New Issue: D-Day 1944 80th Anniversary

The Canvey Island Local Post (CILP) is pleased to announce the issue of its latest stamp, commemorating the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944, on the coast of Normandy, France. 

CP066

The stamp features a dynamic statue of British infantry advancing across the beach under fire on D-Day, which is situated at the recently completed national British Normandy Memorial at Ver-sur-Mer, Normandy, France. 

The British Normandy Memorial commemorates 22,422 personnel from 30 countries under British command, who lost their lives during the operation and subsequent Normandy battles. A limited run of 160 stamps have been printed.

CILP stamps are shipped worldwide from Alpha Thematics on Ebid UK.  

Postmaster

River Thames Wrecks: SS Benmohr (1902)

 The Canvey Island Local Post (CILP) is pleased to announce the issue of its latest stamp and initial release for our new River Thames Wrecks series.

The first stamp in this occasional series is the SS Benmohr. On 6 February 1902, the SS Benmohr bound for India, collided with the SS Banffshire, a refrigerated cargo steamer, in thick fog in the River Thames Estuary off the Canvey Island coast.

CP065

The SS Benmohr settled by the stern and sank off Thorney Bay, Canvey Island. There are no reports of any casualties. In June 1902, she was raised and taken to a River Tyne shipyard for repairs. Her cargo of cement barrels had solidified due to their immersion, but Canvey developer Frederick Hester purchased them to build a jetty and also used them as foundations for several new buildings.

The SS Banffshire was repaired and sailed for Australia in May 1902. After repairs the SS Benmohr continued maritime duties, being sold to a Japanese company in 1911, until wrecked off the coast of Japan in 1927.

The SS Benmohr stamp features a 1902 contemporary sketch by Tom Merry. A total of 160 stamps have been produced.

CILP stamps are shipped worldwide from Alpha Thematics on Ebid UK. 

Postmaster

New Stamp Issues: 2024 Schedule

 Spring has officially started but the weather for Canvey Island in S.E. England has mostly been laughing at us, with rain and unseasonal cool breezes. But there is light! Crisp sheets of new stamps have been received this week from our reliable and friendly printer at Yourstamps, based in Berlin, Germany.

Our stamp schedule for 2024 includes topicals that will appeal to a wide range of collectors and introduces a new occasional series, River Thames Wrecks. To maintain a sense of anticipation, images of stamps due for release post-May will be released on their actual issue date.

River Thames Wrecks: SS “Benmohr” 1902 

Issue Date: 10 May 2024

On 6 February 1902, the SS Benmohr bound for India, collided with the SS Banffshire, a refrigerated cargo steamer, in thick fog in the River Thames Estuary off the Canvey Island coast.

CP065

The SS Benmohr settled by the stern and sank off Thorney Bay, Canvey Island. There are no reports of any casualties. In June 1902, she was raised and taken to a River Tyne shipyard for repairs. Her cargo of cement barrels had solidified due to their immersion, but Canvey developer Frederick Hester purchased them to build a jetty and also used them as foundations for several new buildings.

The SS Banffshire was repaired and sailed for Australia in May 1902. After repairs the SS Benmohr continued maritime duties, being sold to a Japanese company in 1911, until wrecked off the coast of Japan in 1927.

SS Benmohr c.1902 

Our initial stamp in this series features the SS Benmohr from a 1902 contemporary sketch by Tom Merry. A total of 160 stamps have been produced.

 

D-Day 1944 - 80^th Anniversary

Issue Date: 6 June 2024

The 80^th Anniversary of the D-Day landings by Allied forces in 1944 is commemorated this year. We have produced a stamp featuring a dynamic statue at the British Normandy Memorial at Ver-sur-Mer in France. It features British infantry moving up the beach under fire.

The British Normandy Memorial commemorates 22,422 people from 30 countries, under British command, who lost their lives during the operation. A limited run of 160 stamps have been printed.

 

Aviation Series No.3: Avro Vulcan XL426

Issue Date: 12 August 2024

The third offering in our extremely popular Aviation Series is the delta wing Avro Vulcan. Our stamp features Avro Vulcan XL426, one of only three remaining taxiable Avro Vulcan strategic bombers.

Since 1993, it has been owned and maintained by the Vulcan Restoration Trust, based at Southend London Airport, approximately 15 miles from Canvey Island. This historic aircraft served with the Royal Air Force (RAF) from 1962 to 1986. A total of 105 stamps have been produced.

 

Local History Series: Hester’s Mono-Rail 1902

Issue Date: 18 November 2024

Property developer Frederick Hester established the first Mono-Rail in Essex, England, on Canvey Island in 1902. It was intended to transport prospective bungalow buyers, holiday makers and day trippers from London, from the mainland railway station to the River Thames Estuary coast via his Winter Gardens and other business interests.

However, lack of funds prevented electrification and expansion and the service was brief, perhaps running for around two years. Our stamp features a period photograph of the horse-drawn Mono-Rail complete with visitors and local photogenic dog! This issue has a print run of 160 stamps.

CILP stamps are shipped worldwide from Alpha Thematics on Ebid UK. 

