The Wreck & Crash Mail Society

The Wreck & Crash Mail Society is an Affiliate of the American Philatelic Society

Publishers of "La Catastrophe", issued quarterly in March, June, September & December - Vermeil medal winner at Stamp Expo 400, Albany, New York - September 2009

 

The Wreck & Crash Mail Society was formed in the latter part of 1994, and is devoted to the collecting and study of all aspects of delayed and/or damaged mail and interrupted mail services.  Currently the Society is composed of four study groups, namely: the Air Crash Study Group, The Railroad Wreck Study Group, the Ship Wreck Study Group, and the Suspended Mail/Conflicts Study Group.

 

The Society publishes a quarterly journal "La Catastrophe", which contains articles on all aspects of wreck and crash mail, as well as news on new cover discoveries, auction realizations on wreck and crash mail, and questions from members who are seeking information on their crash and wreck covers and the stories behind them.

The Wreck & Crash Mail Society normally holds an annual meeting (so far, all have been held in London), where members display parts of their collection, meet other collectors of wreck and crash mail, and exchange information and material with fellow members.

If you have an interest in this area of postal history, we believe that the Wreck & Crash Mail Society will fulfill your interest.  Annual membership dues are UK£25.00 or US$35.00, which includes a subscription to four issues of "La Catastrophe".  Less expensive digital options are also available.

“Air Crash Mail of the World” has been published in March 2023.  It completely updates and replaces “Recovered Mail” by Henri Nierinck and the American Air Mail Catalogue, 6th Edition, Volume 1 “Interrupted Flights” Section.  It is available on a USB flash drive.  See Review below.

   See Below

Aspects of Interrupted Mail

Next Meeting

Recent Issues

Railroad Accident Databases On The Internet

Air Crash Listings & Resources

Links

Member Dealers

Aircraft Accident Databases & Archives on the Internet

Index to "La Catastrophe"

Unidentified Crash & Wreck Covers

News

Shipwreck Lists & Databases on the Internet

Auction

Member Pages

La Catastrophe Back Issues

Swedish Disaster Mail

Nordic Air Crash Mail

 

The next meeting will be the Annual General Meeting at the Stampex Philatelic Exhibition, in September 2024.  Details will follow.

 

The December 2023 issue of La Catastrophe has been mailed.  The feature articles are

 

Webmaster - Ken Sanford – kaerophil(a)gmail.com

Revised 14 Oct. 2023


 

THE WRECK & CRASH MAIL SOCIETY

TREASURER – USA & Canada – Dr. Steven Berlin, 12407 Dover Road, Reisterstown, MD – USA 21136 TREASURER – Rest of the World – Mr. Brian Peace, 3 The Elms, Church Lane, Chapel Allerton, Leeds, England LS7 4LY

 

 

                            APPLICATION FORM

                        DIGITAL AND HARD COPY SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR 202 4

Country/ Currency

Digital  Version

Hard Copy

Bank Transfer/Check to

PayPal* to

UK/GBP£

15

25

The Wreck & Crash Mail Society: Sort 20-49-11 A/c 20415499/Brian Peace

brpeace@ntlworld.com

USA/USD$

20

35

-/USA Treasurer

kaerophil@gmail.com

Europe/EUR€

15

35

UK Bank in GBP/Brian Peace

kaerophil@gmail.com

Australia/AUD$

30

55

BSB 063000 Account 12391146

brpeace@ntlworld.com

* Please add 5% to cover PayPal fees         For Bank transfers use your name as reference    Checks payable to: The Wreck & Crash Mail Society

USA/Canada members please mail or e-mail your form to Steve Berlin: Drstevenjberlin2916@gmail.com Dr Steven Berlin, 12407 Dover Road, Reisterstown, MD 21136 UK members please mail or e-mail your form to Brian Peace: brpeace@ntlworld.com

European, Australian and Rest of World members please e-mail your form to Brian Peace

 

In 2008, we also introduced the following membership categories, payable as above: Sustaining Member US$50.00 – UK£40.00 – Euro €40.00

Patron Member US$100.00 – UK£80.00 – Euro €80.00

Life time Membership US$650 – UK£500.00 – Euro €600.00

 

It would be appreciated if all subscriptions could be paid as soon as possible; this will ensure that you receive your copies of La Catastrophe in 2024 without delay.

 

 We would like to thank all members who have submitted articles for La Catastrophe during the last year.  It is important for us to support our editor and provide him with a good supply of articles on all subjects both large and small, so that he can produce a well-balanced magazine for us. Please give this some thought and see if you are able to write an article.

 

            Thank you all for your support over the past year.

 

Your Society Officers 

_________________________________________________________________________________

Remittance Slip – Mail OR Scan + E-mail to one of the Treasurers at address above

 

Name _____________________________________

Address____________________________________

Address____________________________________

City _______________________________________

State/Province _______________________________

Country _______________ZIP/Postcode__________

E-mail address _______________________________

Amount paid  ______ check        or _______      PayPal to: kaerophil@gmail.com

                                                                        PayPal to brpeace@ntlworld.com or Bank Transfer

 


 

 

REVIEW

 

AIR CRASH MAIL OF THE WORLD, Edited by Ken Sanford

 

This mammoth work is a complete revision and update of “Recovered Mail” by Henri Nierinck, and the American Air Mail Catalogue (AAMC), Sixth Edition, Vol. 1, Interrupted Flights section.  It covers all known air crashes from which mail has been recovered and is recorded in collectors’ hands.  Over 2,400 pages and 1600 illustrations of cachets, labels, post office memos, and crash markings, many in full color.  Pricing has been brought up to date, to reflect the current market.  Prices are based on US$.  Available on a flash drive which can be plugged into a USB port.  It will be in both PDF & Word format. 

 

This update the Nierinck catalog and the AAMC has been in the works for the last few years.  Many people have been involved in it, from typing in the original Nierinck text to providing cover & cachet illustrations.  Many of the cachets are now shown on covers in color, whereas previously they were simply black & white illustrations of cachets.  A great effort has been made to add crashes and cachets which were not previously listed by Nierinck or the AAMC.

 

It could be said that this project originated with the formation of the Wreck & Crash Mail Society back in 1994. Certainly, many of the members of that Society have contributed information and scans. The writer of this review has been constantly involved since 2015 and can attest to the superhuman effort invested by Ken Sanford in terms of energy, time, persistence and patience. The late Henri Nierinck would have been thrilled to have been the catalyst who inspired Ken to embark on and complete this phenomenal project.

 

The sheer size of this work precluded publication in book form. The advantage of the digital format is that it is easy to make amendments and additions. Assuming that enough of those collectors who purchase the flash drive send feedback to the Editor, it is intended to periodically make available a revised flash drive. Updates please to kaerophil@gmail.com 

 

This will be the standard work on the subject, if not in perpetuity, certainly for decades.

 

Price of flash drive: To the USA - US$32.00; To all other countries – US$34.00 - UK£28.00 - Euro €31.50 (postage included) 

 

Order from: Ken Sanford, 613 Championship Dr., Oxford, CT – USA 06478-3128.  Make checks payable to American Air Mail Society, or PayPal to kaerophil@gmail.com and add $1.70, UK£1.45 or €1.60

 

Brian Peace FRPSL

 

 

 

Rev. 14 Oct. 23