Aberdeen Philatelic Society: Society News Archive
Ships - 20th October 2011
Thanks to Ian Kennaway for the following report on our meeting of 20th October:
Ken Norris, Secretary of the Caledonian and Scottish Postal History Society's was welcomed to the Society on 20th October when 34 members attendede his display on the theme of "ships".
The first part, Ken explained, related to preserved ships. For a long time the ‘Wasa’ was thought to be the oldest found but was surpassed by the ‘Mary Rose’, built between 1536-45. Other noteworthy preserved vessels were Nelson’s Victoria, the ‘Great Britain’ returned from the Falklands, HMS Warrior 1861 returned to Portsmouth, ‘Cutty Sark’ 1869, one of the great Clippers built in Scotland and Scott’s ship the ‘Discovery’ returned to Dundee in 1986. All these and others were represented with commemorative covers, cachets postcards and stamps. Exceptionally there was a cover carried on the ‘Great Britain’ from 1846
Following on, some disasters in shipping were represented including the Titanic 1912, Lusitania 1915, Athenia, SS Arandora Star, Empress of Great Britain, and finally the ferry ship on route from Stranraer to Larne lost at sea in 1953. Again all were represented with philatelic material. Exceptionally Ken illustrated HM Victoria with an 1860 telegram calling on one of its crew members to return to the ship by the following day, as it was about to sail.
In the second half Ken illustrated the history of many cruise liners and how their routes, owners and even names had changed, including Cunard, and QER Canberra. He showed some that had participated in the Falklands war, as well as some that carried ‘Tin Can’ mail and others that had numerous pacquet boat marks and cachets for various routes and even sections of cruises. Ss United States was represented when it won the Blue Riband from the Queen Mary.
In all this was a splendid interesting representation of major shipping from the last 5 centuries, which was well presented and with a detailed and engrossing presentation from the author
Visit from Moray Society - 6th October 2011
Dick Hewitt, displaying, was accompanied by other guests, Colin Sutherland and Brian Goodwin from Moray Philatelic Society, to this meeting of the society.
The meeting commenced with the sad announcement that Pat (Peter) Cooper has died. His funeral will be on Monday 10th October at 1.30 at Aberdeen Crematorium.
Dick Hewitt gave a nearly full meeting room a fascinating display. The first half consisted of Tristan Da Cunha, where he had been fortunate to visit in February. Dick explained that it is very difficult to get to Tristan as there are normally only 5 ships per year that regularly call at the island from Cape Town, and each has only 12 berths. He had originally been planning to visit in 2009. However he was bumped from the ship that year as the fish factory on Tristan burnt down on 13 February and all the limited spaces were then needed for people with a greater priority. He finally managed to visit this year on the Centenary Voyage No 154 to Tristan and St Helena by the RMS St Helena.
Dick's display commenced with early covers posted in Tristan, including covers posted in 1921 when UK stamps were used and 1933 when South African stamps were used all franked with an undated Tristan hand stamp. These were followed by the first Tristan stamps, a series overprinted on St Helena stamps in 1952.
The display continued with many thematic series', particularly related to the local flora and fauna, and it was notable that most issues were specifically related to the Island. What really made the display unusual however, was the series of wonderful photographs taken by Dick on and around the island, which accompanied his stamps. One other most unusual item that Dick displayed was the genuine RMS Royal Mail pennant that he'd won in a raffle on board the ship.
Following the interval Dicks display of Tristan continued, along with some fascinating anecdotes about his visit. He then followed with a display of St Helena and again there were numerous commemorative and pictorial issues all relevant to the Island. Particularly interesting was the issue related to the Wirebird, a national emblem for St Helena, now carefully protected as only about 200 pairs remain in the world.
All in all a most interesting display!
Opening Night - Informal - 22nd September 2011
This first meeting of the season was an informal session, which gave members the opportunity to discuss the items they have acquired during the closed season, and to offer unwanted material to other members.
There was a fixed display of a varied selection of material, a small part of the collection of deceased member, Hamish Anderson. Alex Walker explained that he has been entrusted to dispose of Hamish's vast collection on behalf of his widow. This was the first time that our new display boards have been used, and these were much admired.
Alex Walker also advised that as a result of the societies' secure financial position a number of new catalogues have been purchased, and are available for loan to members. Members are also welcome to provide their suggestions for further capital expenditure.
