By the time you read this, Summer will have come and gone, and we will start to notice the evenings drawing in. Can I thank those eighteen members who attended the 75th AGM at the RPSL in person, and the eight members who joined us via Zoom, including one member linking up from the USA. Thank you also to Mark Bailey for setting up the Zoom equipment for us.
I am pleased to report that all those committee members who had put their names forward for re-election were elected to serve for a further twelve months. A full copy of the Minutes of the 75th AGM are available to view on the Society’s website at www.ciss.uk; click on News. Please note that several of the committee members have now been serving on either the Executive or Full committee for several years, even decades, and we need some new blood for the future. If you fancy becoming a member of the CISS committee, and would like to ‘shadow’ a committee member to see what their role involves, then please contact me at secretary@ciss.uk.
Looking forward, the Society will be holding another Members’ Day Meeting on Wednesday 15 October, this time at the Three Swans Hotel in Market Harborough. Hopefully many members will be able to attend. The event is free, but there is a three-course buffet lunch available at £25 per person. The booking form is available on the website Society News Archives – Channel Islands Specialists’ Society.
Due to the high costs to members and the Society, the planned Members’ Weekend Meeting for April 2026 at Chester has now been moved to Kenilworth, Warwickshire, of which further details of dates and costings will be available in due course.
As the evenings start to draw in, it is time to think of putting your competition entries together for the 2026 Members’ Competition Day, on Saturday, 21 February 2026. Rules and entry forms will be available on the website. Remember, entries cannot be accepted on the day of the meeting. Please see Page 6 below.
5 July 2025 MIDPEX, Warwickshire Exhibition Centre,Fosse Way, Leamington Spa CV31 1XN
12 July 2025 75th Annual General Meeting; Room Auction and Members’ displays
13 September 2025 Members’ Meeting – Postcards
15 October 2025 Regional Meeting at The Three Swans, Market Harborough. (This is an additional meeting). Convenor: Gerald Marriner.
29 November 2025 Joint meeting with the Great Britain Philatelic Society (GBPS). Please note the change of programme. The venue is unchanged – Royal Philatelic Society London, Abchurch Lane EC4N 7BW
Unless stated otherwise, all meetings are held at the Royal Philatelic Society London, 15 Abchurch Lane, London EC4N 7BW with meetings starting at 11.00am. Tea and coffee is available from 10.30am in the Members’ Lounge
Please see the Society’s website at www.ciss.uk for dates of news and other events.
Since my last Secretary’s Clipboard, we have held a very successful Members’ Weekend meeting at the Peninsula Hotel, Guernsey that was attended by 47 members and guests. For those members who arrived early on the island, John Triggs had kindly arranged a visit to the new Guernsey Post sorting office. John also provided a standing display for those members to view before the evening meal. The new “Single-sheet to Tell a Story” was won by my wife, Jill, with me coming a close second; something I will not be allowed to forget for a long time.
Saturday morning was auction time, with viewing of the 580 auction lots, and the auction itself ably managed by Nick Stuart and Bryan Elliston, with Jill Flemming and John Triggs acting as runners. Saturday afternoon saw two excellent displays provided by Gerald Marriner and John Triggs. Saturday evening saw thirty-seven members and guests attending the excellent special 75th Anniversary dinner. Pride of place was the special 75th Anniversary cake. See the write-up on the CISS website for further details of the Weekend meeting. Can I add a special thank you to Sue Winnie who arranged the hotel bookings and Friday and Saturday dinners with such aplomb.
Sunday morning was taken up with ten members’ displays that ranged from early ship letter handstamps through to the German Occupation, with David Winnie, Chairman, formally closing the meeting at 1.00pm.
12 July 2025 sees our 75th Annual General Meeting at the RPSL commencing at 14.00pm BST. If any member wishes to stand for any of the full Committee positions, please forward your name to me, position standing for, and names of proposer and seconder. If any member wishes to act as a deputy to any officer holding a full committee position can you forward me your name so that I can provide you with further details.
All documents for the AGM will be available on the CISS website.
11-13 April 2025 Society Weekend at the Peninsula Hotel Guernsey
7-11 May 2025 Europhilex, NEC, Birmingham
11 May 2025 1.00pm-3.00pm Society Meeting Europhilex
17 May 2025 The 2025 Solent Regional Meeting at Chandlers Ford, Hampshire. Convener: Alan Whittaker
5 July 2025 10.00am MIDPEX, Warwickshire Exhibition Centre, near Leamington Spa (Society Stand)
12 July 2025 75th Annual General Meeting; Room Auction and Members’ displays
13 September 2025 Members’ Meeting – Postcards
29 November 2025 Members’ Meeting – Theme: Letters A, B, and/or C
Unless stated otherwise, all meetings are held at the Royal Philatelic Society London, 15 Abchurch Lane, London EC4N 7BW with meetings commencing at 11.00am. Tea and coffee is available from 10.30am in the Members’ Lounge
Please see the Society’s website at www.ciss.uk for dates of news and other events.
In accordance with our generally held belief that our collections should be dispersed in a manner to preserve them safely for the future and that they end up in the correct hands, we are pleased to advise that Heinrich Koehler, Germany’s leading auction house, will be auctioning Karl-Anton (Tony) Peters Channel Islands collections on Monday 24 March (single lots) and Wednesday 26 (balance of collections). In the course of the following weeks more and more photographs of the collections will be accessible on Heinrich Koehler’s website.
