Spotlight on Societies: Hong Kong Study Circle

On Saturday June 11, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., the local members of the Study Circle are hosting an event for members and guests in conjunction with the show. Beginning with a welcome from Ingo Nessel, FRPSL, the programme will contain presentations from three speakers on our collecting area.

Dr. Sam Chiu, FRPSC, will speak on “C” Force in Hong Kong: Adding Context Through Social Philately. The arrival in Hong Kong of a Canadian contingent, undertrained and under armed, was not enough to protect the Colony from the Japanese invasion. By locating and evaluating documents the soldiers produced before and during the lightning 18-day campaign, and the weary three-and-a-half years of captivity and privation that ensued, it is now possible to flesh out the Force’s compelling story of bravery and sacrifice.

Michel Houde, author of the recently published handbook British Consulate Post Office at Bangkok, 1855 to 1885 (Stuart Rossiter Trust, 2021), will offer insights into the structure and activities of the consulate post office, and the necessary usage of Hong Kong stamps there. His lecture is titled Hong Kong and the British Post Office at Bangkok.

The final speaker will be John Wilson, offering a description of the generally reluctant adjustments made by the local postal officials to provide more widespread and more efficient postal delivery to those living in underdeveloped areas as well as in urbanized locations. His talk is entitled The Long March to Full Postal Delivery in Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong Study Circle is a worldwide organization of collectors specializing in the many aspects of Hong Kong stamps and postal history. In Toronto, a core group of HKSC members meet quarterly to share knowledge and enjoy fellowship. For more information visit hongkongstudycircle.com.