Three of Bahrain’s top philatelists were recently recognised on the global stage for their stunning stamp collections as well as the stories told about the kingdom’s postal heritage.
Fuad Sherazi, Saleh Al Hassan and Khaled Darweesh were amongst the participants from the Bahrain Philatelic Society, who recently participated in the Asian International Stamp Exhibition in China.
“Three of the society members have participated in the five-day event which was held in the Shanghai Exhibition Centre,” Bahrain Philatelic Society commissioner Hafedh Abdulghaffar told the GDN.
Mr Sherazi’s collection titled ‘Development of Postal Rates in Bahrain during Indian and British administration’ won the Vermeil Medal for his five-frame exhibit detailing distinct periods in Bahrain’s history.
His exhibit showcased Bahrain envelopes from 1932 to 1960 sent to different destinations during the Indian and British Postal Administration, with paid India and overprinted British stamps, with a variety of cancellation marks.
“The Indian period started on October 5, 1932 and lasted for almost 16 years until March 31, 1948, including the short period of Autumn 1947, when Bahrain Post Office was managed by the Pakistani government in Karachi,” he explained.
“England Post took over postal agencies from Pakistan on April 1, 1948, and a postal supervisor for Gulf agencies was stationed in Bahrain.”
Meanwhile, Mr Al Hassan’s exhibit titled ‘The Postal System in Bahrain: 1954-1972’ won the Silver Bronze Medal and Mr Darweesh’s detailing of the ‘Aerogrammes (air mail) as postal stationary in Bahrain Postal History’ got a Certificate of Participation.
Mr Abdulghaffar was responsible for transporting the collections to Shanghai and exhibiting them at the international event.
“Bahrain is a pioneer in postal services – the first stamp to carry its name appeared in 1933, which was a British stamp of King George V overprinted with the name of Bahrain,” he added.
“In 1953, the first Bahraini stamps were issued under the rule of the late Hakim Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
“Members of the Bahrain Philatelic Society are very active in international and regional exhibitions throughout the year and like to highlight the kingdom’s postal heritage around the world.”
The international stamp exhibition celebrated the 75th anniversary of the founding of China, highlighted its development achievements in the modern era, enhanced cultural exchanges and promoted the development of international philatelic culture.
It was held at the Shanghai Exhibition Centre to highlight the city’s economic importance and its heritage as a birthplace of modern postal service in China.
The event brought together Federation of Inter-Asian Philately members, stamp collectors and philatelists from various countries and regions. Under the theme of ‘Stamps Present Asian Culture’ the exhibition displayed 371 exhibits with 1,617 frames from 29 countries, including 16 competitive classes such as traditional philately, postal history and postal stationery.
First Day Covers (FDC) which are popular among philatelists, were included as an exhibition class for the first time.
naman@gdnmedia.bh
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