The new Presidential Insignia has been completed and was presented to Mike Longhurst, the President, by David Kindley. The insignia includes a representation of our logo, the Aberdeen Mercat Cross, and a bar, from which the Stampex Wyon medal is suspended. David was thanked, both for providing the Wyon Medal on which the insignia is based and for arranging its' transformation into the Insignia.
One significant piece of news was reported by Ken Bruce. A valuable Packet from the Falklands Study Group has gone missing in the post, albeit the Special Delivery service was being used. If members (or other readers) are offered Falkland Islands, George VI or South Georgia Victoria issues they should beware, and if suspicious, report to the Study Group. Any information can be provided through our Contact page.
The Friday morning meetings have already commenced and more members would be very welcome to attend. These informal meetings are held at the usual venue, and are held in the weeks when there are no formal meetings.
Grampian Stamp & Postcard Fair - 10th September 2011
North East Fairs organised another successful collectors fair at Queens Cross Parish Church Halls on Saturday 10th September.
There was not quite the variety of dealers that we'd seen at the April fair, and although there were many postcard stalls and some with other ephemera it was notable that there was something of a distinct shortage of stamps! Chad Neighbor, the fair organiser, in explanation, advised that the stamp dealers who would otherwise have attended, had a number of other commitments for this weekend.
Chad himself however was doing his best to satisfy the needs of the philatelists present, and was offering a wide variety of interesting material. We're delighted to advise that two further fairs have been organised for next year in the same venue, for dates please see the Meetings page. The September fair in 2012 is later in the month, and Chad assures me that there will be more stamp dealers present then!
**********************
The events below relate to the 2010 - 2011 season....
Grampian Stamp & Postcard Fair - 30th April 2011
At the end of 2010 it appeared that stamp fairs in Aberdeen were to be a thing of the past as the two existing stamp fairs both announced that they were ceasing. However, Chad Neighbor, of North East Fairs, very kindly stepped into the breach and went ahead with organising a new fair in Aberdeen. This, the first stamp and postcard fair in Aberdeen, organised by North-East Fairs, was held in Queens Cross Parish Church Halls. Chad had managed to attract dealers from across Scotland, to the delight of the attendees from Aberdeen and round about.
These dealers present included Gareth Burgess from East Lothian, Anthony Duda from Dunbartonshire, Jim Howie from Dundee, Roger Jackson from Inverness, Moira Rothnie from Aberdeenshire, and Richard Stenlake from Ayrshire, as well, of course, as Chad himself, from Angus! The content of the fair was not restricted to stamps and philatelic covers alone - in addition, there were many postcards for sale and other available ephemera included football programs and limited edition prints.
The number of our members present was confirmation that the event was appreciated by members of Aberdeen Philatelic Society, and it was pleasing to also see many folk present who are not members of the society, thus confirming the wider attraction of the event. This was despite the excellent weather today, which might have meant that people would prefer to have been outside enjoying the sunshine. Hopefully, the event will have been equally successful so far as the dealers present are concerned, so that they will be happy to come to Aberdeen again
AGM and Room Auction - 14 April 2011
The treasurer confirmed that financially the society is in very good health, which means that no increase in the current subscription will be needed for the coming season. With an average of 38, and a maximum of 42, members attending meetings the Society is thriving, and can look forward with confidence to the next season.
The Room Auction followed the break. There was keen bidding for many lots, with the highest realisation being for a 3-margin Plate 3 1d Black which reached £38. Local items with Aberdeen postmarks and a first flight cover to Lerwick gained good prices. However interest was not restricted to stamps alone, a number of multiring album covers also achieved a good price.
Ethiopia - 31 March 2011
Thanks again to Sheila Den for this report on our meeting of 31st March: Our president David Kindley informed us that he had been friends with Dougie Elliott for over 44 years. Our speaker travelled from Leeds to display aspects from his collection of Ethiopia. He has worked for many years in the philatelic trade and this country was chosen by him as it was an unusual area for collectors.
Dougie told us that historically Ethiopia was a very "closed" country to the outside world and it was the traders who wanted a postal system. We saw an early postcard from 1867 relating to the 1st troops arriving at Magdala and apparently mail from the expedition is very scarce with only 10 known covers.
