Welcome to the 20th installment of “Cancelling My Life” in which I am taking a look at postmarked items in my collections, starting from shortly before my birth on December 3, 1965. For a more detailed look at my personal philatelic history, take a look at the first entry here.
Today, we are looking at . . .
December 2, 1965, the day before I was born, was a Thursday. That was the date that Dr. Hugh L. Dryden, the first Deputy Administrator of the National Air and Space Administration, died at the age of 67. He was an internationally renowned scientist-engineer, whose career began with the airplane. He was regarded as the man who guided the US into the space age.
On December 2, 1965, the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN-65) became the first nuclear-powered warship to see combat when it launched air strikes at the Viet Cong near Biên Hòa, South Vietnam.
We have a bit of a Southern Hemisphere theme going on with the covers today.
Our first cover posted Overseas (as per the cancellation) from Auckland, New Zealand, on December 2, 1965, bound for Copenhagen, Demark. There are two copies of that country’s Christmas seal for 1965, supporting the fight against tuberculosis, as well as a 2-shilling stamp issued on July 11, 1960. It depicts a Māori rock drawing of a Taniwha. In Māori mythology, taniwha are large supernatural beings that live in deep pools in rivers, dark caves, or in the sea, especially in places with dangerous currents or deceptive breaker. They may be considered highly respected kaitiaki (protective guardians) of people and places, or in some traditions as dangerous, predatory beings, which for example would kidnap women to have as wives.
Today’s second cover documents a round-trip, mailed from Brussels, Belgium, on December 2, 1965, reaching King Baudouin Base (WAP BEL-Ø1) on a floating ice shelf off the coast of Queen Maud Land, Antarctica, on January 12, 1966. From there, it was returned to Brussels where it received an arrival cancellation on March 1, 1966. The Belgian base, established in 1958 by the 1958 Belgian Antarctic Expedition under Gaston de Gerlache was named for Baudouin, King of the Belgians from 1951-1993. It was located at 70° 25′ South, 24°19′ East on an ice shelf south of Breid Bay on Princess Ragnhild Coast. The base was reconstructed in 1964 and closed in February 1967. Princess Elisabeth Station (WAP BEL-Ø2) is now the only Belgian Research Base in Antarctica.
The two stamps on this cover are part of a series of 14 issued by the British Antarctic Territory on February 1, 1963, depicting “Local Scenes”. The series was designed by Michael Goaman and recess printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. Ltd. The ½d (British penny) denomination portrays the M.V. Kista Dan, a ship that played a vital role in the establishment of two Australian National Antarctic Research (ANARE), Davis and Mawson, in Antarctica. Built in Denmark in 1952 by the J. Lauritzen Lines, the Kista Dan‘s diesel-powered engine and hull form were capable of navigating in difficult ice conditions.
In 1967, the Kista Dan was sold to the Karlsen Shipping Co. Ltd. for the Canadian sealing industry, and renamed Martin Karlsen. The ship was sold in 1979 to the Bowring Steamship Company, renamed Benjamin Bowring, and chartered to the Transglobe Expedition, the first ever longitudinal circumnavigation of the world (including both poles) across land, sea and ice. Sold to Halba Shipping Ltd. London, who intended to charter the ship for research work, in 1983 it was renamed the Arctic Gael. Bought the following year by Freighters & Tankers Ltd., and renamed Olympiakos, the ship was converted to a yacht. In 1997, the ship was sold to Polar Ventures Ltd. However, due to the cost needed to repair serious structural damage to the hull caused by collision with the harbor wall during a storm, Polar Ventures Ltd. was forced to sell the vessel for scrap.
The second stamp on the cover is a 4d denomination depicting a “camp scene”. Both stamps are perforated 11×11½. The cover was sent from Signy Island, South Orkneys, on December 2, 1965. Signy Island is a small subantarctic island named by the Norwegian whaler Petter Sørlle (1884–1933) after his wife, Signy Therese. The island is about 6.5 km (4.0 miles) long and 5 km (3.1 miles) wide and rises to 288 m (945 feet) above sea level. Much of it is permanently covered with ice. The average temperature range is 0 °C (32 °F) to about −10 °C (14 °F) in winter (i.e. in July). The extremes extend to 12 and −44 °C (53.6 and −47.2 °F). The island is separated from Coronation Island to the north by Normanna Strait, and from Moe Island to the southwest by Fyr Channel. The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) maintains the Signy Research Station, a scientific station for research in biology. The base was opened on March 18, 1947, on the site of an earlier whaling station that had existed there in the 1920s. The station was staffed year-round until 1996; since that year it has been occupied only from November to April. It houses 10 people.
Our last cover was posted aboard the USS Burton Island (AGB-1), a U.S. Navy Wind-class icebreaker then participating in Operation Deep Freeze off the Antarctic coast. GB-283). She was named after an island near the coast of Delaware. Burton Island was one of the icebreakers designed by Lt. Cdr. Edward Thiele and Gibbs & Cox of New York, who modeled them after plans for European icebreakers he obtained before the start of World War II. She was the sixth of seven completed ships of the Wind-class of icebreakers operated by the United States Coast Guard. Her keel was laid on March 15, 1946, at Western Pipe and Steel Company shipyards in San Pedro, California, and was launched on April 30, 1946, and commissioned on December 28, 1946, with Commander Gerald L. Ketchum in command.
Wind-class icebreakers had hulls of unprecedented strength and structural integrity, with a relatively short length in proportion to the great power developed, a cut away forefoot, rounded bottom, and fore, aft and side heeling tanks. Diesel electric machinery was chosen for its controllability and resistance to damage. Burton Island was built during peacetime, so she had a much lighter armament than her war-built sisters, one 5-inch (130 mm) 38 cal. deck gun and three quad-mounted Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft autocannons when in Navy service, and unarmed for the Coast Guard.
Originally designated AB-88, USS Burton Island was redesignated AGB-1 in March 1949. In February 1958, the icebreaker assisted Sōya, which had become iced in near Antarctica carrying a replacement crew of Japanese geophysical researchers. A helicopter carried out the original crew, stranded at the Japanese base at Showa Station, but was forced to leave 15 dogs behind, including Taro and Jiro, who survived an Antarctic winter without human accompaniment. On December 15, 1966, the U.S. Navy transferred the vessel, along with all of its icebreakers, to the United States Coast Guard and it was renumbered WAGB-283. After its transfer, Burton Island was stationed at Long Beach, California and used for icebreaking operations. She was decommissioned on May 9, 1978. An excerpt from a Maritime Administration letter dated November 21, 1995, indicates her ultimate fate:
The Maritime Administration sold the vessel by auction under PD-X-1033 dtd. 17 August 1980. The vessel was awarded to Levin Metals Corporation, San Jose, California, on 7 October 1980, under contract No. MA-9868 for $261,000.00 The “Burton Island” was scrapped as of 28 April 1982.
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