Following the annual General Assembly and elections on 16 March, the Hellenic Philatelic Federation (HPF) has announced its new Board of Directors for the next two years:
President: Christos Gikas
Vice President: Nikos Andriotis
General Secretary: Evaggelos Karras
Director of Communications: Georgia Baltsou
Members: Thomas Arvanitis, Michalis Vaitis, Ioannis Skarmoutsos, Kostas Dimisianos, and Evaggelos Kotsis
The new team aims to work closely with national, regional, and international philatelic societies, emphasising systematic communication and promotion of philately, as well as efficient cooperation with cultural organisations and the Hellenic Post.
Photo from the presentation of the C. Binos Literature Award: N. Andriotis (HPF Vice President, left), A. Spanos (Recipient of the C. Binos Literature Award), Argyris Giannakopoulos (Former President of FEA), Nikos Mallouchos (HPF Immediate Past President), Christos Gikas (HPF President).
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It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Davit Franco on 23 March.
Giussepe Davit Franco was born in Istanbul. His journey as an exhibitor began in 1980, when he presented his collection, French Levant Post offices between 1840 and 1876, at the Istanbul National Stamp Exhibition, where he was awarded a Large Vermeil Medal. He won his first Gold Medal in Spain in 1990 and the National Grand Prix in Turkey in 1997, earned his participation in the FIP Championship Class at Philexfrance in 1999, and won the Grand Prix d’Honneur at Espana 2004 in Valencia.
Davit Franco was a TFDF accredited national juror, served on the TFDF Board of Directors, and was one of the founders of the Turkish Philatelic Academy. He was a member of the European Academy of Philately (AEP), which honoured him with the European Award for Philatelic Merit in 2004, as well as the Club de Monte-Carlo and the Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL).
May he rest in peace.
[Story and photo credit: Turkish Philatelic Academy]
The following is a summary of a short story published today on the BBC website by David Wallace Lockhart, BBC Scotland correspondent.
Dr Alan Borthwick has spent 30 years uncovering how thousands of historical documents from Scotland’s National Records (NRS) ended up in Canada. The person responsible was Prof. David Stirling Macmillan, a historian and archivist with a fascination for postage stamps and postmarks. His removals began in 1949 and continued until 1980, when he was caught taking a document. At the time, staff assumed it was an isolated incident, but Macmillan had systematically taken letters, often mundane but featuring unique seals and postmarks.
After moving to Canada in 1968, Macmillan’s collection was later found in Trent University’s archives. In 2012, Dr Borthwick identified thousands of these documents as belonging to NRS. His painstaking efforts led to their return and reintegration into Scotland’s archives.
NRS chief Alison Byrne described the scale of the loss as “unprecedented.” Despite the breach of trust, Borthwick takes satisfaction in restoring Scotland’s historical records. Today, the archives are protected with CCTV, ensuring such removals cannot happen again. While the stolen documents are now safe, Borthwick reflects on the time spent solving this mystery.
Photo: A letter from a Scot living in Madeira, stolen from the NRS archive by Prof Macmillan. [Photo credit: NRS, BBC]
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https://fepanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/prof_macmillan_story-800.jpg800800Costas Chazapishttps://fepanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/fepanews_logo-107x138-1.pngCostas Chazapis2025-03-25 21:07:352025-03-25 21:07:35The 30-year quest to catch a national records thief
Hellenic Philatelic Federation: New Board of Directors
Following the annual General Assembly and elections on 16 March, the Hellenic Philatelic Federation (HPF) has announced its new Board of Directors for the next two years:
President: Christos Gikas
Vice President: Nikos Andriotis
General Secretary: Evaggelos Karras
Director of Communications: Georgia Baltsou
Members: Thomas Arvanitis, Michalis Vaitis, Ioannis Skarmoutsos, Kostas Dimisianos, and Evaggelos Kotsis
The new team aims to work closely with national, regional, and international philatelic societies, emphasising systematic communication and promotion of philately, as well as efficient cooperation with cultural organisations and the Hellenic Post.
Photo from the presentation of the C. Binos Literature Award: N. Andriotis (HPF Vice President, left), A. Spanos (Recipient of the C. Binos Literature Award), Argyris Giannakopoulos (Former President of FEA), Nikos Mallouchos (HPF Immediate Past President), Christos Gikas (HPF President).
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Davit Franco (1952–2025)
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Davit Franco on 23 March.
Giussepe Davit Franco was born in Istanbul. His journey as an exhibitor began in 1980, when he presented his collection, French Levant Post offices between 1840 and 1876, at the Istanbul National Stamp Exhibition, where he was awarded a Large Vermeil Medal. He won his first Gold Medal in Spain in 1990 and the National Grand Prix in Turkey in 1997, earned his participation in the FIP Championship Class at Philexfrance in 1999, and won the Grand Prix d’Honneur at Espana 2004 in Valencia.
Davit Franco was a TFDF accredited national juror, served on the TFDF Board of Directors, and was one of the founders of the Turkish Philatelic Academy. He was a member of the European Academy of Philately (AEP), which honoured him with the European Award for Philatelic Merit in 2004, as well as the Club de Monte-Carlo and the Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL).
May he rest in peace.
[Story and photo credit: Turkish Philatelic Academy]
The 30-year quest to catch a national records thief
The following is a summary of a short story published today on the BBC website by David Wallace Lockhart, BBC Scotland correspondent.
Dr Alan Borthwick has spent 30 years uncovering how thousands of historical documents from Scotland’s National Records (NRS) ended up in Canada. The person responsible was Prof. David Stirling Macmillan, a historian and archivist with a fascination for postage stamps and postmarks. His removals began in 1949 and continued until 1980, when he was caught taking a document. At the time, staff assumed it was an isolated incident, but Macmillan had systematically taken letters, often mundane but featuring unique seals and postmarks.
After moving to Canada in 1968, Macmillan’s collection was later found in Trent University’s archives. In 2012, Dr Borthwick identified thousands of these documents as belonging to NRS. His painstaking efforts led to their return and reintegration into Scotland’s archives.
NRS chief Alison Byrne described the scale of the loss as “unprecedented.” Despite the breach of trust, Borthwick takes satisfaction in restoring Scotland’s historical records. Today, the archives are protected with CCTV, ensuring such removals cannot happen again. While the stolen documents are now safe, Borthwick reflects on the time spent solving this mystery.
Read the complete article here: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce8v7rr8gj2o
Photo: A letter from a Scot living in Madeira, stolen from the NRS archive by Prof Macmillan.
[Photo credit: NRS, BBC]
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