History

Paisley Philatelic Society was formed in 1947, under the Presidency of Mr A. B. Clements and the Vice Presidency of Dr A. C. Richmond.

During the first year of the Society, the meetings were held in the West School. They were then moved to the A.F.U. Halls in Cumberland Court, where they remained until 1952. From 1952 until 1965, the venue for the Society was the YMCA Halls in the High Street. In 1965 the meeting place was again changed, this time to the New Templars Halls. From 1967 the Society has held its meetings in Ralston Community Centre, Allanton Avenue and continues to do so. Meetings are held every second Wednesday, during the "season", and a thriving Society is to be found there.

Membership grew from around forty in 1949 to over ninety in 1979. As with most other Clubs and Societies numbers have declined in more recent years, currently membership is around 50, with a significant proportion attending each meeting.

From the founding of the Society, its intention was to promote the growth of philately, and the fellowship which arises from it. Displays were, and are still given by Club Members and invited guests from other Societies. Visits are made to and received from other Societies. New members and junior members are encouraged to produce items from their collections, and much useful and interesting advice and encouragement is always available from the more experienced members.

In 1968, the Macintyre Cup was presented to the Society by the late Miss M Macintyre, in memory of her father, Mr William Macintyre of Cochrans. In 1971, the Donaldson Rose Bowl was given to the Society by the late Mr J. S. Donaldson, and in 1972, the Millar Salver was presented for Annual Competition by Mr J Millar. These trophies, for Philatelic, Postal History and Thematic Competition respectively are keenly contested every year. Junior members can also compete for a Junior trophy.

Over the years members of Paisley Philatelic Society have also competed successfully at National and International levels. For many of them the Society's annual competition was the first step towards national or international recognition.

Members of the Society have also recorded for posterity their intense interest and knowledge in philately and matters related to posts and postal history. Prominent amongst these publications must be mentioned Mr D Malcolm's monograph "Scottish Aviation Meeting, Lanark, 1910", which is of great interest to Aerophilatelists and aviation historians, and Rev W.T.F. Castle's book "Cyprus, its Postal History and Postage Stamps", which is a definitive book on Cyprus Postal History. Many articles from members have also been published in philatelic magazines and journals.

Since the first Annual Congress of the South West of Scotland Philatelic Societies in 1963, Paisley Philatelic Society has been represented each year and has hosted on several occasions. South West Congress has now settled in to a regular venue at Queen Margaret's Academy in early October of each year. Displays from each Club in the area are given, and many stamp and postcard dealers attend to sell their wares.

The Society is an active member of The Association of Scottish Philatelic Societies (ASPS). In 1967 and 1976, under the Presidencies of Mr J.S. Donaldson, well known as a collector of London Postmarks and Mr A.B.McMillan, whose collection of Arctic and Antarctica was renowned, the Society was hosts to the Annual Congress held at Stirling University. Special Covers were designed for the latter occasion, serviced with a special commemorative cancellation by the Post Office. These covers featured the R.R.S. John Biscoe, a survey ship built by Fleming and Ferguson of Paisley for the British Antarctic Survey. The cover was designed by Peter Westwood.

In 1997, in the 50th anniversary year of the Society, Congress was again hosted by Paisley Philatelic Society. The late Mr Alan Lacey, a well known collector of German Philately with renowned collections of Durer and Nurnberg, was President of the Society; whilst Mr R Barclay, a member of the Society also, was President of ASPS at the same time. Congress was held in Falkirk Town Hall at the time and a special commemorative cover was again designed by Peter Westwood (shown below). The cover featured the 1904 Scotia expedition to Coats Land in Antarctica. The cover shows the famous illustration of Gilbert Kerr playing the pipes to a penguin.

Philately and Stamp Collecting can be an enormously diverse hobby and members of the Society have a large range of interests which they are only too happy to display and talk about. To complement stamp collecting many members have interests in postcards, postal and local history and throughout the year a wide variety of subjects will be displayed by members and invited guests. Paisley Philatelic Society is a thriving Society and maintains a friendly and welcoming atmosphere and there will always be time to spare to encourage, advise and praise new members or anyone who has a passing interest in stamps and stamp collecting.