News

On Monday 7th September, Mike Kentzer FRPSL gave an informative presentation, on the subject of London Free Mail from its inception to the introduction of the Universal Penny post in 1840. It was well received by the 17 members who took part. Well researched and supported by a large number of examples of covers it sparked much

20th September 2026 9.00am  Holiday Inn, Kenilworth This year our Annual General Meeting is taking place on Sunday 20th September 2026 9.00am at the Holiday Inn, Kenilworth. I will be sending the reports and Agenda to all those who have opted to receive them by email in the next few weeks. This will give everyone the

The Joint meeting held with the RPSL  (North) at York on Thursday 16th July was hailed a great success by all who attended. We were treated to 30 displays across  6 sessions with ample time to look at each frame in detail. Ranging from Adrian Pearsons 17thc Franche Marks to Peter Webbs Indian Boer War

On Monday 6th July, in our July Zoom meeting, Julian Tweed FRPSL gave a presentation, on the subject of Mails across the Irish sea up to 1840. It was well received by the 17 members who took part, being very informative on the subject. Well researched and supported by a large number of examples of covers. It

The winner of the inaugural PHS Medal at Boston 2026 was Eigil Trondsen. A very worthy winner. He received a Large Gold / 97 points for his Postal History exhibit Cunard Line: The Ships And The Transatlantic Mail 1840-1867, The Monopoly Years. He was also a candidate for the Grand Prix International. In 2008 Eigil

Mike Birks and I are putting together a book of what we hope will be the most comprehensive list of signatures of all those authorised to used the Free Post system in the UK from 1832-1840. We only have 5 more to find and we need the help of collectors of Free Franked items in this

The ZOOM Display held on Monday 1st June 2026,was given by Prof. Juraj Kittler and 14 members took part. It was a fascinating and incisive illustrated talk on the subject of Courier Networks in Italy 1270-1600. Prof. Kittler has published a detailed book on the subject and recently spoke to the RPSL at Abchurch Lane

The meeting held at Oakham on May 28th was deemed by all who attended to have been a great success. Some attendees were delayed by damage to the road and rail network by the previous nights Thunderstorms. Lightning strikes had brought down roadside trees and also played havoc with railway signalling. We therefore started a

Our May ZOOM Display was held on 11th May 2026, and our Auctioneer & Council member Peter Webb showed pieces from his Falkland Islands collection entitled ” The Battle of Coronel 1914″. We had a number of overseas members log on and all those who who attended were given an extremely detailed account of the

The April PHS ZOOM Meeting was well received by all who attended. Carlos Malpica gave a display of very rare early Steamship Maritime Mail between Peru & France via Panama. Based on the display which won him the Postal History Society Cup at last years conference in Torquay, as voted for by all present, it

The 12th International Philatelic Exhibition of the United States is taking place at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Centre May 23rd – 30th Following on from the introduction of the Steve Ellis medal, which recognises those who have contributed to the advancement of the Society through the printed word or deed; the Society is launching

It is with considerable sadness that we have to announce that Robin Pizer FRPSL passed away yesterday morning, 11th March, after a long illness. Many of you will have known him and admired his detailed knowledge of German postal history, not to mention his gentle sense of humour. Robin was very pleased to have attended

The ZOOM display  on Monday March 9th was given by Claire Scott FRPSL. Entitled WW1 Ambulance Mail, it proved to be an interesting and informative display for the 17 members who logged on to watch. If you missed it you can watch it on our Facebook page. Contact me for more details. We have a

On Tuesday 24th February, members of the Postal History Society, in association with 2 other like minded organisations met with a group of Academics at a University in Oxford to discuss ways of building bridges between Collectors of Postal History and their Academic counterparts. A number of high profile auction sales in the past have

We had 15 people taking part in the first ZOOM display of 2026. Gerald Marriner FRPSL was talking about his fascinating collection of very rare early Belgian Congo material. It was recorded and will soon be available to view on our PHS Facebook page. We had 2 overseas members taking part, Simon Burke from Thailand

We had a rich and varied selection of displays in our December ZOOM meeting, all of which will soon be available to view on our Facebook page. Michael Waugh began with 6sheets on Mailroutes from Thailand to Europe & the USA which were affected by the outbreak of war with Germany and then Japan 1939-41.

