Secretary

As you would be aware the November 2022 Member’s Meeting was cancelled due to the rail strike that took place that weekend. The plan is for the display theme for that meeting to be carried forward to the 2023 November meeting.

By the time you read this page the 2023 Annual Competition Day will be done and dusted and may I add my congratulation to the individual class winners listed on page 38; and if you didn’t win, a big thank you for just taking part. Without your entries there would be no Annual Competition Day. My understanding is that the number of entries are down on 2022, so please make an effort and try and enter the 2024 Annual Competition Day. As a point of interest, and in keeping with major philatelic competitions, we are now using two experienced judges to judge the Competition entries.

Our next get together is the 2023 Members’ Annual Weekend meeting at the Peninsula Hotel, Guernsey from Friday, 21st April to Sunday, 23rd April. If you haven’t booked your place at the hotel please do so as soon as possible as room availability could be limited. As always, the programme for the weekend looks good with a standing display, two main displays by members, and the large room/postal auction being the highlights. Can you let me know if you are planning to bring a display for the Sunday morning members’ displays. Also, we will be welcoming guests from the Guernsey Philatelic Bureau as guests-of-honour to our banquet on Saturday. I look forward to meeting members old and new to the Weekend.

Forthcoming meetings for 2023

21st – 23rd – April Members’ Weekend at the Peninsula Hotel, Gsy.

8th July – Annual General Meeting followed by room auction and a main display by Gerald Marriner.

16th September – Members’ Meeting – Theme: Early P.H.

25th November – Members’ Meeting – Theme: Letters T, U. V.

Currently all meetings are held at the Royal Philatelic Society London, 15 Abchurch Lane, London, EC4N 7BW commencing at 11.00am. Tea and coffee is available from 10.30 in the Members’ Lounge. Further information can be found on the society’s website: www.ciss.uk

These meeting notes are focusing on the two excellent displays provided by Alan Moorcroft FRPSL and Jon Aitchison FRPSL for those members present at the Royal Philatelic Society London, and to the 13 members who had joined the meeting via the Zoom link. 

Alan’s display title was Channel Islands – The Fortress Period June 1944 – May 1945. Alan explained that after the D-Day landings on the 6th June 1944 the Channel Islands became virtually isolated and entered the ‘Fortress Period’ with the only mail into or out of the Channel Islands made by one of the 23 flights to Guernsey [the airfield at Jersey was not used]. Alan showed Red Cross messages dating from September 1944 to January 1945, with dated replies in early 1945, known to have been flown out on these supply flights. Alan also explained how mail from Channel Islands internees held in Germany was carried on these flights. To date, the only examples known to exist were from camps dated November 1944, including Christmas postcards produced at Laufen internment camp. Alan then moved on to explain the role the Red Cross ship S.S. Vega. In all she made six voyages carrying mail from internees and from the second voyage, summaries of Red Cross messages held in Lisbon and most importantly bulk food and medical supplies. Mail to internees and summary Red Cross messages were sent on the return voyages. Here, Alan showed examples of mail carried. Jon Aitchison’s display was titled Skulduggery, smugglers, inappropriate marriages. A post office in a pub, and even an RDP, etc., etc., starting with a brief history of the Island of Herm, followed by the artist’s visual and photo-bromide proofs of the 1957 Neolithic Herm local issues. This was followed by a certified copy of the first lease, written and dated 1773, for the island of Herm. The ‘smugglers’ refers to a Lt. Col. Feilden, who was caught smuggling brandy and tobacco to Jethou. Jon explains the ‘inappropriate marriage’ of the 3rd wife of Prince Brücher, Princess Wanda; he was 69 and she 18 years of age. The item shown was an 1899 letter from Princess Wanda accepting a birthday invitation for her son. For the ‘P.O. in a pub’, John showed a 1929 post card with two Herm G.P.O. double circle datestamps (the Mermaid Inn served as the P.O. at that time). Later items included the only known example of the 1st-type registered label (HERM/ No. 9) dated 1930 on a letter to South Africa. This was followed by rare examples from the German occupation and liberation of Herm, ending, philatelically, with examples of 1969 Postal Independence stamps on cover cancelled with Herm datestamps.         

I am pleased to report that thirteen members were able to join the Member’s Meeting held at the Royal Philatelic Society London on Saturday, 24th September via Zoom, with a further 8 members attending in person. It was good to see members from the USA, Europe and the Channel Islands joining the meeting via the link. Thanks must go to Alan Moorcroft FRPSL and Jon Aitchison FRPSL who both provided two excellent displays via the Zoom link. The intention is that we will provide further displays for members via Zoom, so watch the Programme page on the www.ciss.uk website for further details as to when.

You should find the booking form for the Member’s Weekend at the Peninsula Hotel, Guernsey enclosed with this journal. If not, please let me know, email address on inside front cover, and a copy will be sent.

Preparations are on the go for the forthcoming 2023 Member’s Competition Day, so why not spend the darkening evenings preparing a display(s) for   entry into one of the competition categories on offer for 2023. See page 34.

Finally, on behalf of the committee members may I wish you all a happy Christmas and peaceful New Year. Take care, keep safe and hope to see you in 2023.

Forthcoming meetings for 2023

11th February       Annual Competitions Day with a main display provided by Brian    

Sole on the post-Independence issues of the Channel Islands, plus member’s new acquisitions.

21st – 23rd April   Member’s Weekend at the Peninsula Hotel, Guernsey.

8th July                 Annual General Meeting followed by room auction and main   

                              display by Gerald Marriner.

16th September    Member’s Meeting – Theme: Early Postal History

Currently, all meetings are held at the Royal Philatelic Society London, 15, Abchurch Lane, London, EC4N 7BW commencing at 11.00. Tea or coffee with biscuits are available from 10.30am in the Member’s Lounge. For further details visit our website at www.ciss.uk.

