On Tuesday November 1st, 2022, Banbury Stamp Society welcomed Gareth Williams who gave a presentation on Newfoundland postal stationery and Newfoundland airmails. In the first half we saw the full range of pre-printed postcards and envelopes produced between 1870 and 1949. The used postcards carried a range of messages – greetings, meeting invitations and orders for mail-order goods. The first half finished with a display of the postal slogans and commercial meter mail.
In the second half Gareth covered the development of air mail from the earliest trans-Atlantic flights in 1919, built on the development of aircraft during the First World War. By the late 1930’s, aircraft had moved on from open cockpit biplanes to relatively comfortable four engine flying boats. In the post-war years the flying boats were replaced as airports were more widely available and on the trans-Atlantic route, Gander in Newfoundland became an important stop for refuelling, with many passengers disembarking and sending postcards during their brief visit. Many of these featured the aircraft of the time – the Lockheed Constellation being the most iconic of the period. We finished with two postcards from Gander after Newfoundland had joined Canada: one with the de Havilland Comet, the first jet engine passenger aircraft, and the other, a postcard from September 2011 when Gander became a centre for aircraft grounded as a result of the 9/11 attacks.
The next meeting will be ‘Cacti and Succulents on Stamps’ on Tuesday 15th November 2022 at 7:30pm at the Hanwell Fields Community Centre. The Banbury Stamp Society is on-line at ‘www.banburystampsociety.co.uk’, or contact John Davies on 01295 255831.