ABOUT US

Wakefield Philatelic Society was founded in 1938, and offers stamp collectors in and around Wakefield friendly and informal meetings, opportunities to buy and exchange material, and regular meetings where members can see varied displays and meet fellow collectors. We welcome both beginners and experienced stamp collectors and postal historians. Our experienced collectors are always ready to help new collectors to develop and improve their collections with advice, to answer questions and try to solve philatelic problems.

We are affiliated to the Association of British Philatelic Societies (ABPS) and the Yorkshire Philatelic Association (YPA), and our members enjoy the additional benefits this brings in discounts from certain philatelic suppliers and participation in national and regional exhibitions and conventions.

Our Annual Subscription is:
Ordinary Members £6.50;
Country Members £4.00;
Juniors Free

OUR MEETINGS

Visitors are always welcome at our meetings. If you are a stamp collector why not come along and find out more about our Society? See our Syllabus below for details of our meetings.

We meet at Drury Lane Library, Drury Lane, Wakefield, commencing at 7pm with the Chair taken at 7.15pm.

CONTACT US

Our Hon Secretary: Roger Ramsden
62 Monkwood Road, Outwood, Wakefield WF1 2JX
Telephone: 01924 823987

SOCIETY OFFICERS

President: Ken Cook

Senior Vice-President: William Smith

Junior Vice-President: J Graham Winters, FRPSL

Past President: Brian Hitchcock

Hon Secretary: Roger Ramsden

Hon Treasurer: William Smith

Hon Agenda/Minute Secretary: John Gravett

Hon Events/Programme Secretary: David Horner

Hon Competition Secretary: J Graham Winters, FRPSL

Hon Press Officer: Julie Hitchcock

Hon Packet Secretary: Bob Barnes

Hon Auditor: Derek Hill

Hon Auctioneer: Frank Land

Hon Librarian: Roger Ramsden

YPA Delegate: David Horner

Committee Members:
Joseph Marshall
George Dye
Andrew Morrisroe
Brian Hitchcock

OUR SYLLABUS FOR 2011 to 2012

2011

7 September

Keith & Leith - Scottish Postal History: Mr Keith Robinson

21 September

Czechoslovakia - The New Republic 1916-1919: Mrs Yvonne Wheatley FRPSL

5 October

Captain Cook Early Life & Forst Voyage: Mr Alwyn Peel

19 October

Something Beginning with 'A' & Mini Auction

26 October

Visit to Barnsley Philatelic Society

2 November

Bolovia: Mr Stewart Davies

17 November

The Pitiful andc Waster Life of a Chronic Stampaholic!: Mr Mike Robertsd

30 November

Postage Dues from 1964: Mr Graham Price

21 December

Members' Evening - Mini Auction, Bring, Buy & Swap

2012

4 January

The Third Reich: Mr Nigel Harpham & Mr David Horner

18 January

Olympics from 1896: Mr George Dye

1 February

Advance Details of Competition Entries: Mr J Graham Winters, FRPSL

15 February

Society Records & History of Wakefield Philatelic Society: Mr John Gravett

7 March

Annual Competition and Judging by Members

21 March

Competition Results and Annual Auction

4 April

Hers 'n' His American Miscellany & Maritime Miscellany: Mr & Mrs Glenn & Jill Fearons

18 April

Victorian & Edwardian Postcards: Mr David Horner

2 May

Members' Sheets, Bring, Buy, Swap

9 May

Provisional - Society Dinner, Gaskells Restaurant

16 May

GB - Victoria to George V: Mr Bob Dearnley

30 May

President's Evening

20 June

AGM & Presentation of Cups

4 July

To be Arranged

22 August

Members' Forum - "My Favourite Display" (10 sheets maximum)

LINKS

Diary of Philatelic Events

Yorkshire Philatelic Association Home Page

More links on the Yorkshire Philatelic Association's Links Page

WAKEFIELD POSTAL HISTORY

This is an on-going project to show items of Wakefield postal history. If you have items to include please email the Webmaster (below) with a suitable caption and an image (preferably as a jpeg image).

The Straight Lined Hand-stamps

The earliest recorded postal markings for Wakefield were straight two-lined and single-lined hand-stamps in use from 1712 to 1791 struck in black in various sizes, thus:

WAKE FIELD 1712 to 1787	WAKEFIELD 1786 to 1791

(see the British County Catalogue of Postal History, Volume 4, by R M Willcocks and B Jay for full details).

Mileage Marks

In the eighteenth century main postal routes radiated from London, and since letters were charged for the distance carried as well as the number of sheets and weight, it was important for receiving offices to know how far a letter had been carried as they were responsible for collecting the charge where the letter was unpaid. Therefore mileage marks were introduced showing each town's distance from London.

Wakefield was first surveyed as being 185 miles from London and the earliest mileage marks from about 1786 show a straight line 'WAKEFIELD' with '185' below. The route was re-surveyed a few years later and the mileage had changed, probably because a different route was being used - the distance then being 187 miles and the mileage was changed to '187' in 1802. Circular mileage marks came into use in 1813.

The Double Arced Circular Cancellations

Circular hand-stamps with a double arc at the base were in use from about 1829.

The 'Skeleton' Marks

The so called 'Skeleton Marks' were in use from 1840 to 1851. These types of marking had a trial from the late 1830’s to the 1850’s. Being of moveable type they were used as ‘Travelling Stamps’, described in The British County Catalogue as ‘Shifting Stamps’ and also known as ‘Skeleton’ marks.

The Barred Oval and Duplex Cancellations

From May 1844 a series of numbered cancellations were issued to English and Welsh towns alphabetically. Wakefield was allocated number '831'. Early cancellers were horizontal bars in the shape of an oval. Later they became vertical barred ovals with a circular date stamp alongside - the so called 'duplex' cancels. They were in use until the squared circle postmarks took over, but in many places are found in use much later.

1860 Wakefield Barred Oval 831 Duplex cancel

The Squared Circle Postmarks

The squared circles postmarks were introduced in the United Kingdom in late 1879 as an alternative to the duplex cancels, which were somewhat larger and more cumbersome to use. The additional arcs constituted the "killer" that marked the stamp as having been used. They declined in use from the 1910s, when new types of cancelling devices became available, and disappeared by the 1930s.

The First Post Slot - 1809

Wakefield can claim one notable first as being the town to have the oldest known post slot. It was installed in 1809 at the former Post Office building in Wood Street, Wakefield. It is an iron box believed to have been designed and fitted by the Postmaster's Clerk, Jonas Ward. When the building was demolished in 1964 the box was transferred to the Wakefield Museum. The box was featured on the miniature sheet issued on 18 August 2009 commemorating 200 years of post boxes. It can be seen in the top right-hand corner of the selvedge. The Wakefield Philatelic Society produced a special limited edition cover to commemorate this notable date and also the seventieth year since the Society's founding in 1938.

Commemorative cover showing Wakefield's 1809 Post Slot (top right corner of miniature sheet)

The 20th and 21st Centuries

Modern postal history is seen by some 'traditional' collectors as boring and not worth collecting - but can nevertheless be an interesting field to study. Today's postal history material is tomorrow's scarce collectables.