With a Foreword by the Chief of the Australian Defence Force Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston AC AFC
• 134 pages
• 50 in full colour with no fewer than 67 illustrations
• 18 stamp issues with military theme but no special postmark
• 26 items of military miscellany throughout text
• 169 commemorative and pictorial postmarks (+ 10 AFPOs)
• Extensive bibliography and fully indexed
• Ranks and structure of Australia’s Armed Services listed
As we say at the start of the book:
Australia Post has stringent criteria that must be met before agreement in principle is given for a postmark to be created. Where possible we have given as full an explanation as we can of not only the commemorative postmark, but the reason it was created in the first place. This often involves giving a brief history of either the people or group behind the postmark and/or some information about the geographic location. . . .
This book is available from Australian PictorMarks - you will not find it in any shops or elsewhere on the internet at this stage. Another feature of great interest is:
Military Miscellany
This dinkus appears throughout the book beside a snippet of military interest that may also act as a blatant filler! One of the joys of authorship is that you can present things as you wish, within reason of course! For the most part, if you find something really, really interesting, chances are your readers will too.
The fascinating thing about philately is that it thematically covers just about anything you can think of, as our previous monographs show. From the Australian Antarctic Territory, to Trains and Trams, Cricket and now … the military. Researching these subjects has been a fascinating journey and we’d like to share some of our discoveries with you. Philatelically speaking, this publication is ‘out there’ in terms of the rigidity of ‘normal’ philatelic literature. Militarily speaking, it may well be bereft of details that those with this as their abiding interest may think is a lack.
Whatever, as a marriage of the two subjects, this is a unique publication and we hope you enjoy reading it as much as we have enjoyed putting it together.
'The Meticulous Marcophilist' details what is involved in collecting the pictorial postmarks (left) and early Australian stamps with a military theme kick off the rest of the book (right).
Did you know the unveiling of the American Memorial in Brisbane was the first deliberately commemorative pictorial postmark used in Australia? You do now!
The Australian War Memorial stamps of 1958 were used for the 'British Empire Service League' Conference in Canberra. Incidentally, to you know why a Parade Ground is sacred? You soon will . . .
The story of each major RAAF Base is included for the postmarks issued to celebrate the RAAF's 50th Anniversary: Australia Post's official FDCs are also depicted.
The Battle of Cambrai was illustrated on a special souvenir cover (left page) issued by the Royal Australian Armoured Corps Tank Museum, one of a series of 15.
The Battle of Beersheba was commemorated with a special pictorial postmark, and one more souvenir cover in the RAAC Tank Museum series.
The remaining covers in the RAAC Tank Museum series. Each cover depicts the Corps / Regiment badge and information regarding each unit is included.
The Colonial Military Uniform stamp issue led to some interesting pictorial postmarks.
The 75th Anniversary of the Royal Australian Navy saw the issue of nine pictorially commemorative postmarks and the history of each ship depicted is detailed. One of these postmarks didn't receive a great deal of publicity, so the set is worth more because . . . well, you'll need to read the book to find out!
Our Bicentenary in 1988 led to some great postmarks, covers and stamps. Here's just a few of them on pp. 60-61.
We tie in lots of information about the traditions behind some of our more obvious military icons. Do you have any idea how riders in the Queensland Mounted Infantry acquired the emu feathers for their slouch hats? Truly terrifying! The answer is here!
To commemorate the launch of the book, a special, limited, numbered page was included. A small number of them are still available. Obviously, No. 2 won't be one of them. If you don't want the special page, that's fine by us ... the remainder of the book is otherwise exactly the same!
This book was launched at opening of the exhibition Lest We Forget - Anzac Day Remembrancesat Australia's National PostMaster Gallery in Melbourne on 27 February 2008 . . . entry to the exhibit is free and is open until 14 June 2008.
This unique book will give hours of pleasure and is a valuable resource not just for marcophilists, but all philatelists and those with a military interest alike.
