A chance buy of a bundle of covers at an auction led Julian Tweed to discover the fascination of Great Britain Express Mail. Julian shared his passion, the result of years of research and discovery, with members of the Royal Philatelic Society London at a display and presentation given on 26 January.
The express delivery service was introduced by the British Post Office on 25 March 1891 and over the years was effected in different ways, from the use of telegraph boys who carried the letter for its entire journey, messages sent initially by telephone before reaching the recipient by messenger, to the use of aircraft in wartime.
Items shown included the labels, markings, stamps and forms that were used, many proving scarce, especially the forms as these were usually destroyed. One striking item was a letter sent ‘Express’ from Balmoral Castle to Windsor Castle, hand written by Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Alex Haimann FRPSL gave the Vote of Thanks to Julian, remarking that all had learned something new during the presentation, at the same time seeing items that told many a human story.
