The Formation of the Kingdom of Iraq, a part of the Ottoman Empire, was considered very important due to its strategic location. The British victory during the first world war led to the creation of the new Kingdom of Iraq.

This presentation shows philatelic items from the first landing of the Indian Expeditionary forces ‘D’ in Fao leading to the capture of Basra in 1914, followed by the famous Siege of Kut in 1916 and the occupation stamps of Baghdad in 1917. Items include the Baghdad in British Occupation largest known multiples followed by the Iraq in British Occupation issue of 1918 with the famous inverted centre. The only known cover with a combination of Baghdad and Iraq stamps is also to be shown. The presentation will cover the Mosul local issue of 1919 followed by the latter issues after the territory became a Kingdom in 1921. The presentation will end with the 1932 issue of King Faisal I using new currency values when the kingdom was granted independence.

About Prof. Akthem Al-Manaseer

Prof. Akthem Al-Manaseer is an accredited US International philatelic judge with collecting interest related to Middle East philately. He is a Professor and practising civil engineer of Concrete Structures at San José State University, California.

He started collecting stamps at the age of five and worked on expanding his collection interest with his first exhibit in 1996 in Sunnyvale, CA receiving a gold medal.

He co-authored a book on Postal stationery of Iraq published by the Royal Philatelic Society London and in 2007 he was the recipient of the Julian Chapman Memorial Scholarship for his work on the 1917 Baghdad and 1919 Mosul stamps. 

As well as being a Fellow of the RPSL, he belongs to several philatelic clubs including the CCNY, CCSF, Club de Monte-Carlo de l’Élite de la Philatélie, and the Académie Européenne de Philatélie.

Attended by a worldwide audience of 80 members and guests of the Society across 18 countries, Simon Richards's presentation described the development of postal services in Savoy, the ancestral home of the Kings of Italy, from Ducal times, through the French revolutionary period and its turmoil, the restoration of the Sardinian postal service, and finally the transfer of control to France as part of Italian re-unification. The presentation ended in 1875 and the admission of France to the General Postal Union.

A video recording of the presentation can be viewed on YouTube here.

In a live meeting held on Zoom video conferencing, the Royal Philatelic Society London's Head of Collections, Nicola Davies, presented on the subject of conducting research using the Society's website.

The meeting was attended by an audience of 100 members and guests of the Society in a total of 15 countries.

The video recording of the event can be viewed on YouTube here.

This display is a celebration of the 70th Anniversary of the founding of the New Zealand Society of Great Britain. The Society has displayed at the Royal Philatelic Society London on two previous occasions: in 1977 (25th Anniversary) and 2002 (50th Anniversary).

The display showcases a wide variety of topics reflecting the range of interest available to collectors of New Zealand stamps and Postal History. The subjects range from the classic Chalon heads through military mail, the various definitive series and more modern material such as Customised Advertising Labels.

Also to be seen are some particularly New Zealand subjects, including charity stamps issued to support the Health Camp movement and stamps used on the Pigeongram service from Great Barrier Island at the end of the nineteenth century.

More information about the New Zealand Society of Great Britain and its activities is available on its website, www.nzsgb.org.uk.

Congress has been an integral part of the philatelic scene in this country and continues to be so today. In fact, the 2022 Congress is being held in Birmingham from 8th to 11th September.

The presentation traces the history of the Philatelic Congress of Great Britain since its inception in 1909 up to the present day. There has always been a history with Congress of the production of souvenirs, many of which have been labels. These labels were produced for Congress by some of the leading stamp printers of the day including De La Rue, Perkins Bacon and Harrison and Sons. The presentation illustrates the outstanding quality of these labels.

A key feature of Congress has always been the Banquet usually held on the last night of the event. The presentation shows some of the outstanding menus that were served at the banquet, sometimes having French courses even the French would not recognise!

The event was live via Zoom, and a video of the event may be viewed here.

A celebration of H.M. Queen Elizabeth II, Patron of the RPSL, in the 70th year of her reign.

This presentation is an overview of the images of The Queen that have appeared on recessed (engraved) stamps around the globe, starting with the United Kingdom, followed by Dominions (Australia, Canada, and New Zealand) and finally by the Crown Agents for the colonies and protectorates.

These images are further segmented by photographers, sculptors and painters, many relying on each other's works (e.g. Dorothy Wilding provided many of the base images) as well as stratification by different poses showing different, or head with/without, tiaras, diadems and kokoshniks.

James Peter Gough (aka "Jamie") has been a member of the RPSL for over 30 years. While Jamie is well-known for his worldwide collecting interests in the period pre-1900, this presentation will be a surprise to many since he covers a rather modern philatelic topic about Queen Elizabeth II. Many may consider this "modern" but as Jamie has pointed out, there are few today who have any memory of The Queen ascending the throne in 1952!

The event was recorded, and the video is available to watch on YouTube here.

Dozens of articles have already been written about Jean-Baptiste Philippe Constant Moens (1833-1908) and Louis Francois Hanciau (1835-1924), but what do we really know about these two characters who both influenced philately in their own different ways?

Little is known about them personally, but they were well known as publishers of catalogues, albums, and philatelic magazines.

It seems certain that it was only a few years after their meeting in the 1850s and the beginning of a specialised trade that these two pioneers of philately decided to publish a catalogue. On 1 June 1861, a small advertisement appeared in the newspaper "L'Etoile belge" publicising the forthcoming publication of a "Manual for stamp collectors". This was more than six months before the publication of Alfred Potiquet's very first catalogue, which appeared on 21 December 1861.

What were their roles? Who actually wrote the books published by these two dealers? In this display and presentation, Vincent Schouberechts tries to answer these questions with a selection of documents, many previously unpublished.

A video recording of the presentation can be viewed on YouTube. The link to this is included in the list of Meeting Exhibits and Videos above.

Past President Gavin Fryer RDP FRPSL will be making a spectacular display of 640 pages illustrating the use of the King George VI Great Britain High Values on mail.

The British Government sought to encourage the use of air services for mail at economic rates by the introduction of the Empire All Up Air Mail Scheme from June 1937, carrying a half-ounce letter for 1½d or a postcard for 1d. This scheme was introduced in 3 stages, the first beginning on 29 June 1939.

Government Parliamentary Papers, Post Office publicity leaflets, proving "test" letters, and letters by regular services will be displayed. The Scheme was closed by the Government and the Post Office on 3 September 1939 when Britain declared war on Germany. Consequent limited facilities for air mail services during wartime meant that letters would be subject to a charge of 1s 3d per ½ ounce and postcards to a charge of 7d (half the letter rate) for all destinations served by the Empire routes. This directly links to the use of the High Value stamps on mail, and frankings of up to £10 and more.

The postage rates were already high by May 1939, especially to certain countries in South America. Mail to 100 destinations, some with large amounts of postage conveying a wide range of foods and other products, from used clothes to precious minerals, will be displayed.

Mail was carried by many airlines linking parts of the world, even during restrictions on transport as a result of World War II conditions. Mail sent to Britain from overseas using British adhesive stamps is evident. Numerous postal services were needed, as will be shown by examples used until about 1954.

This year's Stuart Rossiter Memorial Lecture is being given by the RPSL's Vice President Simon Richards. The subject is The Influence of Military History on Postal History: Anglo-French Rivalry in the Caribbean.

Jack Preuveneers presented in an online event live via Zoom video conferencing, to an international audience in 16 countries.

The Swedish postal service underwent a major reform in the 1850s leading to the introduction of stamps. The past experience of other countries was something the Swedish government could build upon, and a bill went through on 31st March 1854 to introduce uniform postage.

The postal administration took this bill as a sign of good news and sought to introduce stamps as a means of payment within post offices. After handing in a report on 8th February 1855, the government on 9th March 1855 confirmed this change, and thus began the most important postal reform Sweden had seen. It was to be effective from Sunday, 1st July 1855.

This presentation is about Swedish stamps between 1855 through to 1872, covering the Skilling Banco issues, Coat of Arms öre issue, and the Laying Lion Issue.

The event was recorded, and the video is available to watch on YouTube here.