Robin Pizer FRPSL gave the  ZOOM display on Monday 3rd November. Entitled German Parcel Cards to Foreign Countries 1905 to 1930. We were treated to a similar display at our Conference in Torquay in October and once again it proved to be a very interesting, well researched and informative account. It has since been published

The October ZOOM display was a very informative talk by an American member Gary Loew FRPSL. Called British and German collaboration on Deutsche Lufthansa’s routes to South America (1933-1939). He gave a very detailed account, from primary sources which he has in his collection, of how Germany had organised a cross Atlantic airmail service from

Council decided earlier in the year to instigate a Medal “The Steve Ellis Medal” in memory of my predecessor who had been Secretary for some 11 years and who tragically died suddenly just after our 2023 AGM. The medal will be awarded annually and the recipient will be chosen by The Past President, current President

The Winner of the Postal History Society Cup for the best display at Conference, as voted for by all present, has been announced. Carlos Malpica for his display Early Steamship Maritime Mail Between Peru and France via Panama. Carlos has agreed to give a ZOOM display based on the winning display on April 13th 2026.

The winner of the Gilbert Cup for the best article in the Society Journal over the last year, as decided by Council, has been announced. Ute Dorr FRPSL & Elmer Dorr FRPSL were awarded the Cup for their article The Carriage of Mail to and from Guatemala with The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company from

Our AGM was held in Torquay on the 5th October at the end of our Annual Conference. I am pleased to report all the Council were re-elected and Clive Jones, our Membership Secretary has taken over from Graham Winters FRPSL as our President. Graham was thanked by Clive for his service to the Society over

Mike Birks and I are putting together a book of what we hope will be the most comprehensive list of signatures of all those authorised to used the Free Post system in the UK from 1832-1840. We need the help of collectors of Free Franked items in this quest and if you know of anyone

We will have a joint meeting with the Midland (GB) Postal History Society on 1st November 2025 at the Severn Valley Railway Museum in Kidderminster. We are to visit this historic venue in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Midland (GB) Postal History Society.  (Members may no longer download the booking form from the

All present agreed, that the day spent in York with the Royal Philatelic Society London on the 17th July was a great success. A good mix of displays with some very rare and interesting pieces on show from 33 of the nearly 40 attendees. We over ran by an hour due to the informative talks

We have taken the decision to not have a ZOOM display in August due to the Holiday commitments of many of our members. But we plan to have a Display in September. Watch this space for more details in the coming weeks..

The biennial  MIDPEX took place on Saturday 5th July at Leamington Spa.  And was hailed a great success by all attendees. Our President, Graham Winters; Secretary, Marc Oxley & Membership Secretary Clive Jones were there to represent the Society. And we were very fortunate to attract 6 new members to the Society, which is a

Our President Graham Winters FRPSL gave the July ZOOM Display. Called “Postcards, Postcards, Postcards” it proved to be a very interesting display & is now available, as always on our PHS Facebook page. 

Congratulations to 20 of our members who were awarded medals for their exhibits at EuroPhilEx 2025. Click here to see the list of members, their exhibits, and the points and medals awarded for the exhibits.

At the ZOOM Meeting held on Monday 2nd June we welcomed the author Roseanna Rolph who talked about her latest project, “Dear Mr Snippet”, a true account of a Wartime romance conducted by post during WW2 by her Grandparents. All were captivated by her story and it is now available on our PHS Facebook page

Our May ZOOM Display was delayed until Wednesday 14th due to members involvement at Europhilex. But all those present agreed it was worth the wait. We were given a dazzling display from Lubomir Spaceks collection of pre revolution St Petersburg material. It clearly showed the advantages of ZOOM meetings to assist overseas members who are

The latest PHS Face to Face meeting took place in the historic Market Town of Oakham in Rutland on May 29th. We met in the Congregational Church Hall, on the High St at 10.00 for tea, coffee etc. commencing at 10.30. Our webmaster Mark Bailey has given a succinct summing up of the day on our

With nearly 2,400 Library Books available to members, our Webmaster Mark Bailey FRPSL has added a plugin to the website (Ivory Search) that has allowed him to add a search box to the Library pages. It searches just the library books that we have detailed on the website. The search has been configured so that

Aprils ZOOM displays  were well received by all attendees. “The Legacy of British Slavery” which was timed to coincide with a similar themed exhibition at the Postal Museum London, from April 5th. And Michael Waugh’s ” Pre-stamp Mail from the Straits Settlements.”  

