Issues of WWII: King, Country, and Conflict
by John Burnett (ESC5)
Originally published in Linns Stamp News
Canada issued a
series of stamps in 1942 and 1943 (Scott 249 – 62) to bolster Canadian spirits
and to send a clear message to Axis powers about the ability of Canada to wage war. More than sixty years later these war effort stamps and their usages
can be combined to make a marvelous collection.
Excluding the 4¢ Grain Elevator stamp
(253), the 1¢ to 5¢ definitives all picture King George VI in the uniforms of
the three armed services. The 1¢ through 3¢, displaying all three uniform types
are shown in figure 1.
Figure 1 - The low value definitives of Canada’s war effort issue portrayed King George VI dressed in the uniform of the navy (left), army (middle) and air force (right).
The Royal Navy being the senior service,
the King appears in the naval uniform on the lowest and highest values, the 1¢
and 5¢ stamps. He wears the uniform of the army on the 2¢ and 4¢ stamps and of
the air force on the 3¢ dark carmine issued in 1942 and reissued as rose –
violet in 1943. With that second issue each armed force is represented twice
and in the order of seniority.
The 1¢ and 4¢ George VI definitives were
also produced in booklets. Despite the limited quantities of booklets produced none
of the booklets is particularly expensive and they can make a fine addition to
a collection.
(When relatively inexpensive booklets make
up part of a collection I try to obtain two copies of the booklet and show one
closed and one exploded on my page. The exploded booklet showcases the stamps
while the closed booklet shows the booklet cover)
Five of the low value definitives are also available
as horizontal coil stamps perforated gauge 8vertically (263 – 67). These coil
stamps were issued between September 1942 and August 1943.
In 1948, well after the war was over, new
versions of the 1¢ and 4¢ were issued perforated 9½ vertically (278 – 81). These
coil stamps remained in circulation until mid July 1949, and a couple could be
found in local post offices as late as 1950.
As with virtually all Canadian stamps that
preceded them since the 1880’s, war effort definitives were produced in a
limited quantity in imperforate form, but only 100 pairs of each are known to
exist. Harder to find than the others is the 3¢ dark carmine, of which only 75
pairs have been documented.
More affordably plate blocks of these
stamps also are available from all four corner positions, with margin selvedge
displaying the Canadian bank Note Company imprint and the number of the plate
from which the stamps were printed.
Because of the poor quality of steel
available under wartime constraints, many plates were used to print the most
popular low values of the war effort issue. 32 plates for the 1¢, six for the
2¢, 10 for the dark carmine and 29 for the rose violet 3¢, and 49 for the 4¢.
Needless to say a complete collection of the plate blocks would be quiet an
accomplishment, as some plate numbers are elusive.
Plate flaws can add an extra dimension to a
collection of the war effort issue. Seven of the plates of the 4¢ have very
definite cracks, giving rise to collectible varieties and multiples.
Figure 2 shows another 4¢ stamp (253) from
this issue, picturing a large freighter loading up at a Great lakes grain
elevator and an 8¢ showing a farm scene with cattle. These stamps underscored Canada’s abundant agricultural resources and the countries long term ability to sustain the war
effort, supplying food to Great Britain and the other allied nations.
On the right in figure 2, a 10¢ stamp
showing Canada’s parliament buildings at the nations capital in Ottawa, Ontario. This stamp was meant to symbolize that democracy rules in Canada and will stand forever.
Figure 2 - Middle values of the WWII era series showcased the most attractive aspects of Canadian life, including the nations agricultural wealth (as exemplified by the 4¢ Grain Elevators, the 8¢ Farm Scene stamps), and Canada’s democratic traditions (symbolized by the 10¢ Parliament Buildings in Ottawa).
Figure 3 shows the remaining four war
effort high value stamps, all of which salute Canada’s war production and capability
to support the allied war machine.
A 13¢ stamp (258) shows the Canadian
designed and manufactured Ram Tank. A 14¢ stamp of the same design (259) was
introduced in April 1943 to meet the needs of a rate change.
The 20¢ stamp (260) depicts a Canadian corvette
under construction, smaller and more nimble than a destroyer; the corvette was
one of Canada’s greatest and most innovative contributions to the war effort,
designed especially for Atlantic convoy duty.
These corvettes did an efficient job of
escorting convoys but were very uncomfortable ships for those who sailed in
them. The corvette was said to start to roll in a heavy dew. The last remaining
Canadian corvette, HMCS Sackville can be seen at the Maritime Museum in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The 50¢ denomination (261) shows a 25
pounder Howitzer under construction on the floor of a Canadian manufacturer.
The final stamp in this series is the
$1Tribal Class Destroyer at sea. The Tribal Class destroyers were so good that
not only did they see duty in WWII they were also in service in Korea in the
50’s with some old Tribal’s remaining in service with the Canadian Navy into
the 60’s.
Figure 3 - High denominations showed the military muscle of Canada’s war effort.
Figure 4 shows the 6¢ air mail stamp (C7),
issued July 1, 1942. A 7¢ stamp of the same design (C8)was issued April 16,
1943, to pay the new air mail rate of that year.
Figure 4 - The 1942 6¢ Canadian air mail stamp shows the advanced training aircraft used by allied forces during WWII.
These wartime issued stamps are not hard to
find, they are very good looking and all have a story behind their creation.
One could start a grand collection with this set of 14 stamps. If one is to add
the postal history of the era and maybe plate the stamps this would be a world
class collection.
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