Collectors of Ethiopia must be aware that there are numerous forgeries. The 1st definitives were printed in November, 1894 and were subsequently overprinted time and time again. The display continued with examples of commemoratives, varieties and proofs. Postage due stamps of 1896 were never used as intended and were used only within Ethiopia until 1919 and Dougie showed some accepted and unaccepted postage due proofs. The first half concluded with the 1942 Restoration of the Monarchy stamps, 1944 Menelik II centenary colour trials and a 1st day cover for the Roosevelt Memorial.
The second half began with an array of censor mail and lead onto drop leaflets from the 2nd world war which are very rare from the East Africa region. An exploded cover, AV 2 No's (only identified on the top of each pile of 1000 covers) and an example from King Farouk's collection depicting his physician were all explained to the members. The evening finished with a photograph of Italians in full regalia leaving the Consulate in Addis Ababa in 1908 and a section on air mails including an air mail etiquette.
A superb display with many rare items which was very well received by members present!
Centenary Dinner - 24 March 2011
Later, the Vice President, Mike Longhurst, proposed thanks to David Kindley, for his invaluable service, in acting as the voice and face of the society during our Centenary Year. Various prizes were awarded during the evening, including gifts for our oldest and youngest members and to members still present who had originally joined the Society via the now defunct Junior Section. In addition, a free raffle meant that numerous members were fortunate to win a souvenir of the evening to take home!
Centenary Dinner - 24 March 2011
About 40 members and guests enjoyed the Centenary Dinner, the final event in a year of celebrations to commemorate our Centenary, held at the Caledonian Thistle Hotel, Union Terrace, Aberdeen on Thursday 24th March. Among the highlights of the evening were the introduction and speech by the president of the Society, David Kindley, who particularly gave thanks to Sheila Den, on her pending retirement as Secretary, for her many years of service to the Society. Thanks also to Chris Jefferies for doing so much to organise the evening, and to George Stephen for the splendid menus he prepared for the occasion.
Later, the Vice President, Mike Longhurst, proposed thanks to David Kindley, for his invaluable service, in acting as the voice and face of the society during our Centenary Year. Various prizes were awarded during the evening, including gifts for our oldest and youngest members and to members still present who had originally joined the Society via the now defunct Junior Section. In addition, a free raffle meant that numerous members were fortunate to win a souvenir of the evening to take home!
Thanks to Sheila Den for providing these details of our meeting held on 17th March. David Kindley started by explaining his display for President's Night would be entitled "Something completely different " and would be part slide show and part philatelic display and both relating to the topic of Belarus.
In 1995 a group from Project Julia came to the Raeden Centre, Aberdeen to gain knowledge of treatment for handicapped children. Gomel is 100miles north of Chernobyl and a map helped us identify the area involved in the project. David was invited back to the Julia Child Development Centre in Belarus and he told members about his experiences. The centre offered parent rooms, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and some ingenious techniques to treat abnormal tone using scraps of rubber formed into leg splints.
The philatelic display showed stamps from this fairly new country. Many reflected the natural history, animals, flowers, industries and socialist topics. One feature was the high rate of currency inflation. A quiz rounded off the evening and encouraged members to really look at the stamps. Members were tasked to 1) State how many times the Chernobyl disaster had been commemorated on Byelorussian stamps and 2) How many times did Gomel appear on these stamps
A most entertaining evening and truly fitted the title of something completely different.
Visit from Arbroath Philatelic Society - 3 March 2011
Brian Cargill and Dave Torrie from Arbroath Philatelic Society provided a varied display at our meeting on 3rd March. Brian was first to present, and gave a display of material prepared for various members nights and competition entries, which amply demonstrated the breadth of his philatelic interests. The display included sections entitled Five Famous stamps (penny black and PUC pound being just 2 of them), Composers, US Poets to Presidents, Birds of the World, Wildlife on Commonwealth of Australia, Chinese New Year on New Zealand Stamps, Lord of the Rings, and Resorts by Rail (with stamps and appropriate post cards). Many members particularly commented that David's use of the computer to write up his displays in varied styles was superbly done.
Dave's contribution came after the break, and was a two part display of Tristan Da Cunha and of autographed covers. The Tristan material started long before they used their own stamps, and included covers mainly using British stamps, but also some franked with stamps from Ascension, St Helena, Sierra Leone, Nyasaland, Cook Islands, Niue, New Guinea and South Africa, as well as covers with no stamps at all. The autographed material included signatures of numerous famous people including Rex Hunt, Alf Ramsey, Bobby Moore, Henry Cooper, Vera Lynn and Ken Dodd among many others.
