Items by: Richard Flemming

David Winnie (Chairman), Gerald Marriner (President) and Richard Flemming (Secretary) attending the Midpex 2021 event that was held on Saturday, 3rd July at the Warwick Events Centre, Leamington Spa, on behalf of the society. Not surprisingly, due to the Covid-19 restrictions, attendance was down but it was good to see several C.I.S.S. members there. A range of society books was available to purchase bringing in £115.00  worth of sales, making the attendance well worthwhile. The next Midpex event will be in 2023.

Forty years after James Mackay wrote the first comprehensive book about the UK Parcel Post, this is the first of two volumes that brings the story up to date. This has been compiled by our member Dr Max Melrose together with Nick Wraith. There is a comprehensive 52-page section covering the Channel Islands including Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney and some of the islands’ Sub-Post Offices. Volume 1 is a 335-page paperback, published by the Scottish Postal History Society and costs £28 plus £4 postage for the UK. Contact Lyn Robinson via Email at lyn@myreton.com for further details and overseas postal charges.

Published in 2020, this 232 page book is the first systematic study of sources relating to prisoners in Jersey and Guernsey during the German Occupation, including memoirs, diaries, letters, poetry, graffiti and autograph books. Describes the treatment of political prisoners at the hands of the Local Authorities and the Geheime Feldpolizei, who acted as the Gestapo in the Channel Islands.

David Gurney has kindly produced an article that will appear in the March 2021 edition of Les Iles Normandes which I am reproducing here. “I am very grateful to Leo Mayr for reporting some more ‘rubbish’ recently appearing on a German language EBAY site as illustrated below. Even the ‘stamps’ used are the well known facsimiles from the 1970s!! Do not waste your hard earned cash on these four ‘constructed’ items unless you wish to have examples, as they are worthless. Interestingly both covers shown below were listed at very nominal prices by a dealer in the Netherlands on a German language EBAY site. The ‘Guernsey’ cover was sold for Euro 1,99, which was the starting price, while the ‘Jersey’ cover remained unsold.“

Above is a screenshot of those C.I.S.S. members who attended and contributed to the 70^th Annual General Meeting on Saturday, 5^th December 2020, historically the first ever via Zoom Video Conferencing

Top row, left – right; David Winnie (Chairman), Gavin Wood, Mark Bailey (Membership Sec and photograph taker), John Triggs (Packet Sec. – Guernsey) and Richard Flemming (Secretary).

2^nd row from top, left – right: David Laurillard, Mark Liquorish, Nick Stuart (Auction Sec.), Leo Mayr (Austria), David and Moira Edwards.

3^rd row from top, left – right: Bryan Elliston (new Treasurer), Gerald Marriner (President) Nick Martin, Ian  Mitchelson and David Ackroyd.

4^th row from top, left – right: Peter Viscusi (Missouri, USA), Robert Shaw, David Rolf, Mike Moody and Julian Bagwell.

Bottom row, left – right: Trevor Nichols, John Payne and Roger Harris.

The main town post office situated in Smith Street is to close in the Spring of next year and will be operated from two Co-op stores.

The outlet in the Markets will be modernised and will become the main town post office, offering traditional post office counter services from its four counters, including a self-service kiosk. The Markets post office will also offer Guernsey Post’s collectable philatelic items. The second post office will open at the Co-op’s Terrace store, and will be the hub for business services, including PO boxes.

PIONEER AVIATION IN THE CHANNEL ISLANDS in two volumes by ROGER HARRIS

• This is the first comprehensive history of aviation in the Channel Islands
• Every known flight to, or within the Islands recorded and illustrated
• Biographies of the aviators and other famous characters involved
• OVER 1100 original photographs and images from the author’s own lifetime collections illustrate the two volumes
• Size A4, soft cover
• Volume 1: The Dawn to 1933 consists of 278 pages (ISBN: 978-1-8382059-0-4)
• Volume 2: 1934 – 1947 consists of 306 pages (ISBN: 978-1-8382059-1-1)

Both volumes are priced at £30 each plus £5 post and package per volume. Overseas buyers will pay the appropriate overseas postage rate.

SPECIAL OFFER FOR CISS MEMBERS: Each volume priced at £25 plus £5 post and package. BUY BOTH VOLUMES AT A SPECIAL PRICE OF £40 plus £5 post and package per volume. Overseas members to pay the normal overseas postage rate. REMEMBER TO QUOTE YOUR CISS MEMBERSHIP NUMBER.

To order contact secretary@ciss.uk or write to Richard Flemming, 64 Falconers Green, Burbage, Hinckley, Leicestershire, LE10 2SX, United Kingdom.

Due to the current UK Government Covid-19 pandemic guidelines the committee took the decision to move the Members Weekend, due to be held in April to the 23rd – 25th July 2021. Venue remains the same: The Three Swans Hotel, Market Harborough. As this weekend meeting was very close to the April AGM, it has been decided to move the AGM to September 2021. For further details regarding actual dates of the 2021 meetings programme please look on the “Programmes” page of the www.ciss.uk website.