Page 49 - 148 Years of the Royal Philatelic Society London

In 1915: Lusitania sunk by a German submarine; One millionth Ford car produced; D. W.

Griffith's Birth of a Nation released; Pyrex invented; Frank Sinatra and Orson Wells born.

At the RPSL: Perkins Bacon & Co. provides proof sheet display then donates it to the Society;

National Philatelic War Fund Auction set up.

RPSL President was M. P. Castle M.V.O., J.P. Patron H.M. King George V. Membership 297.

POSTMARKS OF SAINT PETERSBURG AND

PETROGRAD ADJOINED

From the collection of Rene Hillesum.

Member since 2012. Lives in The Netherlands.

no41 YKA

I

All of a sudden the capital of Tsarist Russia, Saint Petersburg, was renamed Petrograd on lst

September 1914 (Julian calendar: August, 19). The reason was the Russians loss against the Germans

in the Battle of Tannenberg, which ended on 31st August. As PetersBURG was too German sounding,

the Tsar ordered it renamed Petrograd the next day, but postmarks could not be replaced by that

date. This is the only example where -on the same date and at the same office- both a postmark of

Saint Petersburg and Petrograd were used on the same item.