All in all, another evening with a wide variety of material displayed, so something for every philatelic interest!
Society Auction - 24 February 2011
Organisation by the usual suspects ensured an most entertaining evening on 24th February. This well attended meeting was the club auction, postponed from December. With over 200 lots, lively bidding took place and prices achieved were from 10 pence to over £20, perhaps indicating that the auction was not quite in Sotheby's league. The writer was however, well pleased to have obtained some 12 lots for less than £20!
Visit from Dundee Philatelic Society - 17 February 2011
Our meeting on 17th February was a visit from Dundee Philatelic Society. 42 members of the Society were present to enjoy what one member described as an eclectic display, by four guests from Dundee. A wide variety of material was displayed, and there must surely have been something to suit all tastes.
First to show was Charles Lloyd who presented a display of "Early Belgian Africa". This was not restricted to Belgian Congo but also included Ruanda-Urundi. Particularly of interest, and much admired, were the large number of fine early engraved stamps. Next up was Colin Campbell, who displayed "Oil at War". His unusual theme was by no means restricted to stamps, but also included ephemera including oil rationing coupons, publicity labels to save petrol, postcards and blueys.
After the interval Ron Goodfellow, who is also a member of Aberdeen Philatelic Society, gave a two part display. To start with he showed "Commerce in the Post", his part of the display given to the Royal Philatelic Society in November, but which had not been seen by most of the Aberdeen members. This was followed by a fascinating display of billheads from 1879 onwards, including many from Aberdeen. Finally, Alan Roy gave a most informative display entitled "History of the General Post". This covered the period from about 1635, when Charles 1 opened the post to the public. There were then a very limited number of routes, and the cost of postage was very high, but this was to change over the years. Alan's display concluded in 1840, at the point where many stamp collectors collections start.
Swiss Philatelic Exhibitions - 3 February 2011
David Rossall visited to give a comprehensive display of Swiss Philatelic Exhibition material. This included everything from the very first poster stamps and souvenir sheets to postal stationery cards, menus, entrance tickets, exhibition programmes and of course, numerous special post marks. In 1934 the first souvenir sheet of postage stamps included 4 definitive stamps. As well as the stamps, David was able to show us numerous forgeries and even a copy produced in gold. Many postal authorities issued commemorative material for the Swiss exhibitions and these were well represented. These included such material as Belgian reply paid cards, issued in 1948 bearing stamps originally overprinted for CIPEX in New York in 1947, which were then perforated for IMABA, and sent by air from Brussels to Basel on the opening day of the exhibition, where the IMABA handstamp was applied.
Whilst the first half comprised material related to National exhibitions, the second also included material from local and regional exhibitions. International aerophilately exhibitions were also well represented. David's display concluded with an entirely different area of philately. This was a thematic display of stamps related to Edinburgh Zoo. The 16 page group entry, by members of the Doonfoot Primary School stamp club, won a Silver Gilt certificate and trophy at Stampex. The quality of the juniors display was much admired by our members.
Philatelic and Advertising History - 20 January 2011
42 members, a recent record for meetings other than auctions, attended Stuart Gardiner's presentation of "Philatelic and Advertising History" at our meeting on 20th January. In the first half he concentrated on philatelic material from famous philatelists and some early stamp dealers and forgers - who often seemed to be one and the same. The writers favourite item was a handwritten letter written by King George V when Prince of Wales. The material, much of which was unique, included price lists and catalogues from as long ago as 1865. The numerous examples of forgeries presented included some by Sperati.
In the second half Stuart presented advertising, starting with some advertising envelopes but concentrating on poster stamps. These stamps are rarely seen but are particularly interesting as they often present an insight into a bygone age - the details shown on some of the hotel poster stamps included such things as the telephone switchboard and kitchen, not seen on modern advertisements. The Railway poster stamps were particularly attractive and included examples from Wells Fargo, Union Pacific and the UK. The extensive range of subjects on poster stamps included the inauguration of the Simplon tunnel in 1906, the Milan Philatelic Exhibition in the same year, and exhibitions in Dublin, New Zealand and the UK.
Alphabet Night: Z is for... on 6th January 2011
Our first meeting of the new year, and indeed the first meeting since November 2010 thanks to the weather necessitating 2 cancellations in December, yielded a variety of displays, such that there must have been some items of interest to everyone present. The theme was the letter Z and most members displayed some material, having been able to choose to display up to 10 sheets on the stated theme. Members were somewhat devious in their attempts to justify the material displayed - but that's part of the game!
