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Nigeria.

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This is great. I have always thought that being a part of the African continent, South African collectors should embrace the wider collecting area of 'Africa' rather than just the 'South'. Many thanks for your wonderful and constant contributions of beautifully laid-out QE2 colonial era stamps and covers. This is a great addition to the South African Philately Club.  Now, do you do Biafra?  (Is that a Nigerian stamp cut in two?)

I only do Elizabeth!  But, I could have been cut in half in Biafra.  I was at Nigeria House in London on a Friday for a job in Port Harcourt as Chef instructor to the Nigerian Government - True!  It was down to two applicants.  That weekend, the war started! I never heard about the job afterwards.  Imagine if it had been a few weeks before, I could have been in the middle of it! 

Remember John Semler the British/South African dealer?  He was about to land there when they saw the guns firing below them.  The nearest I ever got to trouble in Africa was anti-aircraft guns along the runway when we landed at Kinshasa and tanks along the runway in the Khartoum.  and oh yes.... There was that ice cream boy in the Vaal Show Grounds in Vereeniging. 

Hmmm. Seems you ended the ice cream story in mid-flow....... please continue.

BTW, did you see Yannis' lovely TPO from Show Grounds. See: https://southafricanphilatelyclub.com/forum/topic/t-p-o-last-show-train

Who was S P Naylor, one of your mates? His name comes up a lot?

If I put the rest down, I would never be allowed back in!

Where did you get S.P. Naylor from?  I don't think that was me.  Tthe only Naylor I remember was a Stan Naylor but I can't remember what he collected.

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S P Naylor, a collector whose name comes up a lot. See the link to Yiannis' cover.

That was a great Zoom display of Biafran Postal History  from Tony Plumbe on Friday, May 28th. I particularly liked your summation at the end and the thanks you expressed. You look very comfortable among your mates from Stockport. I wanted to ask two questions but then felt they were inappropriate. The first was with reference to the cover from "The Royal Biafran Government Services" Was this a reference to HM Queeen Elizabeth II, Biafra being a loyal subject of your collectimg area, QE2,  or a royal Biafran house?

My second question would have been more of a statement, a reference to SA PM John Balthazar Vorster saying that with regards to South Africa, Wetern dipolomacy and morality was "steeped in the oil barrels of Nigeria". That sentiment was one that the hard-pressed Biafrans would have understood. Given that Apartheid SA was at the time of Biafra 1967 - 1970 trying to implemenet the Bantustan policy in which SA tribes were allocated a political Homeland of their own in which they could express their 'identity', (there was more to it than that but this not the place to discuss it), the fact that Nigeria was fragmenting as Biafrans sought to escape it was seen by Pretoria as proof of the correctness of Separate Development, (a euphemism for 'Apartheid'). That being the case, at Biafra's request, Pretoria sent a military delegation to Biafra led by Commandant later Colonel Jan Breytenbach, a special forces officer, founder of the Recces (Reconnaissance Commandos) and leader of 32 Battalion in the Angolan War. The South Africans participated in the fighting, even behind Nigerian lines. Apparently they flew in with Jack Malloch, a WW2 wartime pal of "good old Smithy", the Rhodesian PM, on an arms delivery run. This is all documented in 'Silent War' (Peter Stiff).

Sorry to interrupt your lovely display with this digession!

Steve, thanks for interest.  Yes I also enjoyed Biafra, an unusual subject!  Nice to see Africa coming forward.  I also wondered about the royal aspect at the time but thought no more about it.  If you can get Tony on board we can ask him then - he is the expert.  I didn't know about the SA connection, were Armscor involved.  I did ask where the money came from - did our gold & diamonds go into the pot?

Regarding Stockport it is becoming more international than local, I think there were only 5 Stockport members.  Stephen makes a good job of it and I can only see it growing.  It is the way forward we even have a young lady at Halifax meetings - new philatelic subject, 'Eye Candy'!

Regarding the Nigeria  Adel has shown me how to bring the FB viewers directly onto the page so let see if the viewing increases.  Also I am doing Northern Rhodesia for North America Rhodesian SC next month - if anyone is interested let me know and I will get Colin to send invites.

I have always collected Africa. It should be the natural collecting area for South Africans. There was a time when I collected African tyrants, despots and dictators on stamps, men like Emperor Jean-Bédel Bokassa of the Central African Republic who had rebellious students brutally murdered to the tune of Mary Hopkin's 1968 UK number 1 hit single "Those were the Days". I'm guessing you will remember the song, maybe even sang it!

Regarding Armscor, I don't know but I doubt it. The type of weapons being supplied to Biafra were light infantry ones like AK47s and RPG7s, most likely sourced from Israel and Rumania. When the South Africans first invaded Angola in 1976 (under the command of Jan Breytenbach) they were badly under-equipped and lacked the sort of weapons that Armscor would later develop in order to provide some sort of parity with the Cuban and FAPLA forces on the ground. So, most likely no.

Yes, I see Zoom taking off. Even my scociety, the Cambridge PS, will be presenting to Pretoria soon.

Regarding "Eye Candy", I have a collection of "Breasts on Stamps".  I have been told to rename it "The Female Nude".

Sorry, I don't do Rhodesia.

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