Chairman's Notes March/April 2012 by Melvyn Gallagher

These days the younger generation rarely use the postal system at all - E Mails, Tweets, Facebook and Texts are their cheaper means of communicating.  The Royal Mail and many other postal authorities abroad use boring printed pre-payment labels on parcels instead of a block of collectable high value stamps. Postcards too have suffered, hardly anyone sends them from their holidays anymore, fewer are produced to commemorate important Scouting and Guiding events, such as Jamborees and then they are usually bought as a souvenir and not postally used.  Years ago Scouts sent a postcard home to say they had arrived safely at camp and some bear messages asking for more pocket money to be sent to them such was the speed of the then postal service, with several deliveries per day! Our founder too used many postcards, some pre-printed with a facsimile signature in reply to routine correspondence; the example below was also sent with a real autograph of Olave from the old Imperial H.Q. in Buckingham Palace Road.  Groups produced their own printed stationery, the attractive example below sending the scores of a shooting competition. As those of you who are active Leaders will know nowadays nearly all correspondence from your District, County and Headquarters is sent by E Mail so no more Scouting postmarks and slogans to collect either. With no modern postal footprint, in the future there will be no collectable legacy left by the Scouts of today - you cannot put E Mails into an album !