Amongst many other subjects, we were shown excellent displays of Finlands' first postal stationery card, the 1936 Zeppelin flight to Finland as well as other Zeppelin carried material, Zambia, 'Z' force - Canadians in Iceland relieving British troops during WW2, Zuid Afrikaansche Republic (otherwise Transvaal), Zanzibar, Zululand, Zoos and Zodiac, Matanzas Cuba Free Zone and Trieste Zone A. Varying from the general to the specialised, the displays amply demonstrated the wide variety of our members interests.
Edinburgh Postal History - Rates, Risings and Resurrectionists: 18th November 2010
Malcolm Fenning presented "Edinburgh Postal History - Rates, Risings and Resurrectionists" at our meeting on 18th November. One of the few meetings of the society not to include any stamps, instead we were presented with numerous fascinating and unique examples of Edinburgh postal history. For the first half of the display Malcolm showed some rare letters, which included the authority to open the first Coupar Angus post office in 1704 and the 1737 accounts for the post office in Scotland. Letters relating to the Jacobite risings in 1715 and 1745 included a letter sent in 1716 to London advising that King James had left Montrose for France and that his troops were disbanded, which was one of the first letters to provide this news to London. The second half of Malcoms display included some of the earliest letters sent from Coffee Houses. We were advised that people sometimes had their offices in Coffee Houses at the time. Somewhat like Starbucks, but there was no wi-fi available to receive the news. Instead the Coffee Houses provided copies of newsletters to their customers, for example the London Newsletter. The difficulty with this was that the newsletters had to be approved by the Privy Council before being made available, and Malcolm showed examples of where the Exchange Coffee House in Edinburgh had had to refuse delivery of the newsletter as it had not been approved. He also showed us examples of inspectors marks, money letters, and letters form the 4d and 1d post periods, to conclude a most unusual display.
Centenary Display to the Royal Philatelic Society: 11th November 2010
As part of our centenary year celebrations, the Society gave a display to the Royal Philatelic Society, London, on 11 November 2010. A commemorative Centenary Brochure - the latest in a line of publications by Aberdeen members - was prepared and edited, by Stuart Duncan, for this occasion. The brochure includes a foreword by the Society President and a brief history of the Society by Geoffrey Stone. The display to the RPS illustrated the collecting interests of 30 of our members. The topics are listed on the brochure contents list and there follows a write up by each of the contributors which described the exhibit and illustrates a choice item from their display.
Centenary of South Africa: 4th November 2010
A full meeting room awaited David MacDonald’s display, entitled the Centenary of South Africa, on 4th November. David’s extensive knowledge of South African philately was immediately apparent and the meeting was rewarded with an excellent presentation. The first stamp issued by the Union of South Africa was 100 years ago, to the day. This was a 2½d value, which interestingly was a foreign rate. It was a further 3 years before more stamps were issued to include other rates, but during this intervening period, David demonstrated that the earlier issued colonies stamps were used. These were valid throughout the Union, regardless of their origin. The first half of his display concentrated on the stamps issued by the Union of South Africa and David complemented the stamps themselves with informative details about their issue. For example, he described forgeries of the first airmail stamps, issued in 1925. Although the stamps themselves are scarce, the forgeries are often scarcer. David was able to show us sets of both the originals and the forgeries! He completed the first part of the display by showing some interesting fiscals and exhibition covers.
The second part of the display concentrated on air mail. The first aerial post in South Africa was organised in 1911 by Captain Walter Windham, who later, in September the same year, organised the Hendon to Windsor flights, following his return to London. David was able to show us his extensive collection of flown covers, which included those to both internal and overseas destinations. He demonstrated that the time taken for international post decreased rapidly over the years as aircraft reliability improved and flight durations were extended. The airmails from South Africa to the UK took about 13 days in 1932, but this was reduced to 2½ days in 1945. South Africa, being a large country, has always seen the value of air transport of mail. It has had some internal air post continuously since 1929, other than during WW2. The air services included many internal short lived trials and David was able to show us numerous examples of covers flown on these services. To conclude his display David diverted from the air to show us some interesting examples of railway letters and maritime mail.
Aspects of World War 1: 21st October 2010
Thanks to Sheila Den for reporting as follows on our meeting, held on 21st October:
Stuart Henderson, and his wife Jackie, travelled from Ilford, Essex to visit the society.
