We are not the only magazine going quarterly, the June/July issue of Scouting mentions "Your next edition of Scouting magazine will be the September issue, which is when we start publishing the magazine quarterly".  This magazine, which first appeared in July 1909 as the Headquarters Gazette had continued to be produced monthly for the next 100 years, but since then, in my opinion it has gone from bad to worse!

On a recent visit to Warsaw I managed to purchase this postcard with the scarce Scout cancellation.  As you are probably aware, World War I finished on 11 November 1918, but the Polish struggle had only just began.  Although Russia having earlier surrended to the central powers of Germany and Austria, the armed forces of the new Bolshevik regime, (which had taken over the former Russian Empire), then intended to retake the former Russian zone of Poland.  At the start of the Polish-Soviet war, it was decided to organise the Scouts into special units, with the first Scout Battalion being formed in Warsaw.  No less than 15,000 Scouts and Guides were involved, in either the armed forces or rendering services to the Government, the Red Cross, working in hospitals, but mainly being responsible for the Postal Service.  This postcard showing the Scout Field Post cancellation was written on 28 January 1919 and arrived in Warsaw the next day.  The War of Independence was finally won by Poland and ended on 12 October 1920.

During May, Rölli Auctions of Switzerland held the second auction from the collection of the late Walter Grob.  This consisted mainly of cheaper material, but still there was a few interesting early items which included a couple of registered covers.  The 1925 registered cover with the block of four stamps sold for £319 (€445, US$ 488) and the scarcer cover from the 1931 first World Rover Moot made £250 (€348, US$ 382).

I guess that a few of our members visited the European International Stamp Show in London during May, but the Thematic part of the exhibition was held at Essen, Germany due to the shortage of space in London.  It was at this show that our member Gottfried Steinmann was awarded a Large Vermeil for his display " The Scouts in the 1944 Warsaw Uprising" which obtained 86 points.  Panayotis Cangelaris and Giovanni Cucchiani both showed Mafeking Siege at the main show in London and each were awarded a Large Silver medal.  Our congratulations also go to Gottfried on recently being honoured by becoming a "SOSSI Distinguished Philatelist".  He is the fifth person to receive this award since 2005, and he is well known as an outstanding exhibitor, researcher, writer and leader in national and international Scout philately.  Other SGSC members to have been awarded this honour were Dr Frederick Lawrence of USA in 2005 and Hallvard Slettebø of Norway in 2010.