British Passport 1953 – The Island of St. Helena – Very rare
British Passport 1953 – The Island of St. Helena
GEORGE ANDREW JOY, Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, Governor and Commander-in-Chief in and over the Island of St.Helena…
Wow, what a (passport) historical treasure! Issued 1953 in St.Helena to an engineer. Revenue stamp of St.Helena and Malta. Visas Sierra Leone, Malta and Libya.Two stamps of ASCENSION ISLAND!
Joy, Sir George Andrew (1896-1974)
An official of the British Colonial and Foreign Office, also active in the field of psychical research. He was born on February 20, 1896, in London. He served in the British army and was, successively, assistant commissioner for the New Hebrides Condominium; resident commissioner and deputy commissioner for the Western Pacific; consultant for the Hoorn and Wallace Island; resident adviser to the Quaiti and Kathiri sultans, Hadhramaut States of Arabia; civil secretary to the government of Adam, and commissioner for civil defense, governor and commander-in-chief of St. Helena. He received numerous awards.
Joy served a tenure as secretary of the Society for Psychical Research (SPR), London, beginning in 1958, and was a member of the SPR Council. He was later vice president of the organization. Joy died on April 25, 1974.
Ascension Island
is an isolated volcanic island in the equatorial waters of the South Atlantic Ocean, around 1,600 kilometers (1,000 mi) from the coast of Africa and 2,250 kilometers (1,400 mi) from the coast of Brazil, which is roughly midway between the horn of South America and Africa. It lies 7°56′ South of the Equator. It is governed as part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha, of which the main island, Saint Helena, is around 1,300 kilometers (800 mi) to the southeast. The territory also includes the sparsely populated Tristan da Cunha archipelago, some 3,730 kilometers (2,300 mi) to the south, about halfway to the Antarctic Circle.
The island is named after the day of its recorded discovery, Ascension Day. It played a role as an important safe haven and coaling station to mariners and for commercial airliners during the days of international air travel by flying boats. During World War II it was an important naval and air station, especially providing antisubmarine warfare bases in the Battle of the Atlantic. Ascension Island was garrisoned by the British Admiralty from 22 October 1815 to 1922.British Passport 1953 – The Island of St. Helena
The island is the location of RAF Ascension Island, which is a Royal Air Force station, a European Space Agency rocket tracking station, an Anglo-American signals intelligence facility, and the BBC World Service Atlantic Relay Station. The island was used extensively by the British military during the Falklands War. Ascension Island hosts one of four ground antennas (others are on Kwajalein Island, Diego Garcia, and Cape Canaveral) that assist in the operation of the Global Positioning System (GPS) navigational system. NASA operates a Meter Class Autonomous Telescope (MCAT) on Ascension Island for tracking orbital debris, which is potentially hazardous to operate spacecraft and astronauts, at a facility called the John Africano NASA/AFRL Orbital Debris Observatory.
British Passport 1953 – The Island of St. Helena
FAQ Passport History
Passport collection, passport renewal, old passports for sale, vintage passport, emergency passport renewal, same day passport, passport application, pasaporte passeport паспорт 护照 パスポート جواز سفر पासपोर्ट
1. What are the earliest known examples of passports, and how have they evolved?
The word "passport" came up only in the mid 15th Century. Before that, such documents were safe conducts, recommendations or protection letters. On a practical aspect, the earliest passport I have seen was from the mid 16th Century. Read more...
2. Are there any notable historical figures or personalities whose passports are highly sought after by collectors?
Every collector is doing well to define his collection focus, and yes, there are collectors looking for Celebrity passports and travel documents of historical figures like Winston Churchill, Brothers Grimm, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Read more...
3. How did passport designs and security features change throughout different periods in history, and what impact did these changes have on forgery prevention?
"Passports" before the 18th Century had a pure functional character. Security features were, in the best case, a watermark and a wax seal. Forgery, back then, was not an issue like it is nowadays. Only from the 1980s on, security features became a thing. A state-of-the-art passport nowadays has dozens of security features - visible and invisible. Some are known only by the security document printer itself. Read more...
4. What are some of the rarest and most valuable historical passports that have ever been sold or auctioned?
Lou Gehrig, Victor Tsoi, Marilyn Monroe, James Joyce, and Albert Einstein when it comes to the most expensive ones. Read more...
5. How do diplomatic passports differ from regular passports, and what makes them significant to collectors?
Such documents were often held by officials in high ranks, like ambassadors, consuls or special envoys. Furthermore, these travel documents are often frequently traveled. Hence, they hold a tapestry of stamps or visas. Partly from unusual places.
6. Can you provide insights into the stories behind specific historical passports that offer unique insights into past travel and migration trends?
A passport tells the story of its bearer and these stories can be everything - surprising, sad, vivid. Isabella Bird and her travels (1831-1904) or Mary Kingsley, a fearless Lady explorer.
7. What role did passports play during significant historical events, such as wartime travel restrictions or international treaties?
During war, a passport could have been a matter of life or death. Especially, when we are looking into WWII and the Holocaust. And yes, during that time, passports and similar documents were often forged to escape and save lives. Example...
8. How has the emergence of digital passports and biometric identification impacted the world of passport collecting?
Current modern passports having now often a sparkling, flashy design. This has mainly two reasons. 1. Improved security and 2. Displaying a countries' heritage, icons, and important figures or achievements. I can fully understand that those modern documents are wanted, especially by younger collectors.
9. Are there any specialized collections of passports, such as those from a specific country, era, or distinguished individuals?
Yes, the University of Western Sidney Library has e.g. a passport collection of the former prime minister Hon Edward Gough Whitlam and his wife Margaret. They are all diplomatic passports and I had the pleasure to apprise them. I hold e.g. a collection of almost all types of the German Empire passports (only 2 types are still missing). Also, my East German passport collection is quite extensive with pretty rare passport types.
10. Where can passport collectors find reliable resources and reputable sellers to expand their collection and learn more about passport history?
A good start is eBay, Delcampe, flea markets, garage or estate sales. The more significant travel documents you probably find at the classic auction houses. Sometimes I also offer documents from my archive/collection. See offers... As you are already here, you surely found a great source on the topic 😉
Other great sources are: Scottish Passports, The Nansen passport, The secret lives of diplomatic couriers
11. Is vintage passport collecting legal? What are the regulations and considerations collectors should know when acquiring historical passports?
First, it's important to stress that each country has its own laws when it comes to passports. Collecting old vintage passports for historical or educational reasons is safe and legal, or at least tolerated. More details on the legal aspects are here...
Does this article spark your curiosity about passport collecting and the history of passports? With this valuable information, you have a good basis to start your own passport collection.
Question? Contact me...