Tony is known to many of us both personally and particularly thanks to the fact that he used to be a very active researcher and publisher of articles. Today Tony lives in a retirement and care home. The link to the lots of the collections are here: 385_ChannelIslands.pdf The items will be offered in a special section of the main catalogue. The catalogue is viewable online at www.heinrich-koehler.de, and the worldwide sale of stamps and postal history will be held from 24 March to 29 March 2025.
Where is time going? So much has gone on since the December 2024 edition of Les Iles Normandes. To start with, there was the CISS’ 75th Anniversary Exhibition that was held at the Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL) on Thursday 9 January. Can I personally express my sincerest thanks to all twenty members who provided 54 frames-worth of high-class material. Feedback received from CISS and RPSL members was very positive, with many comments about the range, depth and quality of material on display.
Moving on a month, we had the 2025 Competition Day, again held at the RPSL on 8 February. On a personal note, can I express my congratulations to David Gurney FRPSL, who was awarded Honorary Life Membership of the CISS in recognition of his long-standing contributions to the Society. Please see the photograph that appears on the previous page and on the News page of the Society’s website.
As to the actual Competition Day, a special thanks needs to go to Julian Bagwell, Competition Secretary, for the smooth running of the competition. Further information about the entries and awards received will appear within the pages of this journal and are also available on the ‘Competitions’ page of the Society’s website. A big thank you also goes to Graham Winters, FRPSL, and Patrick Reid, FRPSL, who judged this year’s entries.
Soon we will be going to Guernsey for the Members’ Weekend Meeting. Still thinking of going? Full details and booking form can be found on the News page of the Society’s website.
9 January 2025 1.00pm – Anniversary Display to the Royal Philatelic Society London
8 February 2025 Members’ Meeting – Annual Competition Day and Room Auction
11-13 April 2025 Society Weekend at the Peninsula Hotel, Guernsey
7-11 May 2025 Europhilex, NEC, Birmingham
11 May 2025 1.00pm-3.00pm – Society Meeting at Europhilex
17 May 2025 The 2025 Solent Regional Meeting at Chandlers Ford, Hampshire. Convener: Alan Whittaker
5 July 2025 10.00am – MIDPEX, Warwickshire Exhibition Centre, near Leamington Spa (Society Stand)
12 July 2025 75th Annual General Meeting; Room Auction and Members’ displays
13 September 2025 Members’ Meeting – Postcards
29 November 2025 Members’ Meeting – Theme: Letters A, B, and/or C
Unless stated otherwise, all meetings are held at the Royal Philatelic Society London, 15 Abchurch Lane, London EC4N 7BW with meetings commencing at 11.00am. Tea and coffee is available from 10.30am in the Members’ Lounge
Well here we are, coming to the end of another year, and with 2025 approaching fast. For those of you who are not aware, 2025 will the Society’s 75th anniversary and to celebrate the event, the President of the Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL) has invited the Channel Islands Specialists’ Society (CISS) to provide one of the major displays at the Royal for 2025. Committee members have been busy behind the scenes putting the 54-frame exhibition together ready for Thursday, 9 January 2025, when the exhibition will be open from 1.00pm for all to view. In all, the material of twenty CISS members will be on display. As a member of the CISS you do not need to be a member of the RPSL to come along to view the material.
By the time you are reading these Secretary’s musings, I am assuming that we will have held the members’ meeting at the RPSL on Saturday 30 November, when will have been entertained by members who will be providing displays prior to the 9 January 2025 Exhibition. Can I thank all who provided exhibits, especially Alan Moorcroft and Gerald Marriner, for entertaining those members present at the Royal, and those members who could join the meeting via Zoom? A special thank you needs to go to Mark Bailey who set up the Zoom session for us.
2025 also sees the Society spreading its wings to Guernsey for its 2025 Members’ Weekend meeting at the Peninsula Hotel (11-13 April). Hopefully you have received the necessary information. It is recommended that you book as soon as you can. If you have any problems with booking your room, please contact me in the first instance.
Our first members’ meeting of 2025 will be the Annual Competition Day (8 February). I’m sure our new Competitions Secretary, Julian Bagwell, would welcome your competition entries. For full details see page 6 below or login to our website (www.ciss.uk) and click on ‘Competitions’.
As part of our anniversary in 2025 the CISS has been invited to provide a full presentation to the Royal Philatelic Society London on 9 February 2025. 54 frames of Channel Islands material will be available to view, and a handout is being produced to mark the event. All members are invited to attend. Please add the date to your diaries. Details will follow in the December Journal.
2025 subscriptions are due by 1 January and a renewal request will be sent out via email or letter in due course.
When you receive a renewal request you will find a link to allow you to pay your subscriptions via the Society website. Please use this method of payment if possible, saving our officers a good deal of admin time! If you prefer, you can pay your subscription using the same method of payment as last year but, if you pay by cheque, please send this to the CISS Treasurer, Bryan Elliston at Ragged Lands, Ranscombe Lane, Glynde, BN8 6RP.
Subscriptions will remain unchanged for 2025:
Paper membership:
UK and CI £15
Rest of World £20
Electronic membership: £10