Their presentation started with a small 16 sheet display telling the story of the war and included the financial costs, human costs and consequences. Then we saw a selection of Christmas cards and calendars. French banks and Building Societies gave calendars and we were shown some extremely colourful examples which were nearly 100 years old. The display continued with an interesting 1916 Air Raid notice from the Burgh of Coatbridge, a Leave of Absence certificate and a letter informing family members of a soldier's death.
Following a chance find in an antique shop Stuart showed 14 sheets of correspondence under the title of "A man went to War". They spanned 7 years and discussed Officer training, hospital admissions, honeymoon venue and discharge. Part 1 ended with photographs of German Prisoners in Japan and civilian prisoners interred at Berlin racecourse.
The second part of the display highlighted the consequences of war with many countries being broken up and then issuing stamps in their own right.
The evening concluded with propaganda/poster stamps, for example French victories, Italian patriotic, British anti German and Red Cross examples and sheets of Scottish National War Memorial Labels.
All in all it was a most interesting and varied evening presented with knowledge and humour!
Bears - 7 October 2010
At our first formal meeting of the season on 7th October, we were treated to a fascinating display of bears by Sheila Sutherland. The first half of the meeting was devoted to an interesting display of philatelic material related to animals themselves, including brown, black and polar bears. Not forgetting the giant pandas, which are bears, and the koala bears which are not, being marsupials. Artificial bears were covered in the second half of the display, and this included an explanation of how Teddy Roosevelt gave bears their name. Paddington, Winnie the Pooh, Rupert, Pudsey, Goldilocks and Sooty, among others, were all the subject of bright and colourful stamps, the number of which is greater than the writer would have believed possible, for such a specialised theme.
The year 2010 is the Centenary of founding of the society. It's therefore a very special year for the society and a number of events are ongoing to celebrate. The Centenary Exhibition in the Maritime Museum, Aberdeen, opened on 17 July and is part of the London 2010 Festival of Stamps. A reception was held for members of the Society, on 18th July, to commemorate the opening, and photos of this occasion can be viewed here. (Please note that this page may be slow to load because of the large number of pictures involved.)
ASPS 81st Annual Congress - 16 - 17 April 2010
The Society Hosted the ASPS Congress at the Dewar's Centre, Perth on 16 - 17 April. Many members and their guests were present at the centennial dinner, held coincident with the ASPS Congress dinner on 16th April. We started the evening with the Tom Rielly Memorial talk given by Dr David Kindley, the president of the society. He gave a highly entertaining and thought provoking talk on Afghanistan, which he illustrated with slides of appropriate philatelic material, that served to illustrate, in the writers' view, the futility of going to war in Afghanistan. The talk was of very general interest and non philatelists amongst the audience were thus equally well entertained. This talk was followed by a Civic Reception hosted by the Provost of Perth. At the Centennial Dinner we were entertained by Susan Oliver, who regaled us with some most interesting anecdotes about her work for a leading auction house. This was followed by the presidential address and then the ASPS Awards ceremony. Finally, Douglas Muir, the well-known philatelic journal editor and author, signed the Book of Scottish Philatelists.
We're delighted to present here a photo gallery of the events at Congress.
As hosts, the society had a table manned by members on a rotating basis, at both days of the exhibition at Congress. We sold, (or attempted to sell!) to visitors, exhibition postcards, covers, and adhesive labels as well as the recently published history of the society (details here). Some general views of the exhibition area are included in the photo gallery above.
Members of the Society contributed a 60 frame display to the exhibition. A huge variety of interests were demonstrated amply illustrating the breadth of our members interests. These ranged from items as close to home as for example Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire postal history to items from places much further away such as Australia, China, New Zealand, and Samoa and many others. Thematic collectors were also well represented with displays including animals, insects, explorers and as it turned out, very topically, volcanoes. Also included was a frame of fascinating items from the society archive as well as frames representing the collections of the late Jack Waterman, Ron Stables and Sandy Mackie. Some of the displays are shown here.
Centennial Reception 30 March 2010
The Lord Provost of Aberdeen invited members of the Society and their guests to a reception at the Town House, Aberdeen on Tuesday 30th March, exactly one hundred years after foundation of the Society. Speeches were made by the Lord Provost and by Dr David Kindley, President of the Society, and all enjoyed the hospitality provided by Aberdeen City, as well as the opportunity to have informal discussions with the other members. Photos of the evening are here.
