Polar Blog

Having just finished an enjoyable week of a visit to Wisley Gardens to elevate the standard of my borders, and retaining a cup for Advanced Philately at my local club, it’s time to write a few bon mots to everyone - especially pleasing as it was topped off by a Midpex day out meeting members and old friends - and finding a few interesting, if modest, modern Antarctic related postal items.


What do you think of this improvised OHMS cover from BAT? Is it a concoction or what? I do not recollect having seen it before.



PS. The Cup was judged by external qualified judges and again held the Polar flag high for my Large gold Liberec Shackleton exhibit!


I hope you are all adding to and enjoying your own interests so please remember to send and share items to the editor John Youle with a few words and images. Hopefully I shall see some more of you at the Autumn Stampex/AGM towards the end of September.

I hope you are all feeling well with better weather and sufficient chocolate after Easter by the time you read this! I have not been to much philatelically speaking, out and about but there is always online and auctions to keep up with. And some dealers still produce catalogues of offers even if many claim it is not so cost effective.

The card Wharton GI 2 shown came from such a list and is right in my area of social collecting - posted right in the period of Shackleton’s return in 1909 with Nimrod moored on the Thames open to the public - Enjoyed by Ada and Walter who sent it to Harry and Kathleen, possibly as a bit of one up personship! We are up to date and participating in the latest news.

Following a previous article I wrote about the Edwardian psyche and the Polar explorers reports getting into the public’s own daily lives, (Polar Post N° 211, December 2006, Page 116), this
Canterbury Times card posted 21 July 1904 to UK has a message needing no further comment!

Finally as you now know I was unable to travel on the Shackleton Quest voyage but a friend aboard kindly sent me the souvenir envelope, one of only 25 I believe. Many thanks to Tony Shields from Shields stamps etc Victoria Australia!

I hope to see some of you at the joint meeting with the FIPSG at Swinpex on 10th June from 11 am to 1 pm. Sadly there is no room for Society tables at the new location. I shall be manning a Society table together with Robert Hurst for the PPHSGB at Midpex on 1st July, 10 am to 4 pm. Please come along and give some support to Robert and myself. A meeting room has been requested at Autumn Stampex on Saturday 30th September to enable the Society to hold the Annual General Meeting.

Special thanks to all the Committee and ‘ex officios’ for keeping our Society running well.

Brrr! 2023 is truly starting Polar weather over much of the UK and Europe! A good time to stay in doors as much as possible sorting out collections deciding how to integrate last years buys and maybe moving on spare items and duplicates.


At the end of 2022 a few extra gems came my way to lighten what could have been an unrelieved miserable end – for those of you who have not heard yet, a day after my usual badminton evening in November I suffered a T I A - which you can Google – so minor no-one at my stamp club where it occurred noticed anything wrong! Well minor maybe but I am operating this Message with half a hand not so good. I consider myself a fit and active retiree until now but now have unending future of taking blood pressure and cholesterol busting pills so be aware and keep an eye on your own if advised or even if not!


Positively I am back home enjoying my hobby interests and thankful for them. Certainly even just before and during my convalescence I was still adding items from world wide sources – see my Wrench example and the Charcot “Pourquoi Pas” article – for one of which I registered to bid  from my hospital recovery bed!


I just ought to say my latest image on this message is not my  normal day wear but the bow tie was the result of much struggle to fit it with the assistance of a lovely lady at the cloakroom who took my coat and noticed it wasn’t straight but nearly strangled me tightening it up!


This Wrench card is the same as illustrated in Polar Post N°274, September 2022, Page 83, the notorious Polar bear card error, but posted from icy lands to the heat of India. I do like these destination varieties. Posted as usual Christchurch 23 AP 04, received Tuticoran 22 MY 04
then Karachi 2 JU 04 to, I assume, yet another person fascinated by the idea of receiving such a long range souvenir from the first major Antarctic expedition to offer such an option for just a 1/= those days – 5p to us for all 4 cards! a bit worn from its travels but a scarce destination!


Look forward to seeing some of you at this years events.

It seems lately as if a Covid lockdown never happened, the number of recent events past present and future going on. Sadly it did happen and many suffered for it. After a summer family wedding in the heat – remember that? – I enjoyed meeting members at local shows, visitors to London, and viewing the catalogues including the massive Peter Cranwell sale in Australia. Truly a lifetime collection, the majority in Shackleton cards, concentrated on the Nimrod expedition. Some realisations might make you blink for ‘just a postcard’! See Page 97.

Later in autumn I enjoyed a presentation of a new book on the ladies left behind after Scott and his companions died returning from the South Pole, a visit to see Oates memorabilia of his life, and a couple of scarce postcards I bought. (Figure 1: Shackleton MW GF-2, and posted September 1904, Cleobury Mortimer, in the Midlands? Discovery reached Portsmouth in
September).

On the eve of her late Majesty’s funeral, a London book fair was still going ahead so thinking outside the box I stayed on the outer post codes and bussed in with little trouble, and even had an improved Sunday train service home due to the extra demand of attendees to see it live.

I will be off to Liberec shortly, so back to packing – my short exhibit has gone ahead via the Royal and the UK Commissioner. Finally, An event I am very happy about is the 1 year anniversary of my great niece this July past. A bit too early for induction into collecting – more like demolition of toys, paper even dinner!

Hopefully you can all find some happy events to brighten the coming winter months – by the time you read this the major Polar Salon and stamp Exhibition will have occurred in Liberec, Czech Republic as previewed in the June Polar Post. We will bring you full reports and pictures to invigorate the March 2023 edition. There is also the annual Amundsen Memorial Lectures at the end of November in Oslo.

I wish you all the best for the Christmas season.

It is said sometimes it’s who, not always what you know - and since I last shared my events that has been very true!

A long standing contact asked me to visit and consider taking a good number of a lifetime Polar postcard collection not seen on the market in over 40 years. Some were unknown to me or Margery Wharton’s catalogue and many others only seen 1 or 2 previously including a scarce Aurora card dated 28/12/11. During the whole intervening period my local stamp club has been busy with guest speakers on subjects from Haiti, GB, Mexico and local postcards, Cinderella competition. Later the serious annual Postal History Cup went to my Shackleton First Voyage with Scott in 1901 (sample Wrench Postcard N°2 signed).

The 70th Jubilee local celebrations culminated in a massive music festival down the ages of our Queen’s reign in glorious sunshine. I hope you had as much fun! Just before, the regular Woking postcard fair is always a good day out sometimes with a card or 2 and always catching up with old friends- Robert Hurst and I do just that! It’s worth the effort to go to these shows to reward us and the effort of the trade getting there.

Swinpex was another glorious day out with a strange twist for me - not much to find on the day but a dealer I missed then was at my local fair on Sunday - and I got a number of nice TAE / IGYE covers all from a member Bellchambers, some handwritten or typed. ( Royal Society Base cachet). We had our usual joint meeting with FIPSG and interesting mix of items at the show. My final event was the open day of Thames Valley Philatelic Federation with the main event the Falkland conflict of 1982 40 years ago and GB overseas rates and attendees own show up to 16 pages. These are always great days for learning about others interests - and a tasty lunch!

I hope some of this encourages you to get out and about and enjoy the hobby.