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Henley & District Philatelic Society
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Meetings normally take the form of a short introduction followed by a talk by a guest speaker or member(s) on a particular area of collecting with a coffee break at half time. Please see our programme for the wide range of subjects covered. Meetings will generally start at the earlier time of 7.30pm. Subscriptions are a modest £15 per annum which enables members to attend all of the society meetings. Sadly, we are no longer able to offer an opinion on estate collections of stamps. While these will have given great pleasure to their former owners, they rarely command high prices and are often best offered to a charity shop. For further information on the club, please contact Ian on 01491 873 928 or send an email to: henleyphilatelic@googlemail.com CLICK HERE FOR THE DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING How to find us If travelling from Henley proceed up the Fair Mile on to the dual carriageway and turn right where indicated for Bix:
Bix & Assendon Village Hall, Rectory Lane, Bix RG9 6BS.
History of the Society The Henley and District Philatelic Society was founded by the late Mr C.F. Weaver (Councillor) in the autumn of 1966. He had thought of the idea and mentioned it to the then sub-postmaster at the Newtown Post Office in Reading Road, Henley, asking him to tell anyone he knew who collected postage stamps and who might be interested. An advertisement was inserted in the Henley Standard at the time. The first meetings were held in the Mayor’s Parlour in Henley Town Hall but as the membership grew a room was hired at the Technical College, Deanfield Road, for a monthly meeting during the autumn and winter months. Meetings were then transferred to a site in the old Infants School in Greys Road. Other venues were sought and for some years now the Society has been meeting at the Bix Village Hall on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month, for displays from visiting societies, auctions, competitions and with opportunities to learn, to exchange views and material and so enjoy this interesting and absorbing hobby. During the Coronavirus pandemic, the Society was able to keep meeting by using Zoom and other electronic means, achieving a pleasing level of continuity.
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A Welcome In our youth, many of us collected stamps, more often than not mainly United Kingdom, plus a few foreign stamps contributed by an uncle working overseas. Members of Henley Stamp Club have very diverse interests, specializing in foreign countries, such as Norway, Germany, Sarawak and Argentina. Other aspects of the hobby are postcards and thematic displays. More often than not, a philatelic display is not just a show of sheets from a stamp album, but an essay illustrated by philatelic material. Historical events, often wars, are frequently the subject of these essays and the use of stamps and letters lends a personal viewpoint to the presentations. Instead of the broadbrush treatment of history by a school lesson, philatelic material, handled by those involved, gives an insight into the minutiae of historical events. We meet at Bix and Assendon Village Hall on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month. Displays of philatelic material are given by members and invited guests. Displays are mounted on the traditional boards, but the Society also boasts a digital projector and screen which can be used for PowerPoint and other electronic displays. New members are welcome and please feel free to attend any meeting with no obligation to join. Membership is open to all types of collector from novices to the advanced and the society caters for a wide range of philatelic interests. Our members collect Great Britain, Commonwealth, Foreign, Postal History and Thematic subjects and much else. Developments: Building on our experience with Zoom during the pandemic, we added to our regular meetings a special Zoom meeting on 29th March 2023, with an out of area guest speaker. This was deemed to be a successful enterprise and will be followed up on a regular basis, generally in a month with a 5th Wednesday. In addition, members are invited to hone their electronic skills and to use the club’s projector for their own displays.
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Visitors since May 2007: |
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NEW
Major New Postal History Site: |
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NEW
King George V at the British Postal Museum & Archive: |
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MUST SEE
British Library Philatelic Collection Curator’s Choice: |
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Next Meeting—27th November—Tim Harison—”Estonia Postal History to 1945, Iceland Stamps 1873—1944” |