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And further crash-cover follow-up
In a recent LPS Journal, Mik Wisniewski wrote about “The early postal service between Britain and Liberia” [1], and in that context, suggested to me in an e-mail that “The LPS might also want to consider having more active links with the West Africa Study Circle group.” The WASC used to be called the “British West Africa …”, and does not include Liberia: Liberia is barely present in their online index for their journal, Cameo. But I thought that I would try the experiment: online membership is just £5, and they hold meetings in London, where I live.
Anyway, the first virtual meeting I attended offered plenty of food for thought for a philatelic newbie such as myself—the six presentations were all interesting— and, browsing through Cameo, I see more than the index would suggest. For example, an article about Graham Greene [2] and The Heart of the Matter (which is set in Sierra Leone and which I have not yet read), reflects on why Greene (who was not a stamp collector), would have the central character, the deputy police commissioner Major Scobie (also not a collector), experience a plot twist based on a stamp album clutched by a young woman, Helen. He gives her more stamps, including a “complete set of Liberians surcharged for the American occupation” [3].
In another recent LPS Journal, Marty wrote about crash covers from a fatally-incomplete 1938 flight, sharing four covers (from four different LPS members)[4]. I followed up in this Forum with a fifth [5]. Marty wrote that “Liberia is considered the rarest country of origin for the mail recovered from this crash.”
I find in Cameo a whole series of articles about the history of that airmail route, and one article [6] shares further details and another recovered cover, of which it says: “This cover lost its stamp and airmail etiquette through being soaked in snow. It is the only one known from Sierra Leone (unless you know otherwise).” I have also encountered a further cover from the same flight, but on a routing from Brazil to Germany—presumably also unusual—joining the flight in Morocco [7].
Maybe our Liberia covers make up more of the story than we thought. Maybe I should carry on browsing through Cameo to see what else I pick up. Maybe you would like to, too.
[1] Mik Wisniewski, “The early postal service between Britain and Liberia”, LPS Journal, The Journal of the Liberian Philatelic Society, 8(2), April-June 2025, 17-26)
[2] Kevin Lowther, “Graham Greene and the Author: Both Bitten by the ‘African Bug’”, Cameo, 19(3), (October 2018), 155-160
[3] Graham Greene, The Heart of the Matter, (London: Penguin Books; 1962), 47
[4] Martin Nee, “Liberia Aircraft Accident Mail”, LPS Journal, The Journal of the Liberian Philatelic Society, 6(4), October-December 2023, 16-17
[5] Martin Giles, “Another crash cover”, LPS Forum, (January 2024)
[6] Barbara Priddy, “British West Africa and the French Airmail Services Part I: the Toulouse-Dakar service”, Cameo, 20(2), (June 2019), 98-102
[7] Wobbe Vegtar, “Werner von Siemens”, Philamath, 37(4), (April 2016), 3-7
Anyway, the first virtual meeting I attended offered plenty of food for thought for a philatelic newbie such as myself—the six presentations were all interesting— and, browsing through Cameo, I see more than the index would suggest. For example, an article about Graham Greene [2] and The Heart of the Matter (which is set in Sierra Leone and which I have not yet read), reflects on why Greene (who was not a stamp collector), would have the central character, the deputy police commissioner Major Scobie (also not a collector), experience a plot twist based on a stamp album clutched by a young woman, Helen. He gives her more stamps, including a “complete set of Liberians surcharged for the American occupation” [3].
In another recent LPS Journal, Marty wrote about crash covers from a fatally-incomplete 1938 flight, sharing four covers (from four different LPS members)[4]. I followed up in this Forum with a fifth [5]. Marty wrote that “Liberia is considered the rarest country of origin for the mail recovered from this crash.”
I find in Cameo a whole series of articles about the history of that airmail route, and one article [6] shares further details and another recovered cover, of which it says: “This cover lost its stamp and airmail etiquette through being soaked in snow. It is the only one known from Sierra Leone (unless you know otherwise).” I have also encountered a further cover from the same flight, but on a routing from Brazil to Germany—presumably also unusual—joining the flight in Morocco [7].
Maybe our Liberia covers make up more of the story than we thought. Maybe I should carry on browsing through Cameo to see what else I pick up. Maybe you would like to, too.
[1] Mik Wisniewski, “The early postal service between Britain and Liberia”, LPS Journal, The Journal of the Liberian Philatelic Society, 8(2), April-June 2025, 17-26)
[2] Kevin Lowther, “Graham Greene and the Author: Both Bitten by the ‘African Bug’”, Cameo, 19(3), (October 2018), 155-160
[3] Graham Greene, The Heart of the Matter, (London: Penguin Books; 1962), 47
[4] Martin Nee, “Liberia Aircraft Accident Mail”, LPS Journal, The Journal of the Liberian Philatelic Society, 6(4), October-December 2023, 16-17
[5] Martin Giles, “Another crash cover”, LPS Forum, (January 2024)
[6] Barbara Priddy, “British West Africa and the French Airmail Services Part I: the Toulouse-Dakar service”, Cameo, 20(2), (June 2019), 98-102
[7] Wobbe Vegtar, “Werner von Siemens”, Philamath, 37(4), (April 2016), 3-7