Our third ZOOM display of 2025 was held on Monday 3rd March at 2.30pm. Julian H Jones FRPSL  gave a display entitled “Communications from onboard Ship” which went into a lot of detail about Ocean Mail. That is the use of wireless to send personal messages from off a ship when it was out of

We heard today, that our Honorary Life Member, Prue Henderson, died in January, she was 94. Some of you will remember George and Prue who were long standing members of the society. Prue was the librarian from 1978 until 2007 and both were very knowledgable collectors of French material.  

Our second ZOOM display of 2025 was held on Monday 3rd February. Michael Waugh FRPSL  gave a display entitled “Getting mail out of Siam from early times to the 1940s” . It proved to be a fascinating account of the history of  the Postal service of Siam from  prestamp up until the turbulent times in

It is with much sadness that we received the news of the passing in late December of Constanza Dennis (1990-2024). She was Managing Director of Grosvenor’s. So very young. Such very sad news.

Our first ZOOM Display of 2025 was held on January 6th 2025.  John Scott FRPSL kindly agreed to give a display entitled “The evolution of the Postcard in the Victorian Era” which included the material with which he won the Society Cup at our Conference at Redditch in October. We had 15 members in attendance 

We have updated our Privacy Policy in line with the requirements of the Data Protection Act (2018) and it can be viewed at the bottom of every page of our website. Rest assured we take our responsibilities with regards how we store/use the personal information you give us very seriously. If you have any questions

It has been announced that the final day of our Conference in Torquay on Sunday 5th October 2025 will be a joint event with the SW region of the RPSL. Watch this space for more details.

We have taken the decision to publish a list of all those men & women who have been instrumental in making the Society what it is today. It can be viewed on the Members section of the website. Click on a link below to see the appropriate list Presidents    Hon. Secretaries    Hon. Treasurers    Hon. Editors

The ZOOM meeting held on November 5th did not disappoint. The displays were from 2 well known collectors in their chosen fields. Julian Bagwell showed pieces from the Guernsey Occupation period & Gerald Marriner FRPSL showed Channel Islands Destination Mail. The displays were interesting and informative and were met very positively by all present.

Details of the 2024 Conference. The 2024 PHS Conference at Redditch had 20 members in attendance. The Gilbert Cup was won by Julian H Jones FRPSL, The Society Cup was won by John Scott FRPSL and the Presidents Prize was won by the President Elect Clive Jones. The AGM Minutes, Treasurers and Secretary’s report will

The ZOOM Meeting dates for the coming year have been added to the website. 2025 sees a return to the first Monday of the Month at 2.15 for 2.30pm. Once again there will be no ZOOM meeting in August due to holiday commitments. Finally we are always looking for members to give displays. Please contact

October’s ZOOM Meeting was on Monday October 7th at 2.30. Adrian Pearson gave a fascinating display entitled “Charles 1st to Charles 3rd – All change at the top” with much emphasis on Postal History from the 17th & early 18th Centuries. Of particular interest were an original Pengelly letter (which it is thought was the

In advance of our upcoming AGM on October 20th, nominations are needed for a Conference organiser. Our current Conference organiser Claire Scott is stepping back from the role after a number of years in post. The Conference Organiser is responsible for organising the Society’s annual Conference. A task which will hopefully be shared by a

September’s PHS ZOOM display was given by Terry Woods, the Editor of “The Scottish Post” The Journal of the Scottish Postal History Society. Entitled “Scotland’s First Registration Labels” it began with the introduction of Registered mail from 1841 up to the start of registration labels in 1907 and then showed the different types used in

The Editor of the PHS Journal asked that a message be sent to all members who were considering sending an article to the Journal, with details of font sizes that are best suited for the purpose. She does not have software to convert PDFs and asked that articles be sent to her in Word using

