The postal history of the Franco-German War of 1870 and its consequences is a matter of special interest to me, so I was pleased to receive a scan of this cover from Henri Chartier.
The cover (Figure 1 above) from Chartres to St Helier was posted on 13 November 1870, at the beginning of the German forces’ occupation of Alsace-Lorraine and much of northern France.
It was incorrectly franked with an 1867 Issue 20c Napoléon lauré instead of at the correct rate of 40c. The framed AFFRANCHISSEMENT INSUFFISANT cachet (insufficiently franked) in black was added and twice the missing 20c charged at 4 décimes (40c.).
The letter took a month to arrive and was backstamped on 13 December 1870 on arrival (see Figure 2).
I recently acquired this registered letter sent from the La Rocque sub-post-office with a previously unrecorded label from that office. Shown at Figure 2 is a registered letter dated SP 8 09 from La Rocque to Cannanore (or officially Kannur) in the state of Kerala, India. The registered label (Figure 1) is Type D and has a single circle Code C datestamp from the same day.
On the reverse side is a Malabar arrival postmark dated 26 September 1909.
These type D labels were issued in 1907 for small offices that could not justify the expense of printing personalised labels. They were printed in the form of perforated sheets of fifty labels numbered in series from 1 to 50. It should also be noted that the R and the number are on the right-hand side. On delivery of these labels it was required that each label be stamped with the office datestamp but with the date and code removed. In this instance, the sub-postmaster did not follow these instructions. This example is a very early usage, as in 1910 the position of the R and the number on the label was moved to the left side to comply with UPU rules.
Very recently, I purchased the above Registered Letter on ebay which was sent to Hanover, Germany, on 21 December 1921. The 5d embossed stamp shows that the registration fee was 3d plus 2d for postage, and was uprated by a further 2½d with the addition of a KGV blue definitive to make up the 7½d overseas rate. The stamps were cancelled by a 25mm single circle datestamp with Code Binserted. Also shown on the front, is a London Hooded registered circle in purple for 24 December 1921. On the reverse is a smart Hanover receiving mark for 26 December 1921.
The registered label is a CType small sheet label recorded as used from this Town office in 1921. This shows JERSEY in small upper-case letters and the office number 3 inserted in manuscript. This label is illustrated in David Gurney’s The Postal History of the Jersey Sub-Post Offices.
Next year’s Competition Day will be on Saturday 21 February 2026 at The Royal Philatelic Society London.
In line with last year, as many exhibits as possible will be available for viewing on the CISS website, as well as on the day at our meeting at the Royal. The rules can be found on our website on the Competitions page, where an entry form can also be found. Please note that all entries must be submitted in scan or photocopy form by the deadline date, Saturday 24 January 2026. Entries submitted after that date will not be considered.
Entry forms and scans of entries should be sent to the Competitions Secretary by Saturday 24 January 2026 at competitions@ciss.uk. Photocopies should be mailed to the Competitions Secretary at the address given on the entry form. UK based members are encouraged to bring their entries to the Royal on Competition Day to share them with other members.
Please feel free to contact me, the Competitions Secretary, at competitions@ciss.uk with any queries. Enquiries can be made by phone on 01865 378012
As always, we look forward to receiving your interesting and varied entries. The competition rules are easy to follow, and members often find that they can display previously written up material with relatively little amendment. I am happy to help members who may be new to competitions; feel free to contact me.
Julian Bagwell
Competitions Secretary
competitions@ciss.uk
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.
13 September 2025 Members’ Meeting – Postcards. Includes a 50-lot auction.
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 – The Royal Philatelic Society London, Abchurch Lane EC4N 7BW. No room auction.
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.
Wednesday 15 October 2025
The Three Swans Hotel, 21 High Street, Market Harborough, Leicestershire, LE16 7NJ
Please contact the Convenor, Gerald Marriner, if you would like to display – gerald.marriner@gmail.com
The meeting is free. Buffet lunch £25 per head.
There is plenty of parking space.
We are three-quarters of the way through our Anniversary Year, with just a few meetings and our Autumn auction to go.
Europhilex was generally felt to have been a success. The CISS held a friendly meeting at the exhibition, and we were delighted to meet three new members and a member, Tim O’Shea from the United States.
The Autumn Season starts for us with our meeting at the RPSL on Saturday 13 September. Our meetings are always friendly, and there is the opportunity to buy some lots from our small auction, as well as meeting other members and perhaps chatting over a beer at lunchtime. If you are within travelling distance of the city, please come along to the comfortable surroundings of the RPSL. The September meeting will be followed by our “Country” meeting at Market Harborough, which will hopefully be a convenient venue for members in the Midlands and further north to join us.
I hope that you have all had a good summer, mostly average weather notwithstanding, and have not deserted your collections altogether.
Best wishes,
Nick
