Johnson Philatelics
Post Office in Port Elizabeth

Fine Stamps & Postal History. British Africa: Cape of Good Hope, Rhodesia, South Africa, Airmails. Commonwealth philately, rare proofs & varieties.

For ease of purchase, we list all our items on our Swiss colleague, Filat AG’s online store. Below we provide brief overviews of the stock which is on offer with useful links to major sections. Incidentally, if you check the watermark of the forgery the crown is much simpler than that in the real stamp. On the day Alexandrina Victoria was born she was only fifth in line to ascend to the throne. Before the age of one she moved up to third in line after the death of her father in January 1820 and her grandfather a week later. She became heir presumptive at the tender age of eleven after the death of her two oldest uncles who had no legitimate surviving children. However, due to social convention she was obliged to live with her until she was finally married to her first cousin in She was besotted with Prince Albert and together they had nine children, all of whom married into royal and noble families across the continent, and her forty two grand-children were spread all over Europe. It was the first of a large run due to be released into public circulation by Christmas. Several weeks later, to mark his appreciation, the printer, John Ash, sent a sheet of the unreleased scarlet stamps to Huntingfield as a memento. Instead it became a bureaucratic nightmare and, 81 years later, a philatelic wet dream. The speed required for an aircraft to take-off varies with wind, air density, weight, and flap or slat positions. They were on the final leg of their Frankfurt-Nairobi-Johannesburg journey with 157 souls, luggage and freight, including some airmail, on board. Shortly after take-off the pilots experienced random force vibrations. The Boeing 747 was unable to maintain its altitude and the stall warning system light came on. Flight 540 was doomed before its wheels left the ground because the pneumatic system switch was off, which resulted in the aircraft becoming airborne in a partially stalled condition. The left wing struck an elevated road and exploded. The fire spread to the fuselage, completely destroying the aircraft. World War One was a long and tiresome war involving many campaigns, countries and lives. The Australian Imperial Force, which was initially one infantry division and one light horse brigade, was sent to assist in the Gallipoli Campaign. Later they were strengthened with a second division and a further three light horse brigades. A hero, who by the end of the First World War had earned the Military Cross twice and the Distinguished Flying Cross three times with eleven confirmed aerial victories. At the end of the war this accomplished pilot entered a civilian world where long distance air travel and the thought of airmail in Australia was in its infancy. We were in Melbourne for the FIAP International Stamp Exhibition and now we can’t wait to get home to share our amazing new material with you.