Postmaster

The British Library: Cyber Attack

This week I was checking links in our Philatelic Resources, Societies and Clubs links at the bottom of our webpage. 

Sadly, the Ship Stamp Club has closed. But more worrying is that The British Library, which was hit by a cyber attack in November 2023, is still suffering major system disruption. As a result our link to their informative Philately section is not working and directs visitors to a temporary page.

The British Library link has been retained in our list in the hope that their systems will be back online at some point this year. It is a timely reminder to us all to take sensible precautions with our login and security details at all times, even when we are engaged with our philatelic interests.

The British Library states; 

"We're continuing to experience a major technology outage as a result of a cyber-attack. The outage is still affecting our website, online systems and services, as well as some onsite services, however our buildings are still open as usual.

We anticipate restoring more services over the coming months, but disruption to certain services is expected to persist for longer...

We have...[published a paper] about the attack. Its goal is to share our understanding of what happened and to help others learn from our experience.

In November the attackers released some of our data onto the dark web including some personal user information. We've contacted our users to alert them to this incident and to offer advice from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) on how to protect themselves, including updating their passwords on other systems.

Because our systems are still unavailable, you can't change the password for our services. However, if you use the same password for non-British Library services, we recommend that you change it as a precaution.

The NCSC offers advice on staying secure online, including how to create a strong password, as well as specific guidance for individuals who may have been impacted by a data breach.

Analysing the data is likely to take several months. Should we find specific information has been compromised, we will alert anyone affected as soon as we can. We are continuing to collaborate with the Metropolitan Police and professional cybersecurity advisors, and are receiving support from the NCSC...

We're really sorry for the ongoing disruption to our systems and services and we'll provide further updates when we can. Thank you for bearing with us during this ongoing investigation."

Be careful out there...

Postmaster

Spring Heralds New Stamps!

Spring is finally here! That means new stamp issues are being prepared for release to the wild in the coming months! I cannot "spill the beans" as to what our stamp schedule for 2024 looks like just yet, but it will include some great topical themes and local history. 

Our Aviation Series continues with a new stamp of an aircraft from 1962 that will be instantly recognisable. Plus the 80th Anniversary of D-Day 1944 will be commemorated, and historical transport and maritime history will feature in two other issues.

Rejected D-Day 80th Anniversary stamp design

The full 2024 schedule will be published as soon as the finished stamps have been received from our printer. Whilst we wait, designs for 2025 are well under way, including a new commemorative series featuring famous musicians that were born, lived, or sadly died on Canvey Island. We also plan a definitive series of notable Islanders throughout history, and there are some surprises!

Until next time...

Postmaster

Online and Printed Catalogues Update

 Updates of our illustrated Online Catalogue pages will be suspended from 20 February 2024. Current data in the public domain will remain available online but new issues will not be added to the catalogue listings until further notice. 

CILP has taken this decision due to possible misuse by some individuals, breaching our generous Creative Commons Licence.

Also, our website format and hosting limitations may restrict our ability to expand and accommodate the catalogue in its current format in future. A slimmed-down or 'light' version of the catalogue is being evaluated.

However, our Collector Checklist will be updated for new stamp issues and released as normal under our existing Creative Commons Licence.

A new illustrated and comprehensive printed catalogue covering all cinderella material relating to CILP since its foundation, is being prepared for publication. The First Edition of the CILPDEX catalogue will be available later this year and will be for sale worldwide online from our agent, Alpha Thematics. 

Visit the Canvey Island Local Post Category in the Alpha Thematics shop!

Postmaster 

CILP on Alpha Thematics Refreshed!

Regular visitors to this site and collectors of CILP stamps will be familiar with our philatelic agent, Alpha Thematics on Ebid UK.

The good news is that CILP now has its own category in the Alpha Thematics shop, so you will no longer have to search through all the "Local Posts" category to find our stamps.

Amy Johnson (CP064 5-Jan-2024)

Even better news is that all our listings have been refreshed and many prices reduced! 

We also have introduced a range of full year stamp lots to kick-off a new collection, or fill missing years from existing collections. All available stamp issues are still listed for single purchases.

Visit the Canvey Island Local Post Category in Alpha Thematics shop!

Postmaster

New Issue: Aviators Series - Amy Johnson

 Aviators Series: No.2 (5 January 2024)

The 5th January saw the first issue of 2024 and the second stamp in our Aviators Series on the anniversary of Amy Johnson's death.

The famous pre-WWII aviator and long-distance record setter Amy Johnson CBE, is the subject of the second stamp in this series. The stamp shows an Oxford Airspeed AS.10 similar to the aircraft Johnson was flying that evening with an inset portrait of Amy in leather flying helmet.

Ref: CLP050124S / Cat: CP064

Johnson was ferrying the aircraft to an airfield in Kent in on 5th January 1941. Due to extremely poor weather, she flew off course and failed to reach her destination. The exact reason for her crash is unknown but it is assumed she was forced to bail-out over the Thames Estuary near Canvey Island, when her aircraft ran out of fuel. Her body was never recovered.

Aviators Series stamps can be obtained at Alpha Thematics on Ebid UK. 

Postmaster