time.
The recent news that a special Royal Mail commemorative stamp will be issued for every British Gold Medal winner at the 2012 Olympic Games in London has fueled the flames of an old chestnut among GB stamp collectors: Are there simply too many stamps being issued for collectors to cope with or afford?
A limited edition commemorative cover has been issued by Bletchley Park post Office to commemorate England becoming the Number 1 cricketing nation following their remarkable whitewash of India this summer.
Founded by ten enthusiasts in February 1971, the Welsh Philatelic Society is celebrating it's 40th anniversary this year with, apart from Wales, more than one third of members now in England and around the rest of the world. The society has steadily grown to a stable membership of around 200 people of various interests in the philately, postal history, postmarks and postcards of Wales.
The 1858 GB Victorian Penny Plates (SG 43 or Scott 33/b) remain a very popular specialisation for GB collectors and - save for the few examples of plate 77 that exist having not been officially issued - they represent one of the few achievable and affordable collecting targets among Britain's line engraved stamp issues.
An imperforate miniature sheet of the four Thunderbirds stamps issued by Royal Mail to commemorate the genius of Gerry Anderson has recently been discovered.
The Glasgow Stamp Shop business - originally being one of Britain's oldest stamp shops established in 1908 - is now under the ownership of Gordon Carroll who has himself been a philatelic trader for more than 40 years.
An exhibit by Alan Holyoake titled "The Evolution and Usage of the Mulready Envelopes and Letter Sheets" was awarded a FIP Large Gold medal at Philanippon 2011 in Yokohama, Japan.
