Seaford Stamp & Postcard Club The traditional view of stamp collectors is someone with a pair of tweezers carefully sticking stamps into an album, and for many collectors this is the case. But stamp collecting is such a broad field that it accommodates lots of collecting interests, and this was the case with Hugh Bennet, who gave a fascinating display at our meeting in April. It is first time we have ever met someone who has presented a display which started with a concept for a set of stamps and followed through to its final production. In the early 1970s Hugh had an interest in the stamps of the Gilbert & Ellis Islands which are made up of a group of small coral islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. In 1979 the islands gained their independence and changed their name to Kiribati, and Hugh kept in close contact with the Post Office on the islands so that he could get all the new stamps as they were issued. As years went by, he forged ever closer links with the Kiribati Post Office and started to contribute in the design and production of new issues. In the mid-1980s this culminated in the Kiribati Post Office inviting him, and his wife, to come to the islands and help in the production of a new set of stamps based on the theme, Transport and Communications. He was royally entertained and travelled widely around the islands taking photographs. The photographs, as you can see, were then used by an artist to create paintings,
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which appear on the final set of ten stamps issued in 1987. His display showed the original photographs taken by himself and his wife, the artwork and stages in the production of the final stamps. A couple of years ago, he entered this display in the prestigious international stamp competition at the London Stampex show and won a bronze medal. There is, however, a sad note to finish this article. Global warming is causing a sea level rise which is slowly submerging the islands. In the not too distant future, the islands are likely to become uninhabitable and the islanders will need to seek a new home. A great loss to the 120,000 people of Kiribati and to the planet. Our May meeting was Jim Etherington presenting WW2 through Picture Postcards. Ian Marshall will present GB Pre-stamp & Early Stamp Covers in June and in July the members’ evening is on ‘PQR’. The club meets on the second Wednesday of the the month at 7pm for 7.30pm at the Seaford Constitutional Club.You are welcome to come along, or if you would like to find out more about the club, visit our website http://www.seaford-sussex. co.uk/sspc/ or from our club secretary David: david.manthorpe10@gmail.com or tel: 01323 492433.
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