We have created a new email address enquiries@postalhistory.org.uk to act as a single point of contact for all enquiries relating to the Society and Postal History in general. This has been necessitated by an increase in requests to the Society for information that needed a focussed response. Members will still be able to contact the

The recent joint meeting held with the RPSL in York was hailed a success by all attendees. There were 44 delegates on the day with just over half giving displays which were described as interesting and varied. Ranging from displays of rarely seen Freefronts to correspondence from Ambulance barges in WW1 there was something for

Our Webmaster Mark Bailey FRPSL has been updating the website. We now have the Minutes and Accounts from the last 3 AGMs available to all members through the members portal. He has also been busy uploading back numbers of the Journal, starting with the first Issue in 1936, he is up to 1951. They are

Our 7th ZOOM Meeting for 2024 was held on Monday 1st July at 2.15 for 2.30. We had two displays, the first from Robert McMillan FRPSL and the second from his wife Daphne McMillan FRPSL. Robert showed recent acquisitions to his collection of the Postal History of Kingston upon Hull and Daphne gave a display

The decision to implement a Relative support initiative was approved at June’s Council meeting. You will shortly be receiving the latest copy of the Society Journal which will include a flyer with more details. This has come about due to questions being asked by the families of members who have died, who were unsure who

By now you may have noticed some changes to the website. On the Members page you will see details of up and coming events with the relevant Booking Forms available to download. We have also introduced a Links page which can be viewed by clicking the link on the Home page. If you know of

The June PHS ZOOM meeting held on 4th June was very well received. We had an informative talk on the pre-stamp Postal History of Kings Lynn given by Mike Kentzner. It was punctuated with fine examples of the Mileage marks, Penny Post stamps and Town stamps of Kings Lynn up to 1840. The display was

The fourth PHS ZOOM meeting of 2024 was on Monday 6th May at 2.30pm.  We had 12 members attend and saw 2 fascinating displays. The first was given by Julian Bagwell on the British Levant 1855-1923 and we spent a very interesting hour in his company learning all about British Post Offices in the declining

At the Council meeting held on Friday 26th April, Council were very pleased to appoint Mike Hoffman as Council Member2. He will be assisting our Webmaster Mark Bailey FRPSL, as Deputy Webmaster. Another very influential addition to the team running the PHS. A warm welcome to him.

At the recent ABPS Spring National Philatelic Exhibition 2024 the following PHS members won prizes Paul Latham-Warde Ephemera GB Postal Scales Best in Class Kim Stuckey Postal History West Falkland Large Gold Julian Jones Postal History Freight Money Letter Era 1838-1848 Large Vermeil Gerald Mariner,German Occupation of the Channel Islands – Disruption to the Mail

We had 11 participants for the April 2024 ZOOM meeting. 2 displays were shown, the first by a Canadian PHS Member Duncan Barber which dealt with GB Registered Express Letters 1912-1982 and the second by our Treasurer Julian Tweed FRPSL entitled Robert Mitford A Life in 11 letters a Napoleonic Gentleman. All present agreed they

At the Council meeting held on Monday 4th March Council were very pleased to appoint Joan Harmer from New York. Joan is the first Overseas representative on the Council and will be an important and hopefully very influential addition to the team running the PHS. A warm welcome to her.

The March ZOOM meeting was made up of 2 displays. The first was given by Claire Scott FRPSL. A fascinating display of “Context Postal History” being a collection of letters home from the British Submariner William Greenall Coe covering the time from his basic training in 1912 up until his final letter, following the loss

Today we learnt the sad news that Gavin Fryer, RDP, FRPSL has died. Our condolences to his family.

Last nights ZOOM meeting (6th February) proved to be very informative. 19 members were in attendance. Malcolm Coe began by giving a detailed account of the use of Talismanic numbers on Sudanese Postage at the beginning of the 20thcentury. They were written on the front to encourage all concerned to speed them to their destination

Hello, I thought it would be a good idea to introduce myself to you as the new Honorary Secretary of the Postal History Society, following the very sad and sudden passing of my predecessor Steve Ellis FRPSL in November 2023. Steve was a very hard working secretary for the Society and I’m sure he will

Steve Ellis’s funeral will take place on the 19 December at Stoke on Trent. Please see your e-mails for details.