Welcome to The Gibraltar Study Circle (GSC) web site.

Are you interested in the Stamps, Postal History or Stationery of Gibraltar or Morocco?

If so, come join us!

The GSC is a global non-profit society founded by Wally Jackson in 1975.  It aims to expand the knowledge of the philately of Gibraltar in all its forms for the benefit of collectors (philatelists) from all levels and walks of life. This includes postal history, stamps, postal stationery and associated overprints from Gibraltar and any of these used in Morocco.

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Upcoming Meetings

Autumn Competition Weekend 20^th – 22^nd September 2024

The Autumn Competition Weekend 2024 is to be held 20^th – 22^nd September 2024 at:

Derby Mickleover Hotel, Etwall Road, Derby, DE3 0XX, UK

Please note, the revised rates for the hotel are:-

• Double Occupancy – £130 Dinner, Bed and Breakfast per night

• Single Occupancy –  £110 Dinner, Bed and Breakfast per night.

There is not much time left to book this.  Now we have got the reduced pricing shown above this is an excellent deal, so book today by calling

Claire Golder on +44 330 0283 404 Option 4, quoting ‘Gibraltar Study Circle Competition Weekend’.  Please ensure your confirmation document includes the evening meal – if not, call Claire back and ask her to re-issue it.  Then let me know and I will send you the menu to select your dinners from.  My email address is in The Rock.

The competition entries are now live on this website for members to view.  An email was recently sent out to members with instructions on how to access this.  If you have not received it, please check your junk folder.

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Gibraltar Study Circle 50th Anniversary Celebrations 2025

Spring Meeting – GSC 50^th AGM Weekend 9^th – 11^th May 2025

We are hoping to go to Gibraltar for Gibraltar National Day on 10^th September 2025, but for members unable to get to Gibraltar in September the Committee has decided to hold the Spring GSC AGM 2025 at the:

EuroPhilEx 2025 International Philatelic Exhibition

running from Wednesday 7^th to Sunday 11^th May 2025 in the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham.  EuroPhilEx 2025 is a major philatelic event, the only international exhibition in the UK until 2030.  The NEC is next door to the Birmingham International Airport and International Railway Station in the heart of the city, with major road links from all directions.

The committee hopes that the attraction of the International Philatelic Exhibition and the surrounding extensive shopping malls, brand factory outlets and other sites of potential interest, will encourage more GSC members to attend the AGM – especially overseas members, who may be able to fly directly to Birmingham International – literally walking distance from the NEC and our hotel (though a 5-minute taxi ride is probably easier!).

The Meetings

The actual GSC AGM will be held at 11am on Saturday 10^th May in Room 2, Hall 9 of the NEC, with the GSC Auction held in the same room at 11am on Sunday 11^th May.  The GSC will also have a stand and display at the Society Showcase Day on Thursday 8th May.

Two other meetings will be held at the hotel that has been reserved for members attending the weekend, starting at 18:00 on the evenings of Friday 9^th and Saturday 10^th May, with group dinner starting at 19:00, returning to the meeting room at about 20:30.

The Displays

We want, subject to getting some sponsorship, to get 40 non-competitive display frames, each holding the equivalent of 16 display sheets, to put up a massive display of GSC member’s exhibits of Gibraltar Philatelia.  This is more frames than most other countries are getting – so much so that the organisers have insisted that, if we manage to get the frames, we must have our own “Country Commissioner” just for the GSC.

These displays will not be judged and no medals will be awarded.  It is not necessary that displays have won a medal in competition, but they should be of high quality – we want to show the rest of the world what the GSC can do with philately from such a small country.

Scans or photocopies of exhibits will be accepted rather than actual exhibits, so that any member can send in a display regardless of where they come from – in fact we actively encourage our overseas members to submit displays.  We want to show that Gibraltar philately is a world-wide activity.

Any member wishing to submit an entry for consideration should initially send a high-quality scan of their exhibit in .pdf format to the Editor (address in The Rock).  Entries will be reviewed by the committee and the best ones will be selected for mounting by the commissioner.

The Hotel

A number of rooms have been reserved for the Friday and Saturday nights at the following hotel:

The Arden Hotel & Leisure Club, Coventry Rd, Solihull B92 0EH

All rooms are double or twin, at the following rates:

• Single Occupancy – £129.00 Bed and Breakfast per night

• Double Occupancy – £143.00 Bed and Breakfast per night (this is the single occupancy rate plus a £14 charge for the breakfast.)

• Dinner – £29.95 per person per night, charged separately on arrival. I will circulate a menu closer to the time.

Additional nights are available at the same rates for those who wish to stay longer.  Given this is in the centre of Birmingham during a major international event, this is a good price.

The Arden Hotel is about 15 minutes’ walk across a pedestrian bridge from the NEC for an able-bodied person, but a taxi is recommended for others, which should cost no more than £7 or £8.  It might be possible to drive yourselves, but you risk losing your parking at the hotel.

The rate includes free parking including blue badge on a first come first served basis, wi-fi and full use of the leisure facilities, good facilities for the less able-bodied – walk-in showers in ground floor rooms, lifts to all floors, etc.  Demand for the hotel and especially accessible rooms will be high, so please book early.  You can call Jennifer Hancox on +44 1675 445602 using the reference number GA003062.

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Autumn Meeting – GSC 50th Anniversary Competition Weekend 2025

We are currently trying to organise the second part of the 50th Anniversary celebrations to be held in Gibraltar between the 8th and 14th September 2025 so that members can be there for Gibraltar National Day, which is on 10th September each year.  This is still in the early planning stages – watch this space.

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Meetings

Weekend meetings are held twice a year in the UK, typically the AGM weekend in Spring and the Competition weekend in Autumn.  Competitions are only open to GSC members.  Members can find more details including entry forms by logging in.

The locations of the meetings are varied to make it easier for people to get to at least one meeting a year.

Families of members are made most welcome.  We try to encourage the social side of the meetings to ensure it is not just about the philately.

We also organise meetings in Gibraltar every few years to which all members are invited.  The most recent visit was in October 2019.

Auctions

There are two auctions of general philatelic material per year, arranged to coincide with the Sunday morning of the weekend meetings.  These auctions comprise up to 400 lots with bidding accepted both in person and via post from members worldwide.

Postal Packet

The GSC offers a Postal Packet in the UK.  This provides members with:

• an inexpensive way of obtaining more common material
• an outlet for their surplus philatelic items.

We are sorry, we cannot extend this internationally as the cost of insurance is prohibitive.

Publications

Books

Prior to the formation of the GSC, information about the Postal History and Stamps of Gibraltar was scarce.  There were just two or three publications from the early part of the century, such as “The Postage Stamps Of Gibraltar“, by Sir Geoffrey Duveen – Published in 1932, updated 1972

Study Papers

Many of these publications started life as Study Papers.  These are exploratory publications putting forward the research of the authors, expressing the ideas and concepts and asking for others to contribute to the knowledge on the subject.  Once sufficient knowledge has been garnered, the Study Paper is put into book format for a more formal publication.  Members of the Study Circle have issued 26 Study Papers on various topics including: