Page 572 - Sierra Leone to 1961 - The Collection

Young Missionary Workers’ Band

A strong ex-pat American community lived and worked in Sierra Leone in the 1950s. These were primarily
Christian Missionaries, but also provided medical and educational services. There was a family called Birch
who provided two generations of medical doctors to the Makeni region. The small home-made packet shown
below was sent from Dr Marilyn P. Birch to the USA; but what did it contain?

Back reduced
to 75%

31 July 1952 - First class registered airmail from Makeni to Houghton, New York, USA.
Rate 2s per half ounce, plus 3d registration fee. 15c US customs fee.

The addressee was Mrs Shea of the Young Missionary Workers’ Band (YMWB), an organisation which
produced a journal aimed at American children to provide information on distant countries. In 2000, I had a
contact with Don Carter, a collector of Sierra Leone stamps. He was born in Sierra Leone in 1929 whilst his
parents were working as missionaries near Makeni; he was actually delivered by Dr Birch Snr! Don was still in
contact with other former missionaries, and both Don’s mother and Mrs Shea were still alive aged over 100.
Dr Marilyn Birch was also still alive, and Don contacted her to ask if she had any idea what was in the small
packet. She recalled instantly: Marilyn was a keen photographer but couldn’t keep the chemicals necessary for
developing film in the hot climate, so would send undeveloped films to Mrs Shea for her to use the pictures
in the YMWB journal.