Canada - HMCS Cartier

HMCS Cartier was a commissioned surveying ship of the Royal Canadian Navy and saw service during World War I and World War II.
For more details of the stamp Click here.

Åland passenger ferry series

Two new stamps in the Åland passenger ferry series will be issued in February 2011. M/S Alandia and M/S Apollo are featured by artist Håkan Sjöström. 

Alandia was built in 1939 as M/S Bastø in Moss, Norway. The ship had been in Norwegian service for many years and even been used by the German army for troop transportation in 1944, when she came to the newly established company Rederiaktiebolag Eckerö in 1961. During her first year of operation, Alandia ran under the name Alpha and was the first roll-on/roll-off car ferry operating in Åland ferry service. In November 1961, the ship met with trouble when she capsized and was waterlogged upon arriving in Grisslehamn. Thanks to resolute intervention, everybody onboard was saved. Alpha was soon to be nicknamed "Round-trip Åland" after that.

Apollo was delivered in 1970 from Jos. L. Meyer Schiffswerft in Papenburg, West Germany. Both M/S Viking 1 and M/S Marella were delivered to Viking Line the same year. Apollo served for Viking Line from May 1970 until March 1976, when she was sold to a Danish shipping company. Today, Apollo operates in Canada where she provides service for the Woodward Group under her original name Apollo. 

Source : www.posten.ax

Canada Post Issues A Stamp In Recognition Of Home Children

This stamp issue recognizes the experiences of the more than 100,000 Home Children who were sent to Canada starting in 1869 and during the years following the Second World War. 

The stamp features an image of the SS Sardinian (a ship that carried children from Liverpool to Quebec), a map symbolizing their cross-Atlantic journey, a photograph of a child at work on a farm and one of a newly arrived Home Child, standing beside a suitcase while en route to a distributing home in Hamilton, Ontario. 

The frame around the photo, notes Debbie Adams, Creative Director at Adams Associates Design Consultants in Toronto, symbolizes the relationships they developed in Canada. According to Adams "It shows that someone cared enough about this child to preserve and display his image." 

Starting in 1869, and continuing into the years following the Second World War, more than 100,000 orphaned, abandoned and pauper children were sent to Canada by British churches and philanthropic organizations, in the hope of providing them with a better life. They were welcomed by Canadian families as a source of farm labour, domestic help, and, in more fortunate cases, as children of their own. But while some benefited from the promise of a brighter future that the movement's founders had envisioned, others were abused, neglected and overworked.

The Government of Canada has recognized the experiences of Canada's Home Children by proclaiming 2010 the Year of the British Home Child. "Designating 2010 as the Year of the British Home Child is a meaningful way to acknowledge this chapter of Canadian history," said the Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism.

Bluenose stamp (1929)

This stamp is regarded as the most beautiful and rare Canadian stamp, it was printed by the Canadian Bank Note Company to depict the Bluenose, a schooner (racing ship) from Nova Scotia.

Canadian navy centennial

Canada Post will issue two stamps May 4 to commemorate the establishment of the Royal Canadian Navy. 

The commemorative stamp issue depicts the past and present of Canada's naval service.

"The two stamps were designed as separate artworks, but they appear as one canvas. They share the same painterly sky, marine life and open sea environments. The two ships, though of a different age, appear as part of the same fleet," notes designer Andrew Perro of the Toronto-based firm, Designwerke. "One of Canada's first warships, the HMCS Niobe, sails alongside a modern frigate, the HMCS Halifax - a feature that speaks to the passage of time, capturing the magnitude of this major centennial milestone." The design is complimented by marine inspired colours and crisp typography

Details of  HMCS Niobe :

Niobe had served in the Royal Navy from 1898 to 1910, one of eight sisters of the Diadem class. She was commissioned in the RCN on September 6, 1910, at Devonport, and arrived at Halifax on October 21. Niobe was nearly lost during the night of July 30-31, 1911, when she went aground off Cape Sable, necessitating repairs that were not completed until the end of 1912.

In the fall of 1914, after the ravages of two years' disuse had rectified, she joined the RN's 4th Cruiser Squadron on contraband patrol off New York .

Worn out, she returned to Halifax on July 17, 1915, never to put to sea again. She was paid off that September 6 and became a depot ship. Her upperworks were wrecked in the Halifax explosion of December 6, 1917, but she continued to serve as a depot ship until 1920, when she was sold for scrap. Niobe was broken up at Philadelphia two years later.

Details of HMCS HALIFAX

HMCS HALIFAX, FFH 330, was built in Saint John, New Brunswick, and commissioned in Halifax on 29 June 1992.   She is the first of twelve “HALIFAX” Class Frigates and one of the most capable frigates in the world.

Between April and August 1994, HALIFAX was deployed on her first Standing Naval Force Atlantic (SNFL), during OP SHARK GUARD, enforcing UN sanctions against former Yugoslavia.

In May 1995, HALIFAX had the honour of attending VE celebrations in Oslo, Norway and in Gydnia Poland.  HALIFAX was the first Canadian Warship to visit Poland since the end of WWII.

It was a pleasant surprise to me ,when i received a mail from the designer of this Stamps appreciating the  efforts . Check out his website.http://andrewperro.com.Thanks for the mail Andrew.