Shortened to GBOS, the society was founded in 1970 and is a study group for the stamps and postal history of the regions and occupation post offices abroad that used the stamps of Great Britain and were overprinted for use. The society continues to explore the ways in which, and reasons why, British stamps and other postal material have been overprinted for use outside the UK or for special functions within the UK.
The GBOS specialises in the study of the stamps and postal services of the British Postal Agencies in the Arabian Gulf, Bechuanaland, British Levant, British Occupied Italian Colonies, Cyprus, Ireland, Morocco Agencies, Nauru, Oil Rivers and Zululand. We also have members specialising in the GB Departmental issues and Commercial overprints.
From the first officially produced G.B. Overprints for Cyprus in 1880, right through to the closing of the very last Overseas British Post Office, at Abu Dhabi in the Arabian Gulf on 31st December 1966, we find not only stamps, but many of the other services, offered by the British Post Office. Registered Letter Envelopes, Printed Postcards, Parcel Labels, Postal Orders and Airletters; all overprinted or used in one or more of the Overseas BPO’s.
The Society can offer support and knowledge on these collecting areas of interest in a friendly and informal way whether you are an experienced collector or just looking to branch out into a new area. We welcome new members.
Contents
| Title | Article Author | Page |
|---|---|---|
| Editorial and Front Cover | Editor | 59 |
| Officers’ Reports and Messages | Editor | 60 |
| A Trip to Tangier | Tony Stanford FRPSL | 62 |
| Obituary: The Venerable Christopher Hawthorn 1936 – 2025 | Andy Hawthorn | 63 |
| Overprinter Back Issues | Tony Stanford FRPSL | 63 |
| Postbox | Editor | 63 |
| Bechuanaland: Fantasy Fabrications | Tony Stanford FRPSL | 64 |
| British Levant: Inconsistent Taxation of Sterling Franked Mail in the Edwardian Period | Tony Crowther | 66 |
| British Levant: The British Post Office Constantinople 1918-23: Registered Mail showing the Registration Labels used (part 1) | Chris Grimshaw | 68 |
| BOIC: A Series of Wartime Covers from Eritrea to Sudan | Mike Sanders FRPSL | 74 |
| BOIC: E.A.F. and M.E.F. low value stamps overprinted SPECIMEN and ULTRAMAR | Mike Sanders FRPSL | 75 |
| Gulf: Overprint Varieties on the 1951 High Values | Peter Davis | 76 |
| Gulf: Bahrain’s Last GB Overprint | Tony Stanford FRPSL | 78 |
| Gulf: Kuwait 20np on 3d New Cylinder Discovery | Andrew Haymes | 79 |
| Morocco Agencies: 10c Overprint Double Variety | Steve Smith | 80 |
| Morocco Agencies: Centimes and Centimos Usages from Tangier | Ron Watson | 82 |
| Morocco Agencies: Forged Cancel? | Charles Andrews | 83 |
| Morocco Agencies: Luis Genaro Felipes | John Copeland FRPSL | 84 |