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The Circle's Ninth Convention was held on October 27, with, amazingly, good weather once more. York Citadel was again the setting, and members were arriving before 9.30am, to help unload the large amounts of refreshments, equipment, and goodies for sale. As soon as the Sales Table was set up, members flocked to see the stamps, covers, postcards and the like, but Jim Pratt, our
ever present Sales Table "guru", took it in his stride. Coffee flowed as Stella was kept busy, and members greeted each other as old friends, on this annual reunion.
It was soon eleven o'clock, time for the proceedings to commence. Martin Reid, our Chairman for several years, had not been at all well, and it was felt that he needed a respite, so Glenn Horridge took the Chair. During the day, 26 members and guests attended the Convention, and midway through the morning session member Andrew Brockett arrived from Australia, and spent an hour or so listening to the speakers, and enjoying the displays.
First on the rostrum was David Pickard, who brought a further selection of S.A. postcards, which covered more than a hundred years of Salvation Army activities. We saw galaxies of Commissioners, Bands,
S.A, premises, special meetings and social work premises. We shared "2 a.m. Soup" with a host of men in a
S.A. hostel, saw South African Staff Officers on their horses; Commercial Street, Leeds, in 1912, where we could just detect the premises of the
S.A. Life Assurance Society; and the floral clock in Edinburgh in 1965, celebrating the
S.A. Centenary; and all were accompanied by a skilled, detailed, and interesting narration of special features. A fine display.
Glenn Horridge then introduced himself, as the next speaker. All sorts of paper ephemera were shown, most of it very rare and in some cases unique. There were old leases, documents, engravings, membership cards, handbills and tickets. Many of these items are now quite valuable, and obtained from autograph shops, bric-a-abrac stalls, antique shops and the like. All were of great interest to the Salvation Army historian, and evidence of many, many hours spent searching.
The last display before lunch was given by the irrepressible David Copper, on the subject of Le Palais de la Femme, the hostel for women in Paris. Again there was evidence of a long search for material, as David seems to have cornered the market with his extensive collection of postcards of the
Palais. Most of them were from a series of the 1920s, printed on the unusual buff card which is the hallmark of French cards of that era. Photographs and brochures also featured in the display, and we were able to see the type of training with which the
S.A. helped the ladies of the Palais - preparing and serving meals, laundering, typewriting; and some of the facilities there - meeting hall, gymnasium, roof-top terrace, library, leisure room - many of which would not have part of their normal lives. Lunch followed. prepared by Stella, and enjoyed by the delegates.
Jim's sales table was inundated by members seeking to add to their collections of
S.A. philately, and to purchase some of the old prints (late 1880s mainly), bookmarks, and
S.A. collectables which were available.
Two o'clock soon arrived, and jean and Alan Chinn presented Part Two of "Our Christian Heritage". About a hundred sheets of stamps and covers traced the stories of saints, church dignitaries, and Christian men and women of the centuries, churches and cathedrals. We met Martin Luther, John Knox, Elizabeth Fry, Florence Nightingale, William Booth and many others. We visited Boston, Canterbury, Coventry, Hereford,
Lindisfarne, Salisbury, Wells, and, of course, York, plus many other cradles of Christianity. All the sheets were beautifully written-up and the material was in pristine condition. Accompanying the treasures was a detailed, clear and measured commentary. A treat amongst treats!
Following on was Harry Hayes, with over a hundred sheets of the S.A. in Sweden, plus about thirty postcards. The earliest item was an 1898 cover posted from Stockholm HQ to England, via Germany and the Netherlands, and postcards showed the first
S.A. officer in Sweden, Hanna Ouchterlony, and the early HQ in Stockholm. There were covers from HQs, Divisional HQs, Corps, social work institutions, holiday camps, hotels and others. A large collection showed postcards and covers from the many Scout and Guide camps which have been held in Sweden over the years, and bandspeople's gatherings. A wide selection was shown of publicity labels issued for post-war help, Helping Hand, youth, handicapped, and so on. The Swedish display ended with a comprehensive selection of impressions from the postal meters used over the years in various Swedish
S.A. offices. To end the display, were a few sheets of covers from Latvia, overseen by the Swedish
S.A., and some cuttings from the Salvation on the work in Latvia.
To round off the Convention, Glenn spoke of the work of David and Del Miller. Unfortunately David was not well enough to travel but he had sent along several items which
"sacollectables" had made. These included S.A.
key rings, plates, a loving cup and paper items. The increasingly popular "sacollectables" website was described and it was stressed that it has been continually expanded and developed over recent months.
Acknowledgments: Thanks were expressed to the Commanding Officer of York Citadel for the use of the superb Hall and equipment, to Glenn
Horridge, our Chairman this year; to those who presented displays - David Pickard, Glenn
Horridge, David Copper, jean and Alan Chinn, David and Del Miller, and Harry Hayes. Also to York Philatelic Society and York Postcard Collectors Club for the use of the display frames; Jim Pratt, for the organisation of the Sales Table, and for arranging the collection and return of the display frames. Peter
Bryne, Treasurer of the York Philatelic Society, was absolutely indispensable with his hard work handling the frames, and together with Jim Pratt, setting up the Hall for the Convention. Stella supplied copious amounts of welcome coffee and refreshments throughout the day, and Terry Jeffrey took charge of the Welcome Table. To all these go the thanks of the Circle. The delegates departed around 5.30 pm, after all had shared in clearing the equipment and setting up the Hall for Sunday's meetings.
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