SHATPS History
A History of the St. Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Philatelic Society Written by Michael D. Mueller and the late Mrs. Vivian W. Finne, both of the U. S. A., and followed by a chronology compiled by Ted Cookson of the U. S. A. This chronology was updated in mid-2021 to coincide with our society’s 45th anniversary year.
Our 20th Anniversary Anthology, edited by Dr. Russell V. Skavaril, included an excellent history of our society written by Mrs. Vivian W. Finne, the founding member of our organization.
Mrs. Finne passed away in 2002. It falls to me to write the history of our organization since 1996 for Thirty Years of St. Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Philately. Some readers of this book may be unfamiliar with the deeper story of our society, however. Therefore, I will first present an abbreviated and slightly edited version of Mrs. Finne’s history to provide an historical perspective.
From Mrs. Finne's History
"Asking a simple question can lead to unbelievable involvements and a wonderful collection of new friends. Such was the case for me in 1975 when I wrote to Linn's Stamp News and asked if there was a society specializing in St. Helena, a remote and little-known island in the South Atlantic.
"Soon after, I heard from Russell Skavaril, Alan Barasch, Edward Bannigan, Peter McCann and John Havill. They wanted to know what I found out as a consequence of my letter in Linn's. As it turned out, no society existed. However, Russ, Alan, Edward, Peter and John and I began writing to each other.
"At Interphil '76, I met with Edward and he urged me to take the first steps toward organizing a society-like activity for our small group of correspondents.
So, I gathered some philatelic material, wrote a letter to go with it, and started a Round Robin, which we later called a circuit…Trevor Hearl of England contacted me and offered to share his vast information about St. Helena.
"The St. Helena Study Group was formally launched in April 1977 with the issuance of a two-page newsletter…In May, a one-page bulletin listing our eleven members announced that Russ Skavaril would be director, I would be membership chairman…In July 1977, Vol. 1, No. 2 of the St. Helena Study Group Newsletter was mailed to the membership, which had grown to 25…The 18-page January 1978 issue of the Newsletter was packed with articles, Society news, information…A logo contest was underway…
"We felt the need to develop a constitution and bylaws. Similar societies were contacted and we obtained a variety of useful documents for study…the task fell to me to study the materials and formulate working drafts…A special committee was appointed to study the draft documents, the final drafts written by Russell Skavaril. These were approved and signed by the committee and became official on January 1, 1979. However, our Constitution and Bylaws did not go into effect until January 1, 1980 , when our first elected officers took office.
"At StampShow '79, held in Boston, our St. Helena and Dependencies Philatelic Society Newsletter, the name of our journal back then, received a silver medal in the national philatelic literature competition.
"A major event in our history was a society meeting at LONDON 1980 on May 7 at Earl's Court. Seventeen members attended from the British Isles, Canada, the United States, South Africa and Ascension Island. Russell Skavaril conducted a brief meeting, which was followed by a series of talks by members…In July 1981, the St. Helena Scientific Expedition of the Department of Geography, University College, London, departed for St. Helena, taking with it a bundle of cacheted covers for our society.
"Through the kindness of Governor Massingham, in 1984 we secured 30 first day covers of a set of four St. Helena postage stamps issued in January 1983 and featuring views of the island. The covers were autographed by Roland
Svensson, the artist who painted the scenes depicted on the postage stamps.
"The year 1986 marked our tenth year as a society. We celebrated with four major events: participation in AMERIPEX '86, creation of a group of six commemorative covers, introduction of major changes in our quarterly, and a revision of our Constitution and Bylaws…Roger B. West made nine cachet designs; the membership selected three for the covers…In July 1986 our quarterly was re-christened South Atlantic Chronicle…In 1987 Russell Skavaril, the editor of our journal, became seriously ill and found it necessary to step down…Luckily, Everett Parker volunteered to take over….
"Our first monograph was printed in 1991, under the supervision of President Jeffrey Vadheim. It featured two extensive research articles by Society members…published previously in the American Philatelic Congress Book… "The Postal History of St. Helena During the Napoleonic Exile" by Arthur E. Groten, M.D., and "St. Helena Boer Prisoners of War Censor and Camp Handstamps" by Russell V. Skavaril, Ph.D., and I.D. Lampart.
"Under the guidance of President Michael Mueller, several new activities have been adopted to recognize members who have made notable contributions to the society. Foremost of these is the creation of the Castella Award, bestowed to a member for outstanding service to the society. The award was given first in 1993, to Vivian Finne. Russell Skavaril was the recipient in 1994, Trevor Hearl received the Castella Award in 1995...
"In 1995 our society received an exceptionally generous gift from Honorary Member Allan B. Crawford—his stamp design file for the set of four "Lost Lifeboat" postage stamps issued in 1985. It was offered successfully by private treaty in 1996. The proceeds from the sale of the Allan B. Crawford "Lost Lifeboat" file provide a needed financial base."
As Mrs. Finne noted, we celebrated our 20th anniversary with a book—St. Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Philatelic Society's 20th Anniversary Anthology—for which the World Columbian Stamp Exposition awarded our society a $1,500 matching grant. I wrote the grant proposal; Dr. Peter P. McCann gave vital support during the application process. The members of our
society donated more than $1,700.
20th Anniversary Anthology Published in 1997
We had hoped to publish our 20th Anniversary Anthology in 1996 but it required more work than anticipated. Dr. Skavaril soldiered on month after month largely alone. Finally, it was published on September 1, 1997. Virtually everyone agreed that it was well worth the wait. Our 20th Anniversary Anthology was awarded a Gold in the philatelic literature competition at OKPEX '98 and a Vermeil at COLOPEX '98.
Tax-Exempt Status
The sale of the stamp design file and donations to the 20th Anniversary Anthology Fund prompted our officers to seek tax-exempt status for our society. Member Sanford Smith, a lawyer, prepared and submitted the application. Shortly afterward the U. S. Internal Revenue Service granted our society 501(c)(3) status. In addition to exempting our organization from tax liabilities, this status encourages cash and non-cash donations from American members as such gifts can be itemized on tax returns as charitable contributions.
Website Created; Crawford Award to Taylor
Something new appeared on the cover of the South Atlantic Chronicle in October 1996