On Tuesday 12th April we welcomed our friends from Redditch Philatelic Society who provided four very different displays.
Their Chairman, Malcolm Allinson, kicked off with a display of £1 stamps. Whilst most of the material shown was from Great Britain, he also covered the whole of the British Commonwealth particularly noting the 13 remaining countries that use GB currency.
Seemingly, of late, the Postal Authorities are issuing £1 stamps with no apparent postal use but the mini sheets that contain them were interesting and attractive.
Chris Jackson then gave a lovely display of the “Postal History of Redditch” showing a stampless cover from 1795. Redditch was part of the wider Bromsgrove postal district so many covers were cancelled using Bromsgrove cancellations. The first cancellation was a straight line – Redditch but this was superseded in 1840 with a circular cancel.
Peter Elms then gave a display of “Modern GB Errors” which appear to be more numerous than expected. Many are missing colours and even one with the queen’s head omitted. Most of these errors should be picked up by the security printer but somehow, maybe by nefarious methods, these errors become available to collectors – they are very sought after.
To wrap up the evening Alan Godfrey gave a display “Where have all the flowers gone?” which focussed on stamps containing Ferns, Seaweeds, Mosses and Lichens. An amazing array of thematic material was shown from all over the world commemorating these interesting plants.
The next event will be on Tuesday April 26th at 7:30pm at the Hanwell Fields Community Centre when Allen Wood will provide a display on “Ethiopia”. The Banbury Stamp Society is on-line at ‘www.banburystampsociety.co.uk’ or contact John Davies on 01295 255831.