Further information can be viewed on our website: www.ciss.uk

Thank you to all those members who were able to attend the 2022 Annual General Meeting (AGM), either in person or via Zoom, making it one of the best attended AGMs the Society has had for a while. I am pleased to announce that David Laurillard was elected as our new President, and I would personally like to thank Gerald Marriner for the five years he had spent as our previous President. The remaining committee members have been re-elected to serve a further twelve months.

I am also pleased to announce that we can confirm our two speakers for the September Member’s meeting, full details available on our website, www.ciss.uk by opening the ‘Programme’ page. For those members attending via the Zoom link, the login details will be available early September. The programme for 2023 has been agreed by the Executive Committee and will be available to view on the website, with some dates given below.

Forthcoming meetings for 2022

24th September	Alan Moorcroft: The Fortress Period – June 1944 – May 1945. via Zoom as well as room display. Jon Aitchison: Herm Island via Zoom as well as room display. Members’ displays – topic: Feldpost.
26th November	Member’s Meeting. Theme: Letters T, U and/or V

Forthcoming meetings  for 2023

11th February	Annual Competition Day with exhibits and Judges’comments plus a main display by Brian Sole of  post-Independence issues of Guernsey.
21st – 23rd April	Member’s Weekend Meeting at the Peninsula Hotel, Guernsey.
8th July	Annual General Meeting plus Members’ displays.

Currently, all meetings are held at the Royal Philatelic Society London, 15, Abchurch Lane, London, EC4N 7BW commencing at 11.00am. Tea and coffee is available from 10.30 in the Member’s Lounge.

Further information can be viewed on our website: www.ciss.uk

Twenty-six members and guests attended the Member’s Weekend Meeting held at the Three Swans Hotel. Gerald Marriner and Roger Harris provided the standing displays.  The ‘Three Sheets to Tell a Story’ competition was won by Alan Moorcroft, with his ‘The Transportation of Mary Le Nobel from Jersey’.

Saturday morning was taken up with the 700+ lot room/postal auction. David Winnie commenced the afternoon displays with an excellent 90 plus sheet display titled ‘ALDERNEY’, starting with the first postmark issued to the Island in 1848. He then showed the rare undated double arc and a range of postmarks used through the 1800s, including dated double arc handstamps. Rare examples of Parcel Post labels were followed by a registered envelope used in Alderney and the only known example of a ‘skeleton’ cancellation.

Gerald Marriner followed with his 80 sheet display on ‘Disruption to the Mail Service 1940 – 1945′, including twenty sheets on mail that was affected by there being no direct mail service between the Channel Islands and England and vice versa. The next section was a display of GB 2d stamps bisected and used for the 1d rate, concluding with 22 sheets of mail sent via indirect postal routes between the Channel Islands and British Dominions and/or Occupied/Neutral Countries.

The afternoon was concluded with Bryan Elliston and his display titled ‘A Call to Arms – Life and Times of the Guernsey Arms Stamp’ beginning with the design and issuing of the 1d ‘Arms’ stamp. Also included were imprint blocks and complete sheets of ‘Arms’ stamps with examples of the stamps imperforate. Bryan concluded by showing scarce registered cover uses at the time of the Liberation and post-Occupation periods.

Sunday morning displays commenced with Gavin Wood and his  seven-frame display titled ‘SARK during the German Occupation’ and this was followed by Ron Osborne and his 33-sheet display including a wrapper dated 23^rd November 1840 from Jersey to York bearing a QV 1d black, an early use of a 1d black on Channel Islands mail. Julian Bagwell, provided some excellent items in his display titled ‘Early Guernsey Philately’.

Four members provided shorter displays of 2-3 frames each. Alan Moorcroft   entertained us with his display of early Channel Islands mail sent under the franking privilege. David Laurillard gave a grand tour of the Jersey Martello towers using picture postcards as illustrations. Brian Sole displayed ‘Royalty Issues by Jersey’. Finally, Richard Flemming showed his 16-sheet display of mail sent to France from the Channel Islands between 1760 and 1843.

After two years of Covid-19 lockdown, finally we were able to hold our annual Member’s Weekend at the Three Swans Hotel, Market Harborough. Thank you to the twenty-six members and guests who were able to attend and for making the weekend so enjoyable. Thanks also to all those members providing such excellent displays, much not seen before. Plans are in progress for the 2023 Member’s Weekend at the Peninsula Hotel, Guernsey and I hope to see many of you there – 21st to 23rd April.

Our next Member’s Meeting is the Annual General Meeting at the Royal Philatelic Society, London. Minutes of the 70^th Annual General Meeting can be found in Les Iles Normandes Volume 40, No. 1, pp 30-33. If any member wishes to stand for any of the Committee positions, can they forward me their name, the name of their proposer and name of the seconder no later than two weeks before the A.G.M. The same also applies if any member wishes to raise any questions for any of the Committee to answer giving the committee member concerned adequate time to provide an answer at the A.G.M. It is anticipated that the A.G.M. itself will be held via Zoom, thus allowing more members to participate in the event. More details will be available closer to the date of the A.G.M., so please keep a lookout on the Society’s website (www.ciss.uk) for further information.

Please note, that it was decided by the Executive Committee to move the December Member’s Meeting to the last Saturday in November to try and improve attendances at this Member’s Meeting.

Forthcoming Member’s Meetings for 2022

9th July	Annual General Meeting followed by members’ displays
24th September	Member’s Meeting. Theme: Smaller Channel Islands
26th November*	Member’s Meeting. Theme: Letters T, U and/or V