1st October
Vice President Terry Rankin
Gave the display Rhodesia and Zimbabwe to members this afternoon.
He gave a talk on a very complicated history of a region with a history of unrest very adequately indeed through his stamp, covers, letters and his stories from his time working and living in Rhodesia and Zimbabwe. He said it was Matabeleland before Rhodesia, he showed David Livingstone Victoria Falls stamps and also David’s father in law Robert Moffat. Stamps of British South African were on first Rhodesian stamps, then in 1953 it was the Federation of Rhodesia which was North and South Rhodesia, and Nyasaland. In On 11 November 1965, following a brief but solemn consensus, Rhodesia’s leading statesmen issued their country’s unilateral declaration of independence (UDI). Ian Smith became Prime Minister from 1965 until 1979.
In 1980 Rhodesia became Zimbabwe, they continued the same stamps very cheap definitives. One noted thing the size of the FDC were very large indeed, very difficult to get a FDC album for them. Terry was thanked by all present.