Weeda Stamps: News


FOX TALES ON STAMPS Edition #498 Friday, June 11, 2010
Captain George Vancouver's Grave
	One of our most locally significant Englishmen is, without a doubt, George Vancouver. Shipmate of both James Cook and Captain William Bligh, Vancouver's voyages on the HMS Discovery laid the foundation for the British colonization of the Pacific Northwest. In 2007 Canada Post issued a $1.55 stamp to commemorate the 250th Anniversary of George Vancouver's birth. When we planned our trip to England we realized that we would be in London on May 12th, the anniversary of Vancouver's death. When we mentioned an outing to Vancouver's gravesite to our friends Andrew Scott and Katherine Johnston, they were more than keen to accompany us. A quick tube ride out to the Richmond station on the District Line, a quick glance at the tourist map and away we went. Richmond, and more specifically Petersham, are pleasant London suburbs on the banks of the Thames upriver from the city. This stretch of the Thames is where the river becomes non-tidal. Pleasure craft in all shapes and sizes are tied up along the banks. Here you see a brightly painted traditional English narrowboat, designed to navigate England's extensive canal system. Much of the land along the banks is part of the Thames floodplain and as such, many areas were traditionally used as grazing commons. As you can see in this picture most of the local buildings are built on higher ground. The covenant protecting the riverside green space requires that it be used for grazing, hence this compact herd of bovines. We left the cows contentedly chewing their cud and headed up this country path to our goal, St. Peter's Church and churchyard. St. Peter's Church in Petersham has been here since the Middle Ages. The Domesday Book of 1086 notes that there was a church in the village at that time. Various repairs, renovations and additions have been made to the various church structures on this property over the centuries. The grave markers in the churchyard range in date from the 1700s right up to our present century. The one we were looking for dates from 1798. Andrew Scott was the member of our party who discovered George Vancouver's grave first. George Vancouver was born into modest circumstances with no connections to the higher echelons of society. Even though he was an exceptional seaman and capable captain, he was, upon his return to England, set upon by a number of influential people who wished him ill. He died at the age of forty and was buried in the local churchyard where his unassuming grave mouldered and decayed. A group of British Columbians led by Major James Skitt Matthews, the famous City of Vancouver archivist and historian, refurbished and maintained his grave. Another BC touch at the gravesite, a small Dogwood tree shades his headstone. Katherine took this rare picture of Andrew Blanchard, who is usually the person behind the camera for the majority of Weeda's Fox Tales on Stamps. George Vancouver returned to England in 1795. His Naval career was effectively ended due to his poor health and poor reception. Vancouver chose to live quietly and write his book "Voyage of Discovery" in Petersham. Many sources name the Navigator's House as the house where he lived. Here is Andrew Scott standing in front of a house on River Lane called "The Navigator's House". We were sure we had found it. As we were congratulating ourselves for finding Vancouver's final home, a helpful local happened by and graciously informed us of an understandable error that we had made. The presently named Navigator's House was not where George Vancouver lived. The white cottage next door named Glen Cottage was his actual home. Here I am on the sidewalk in front of Glen Cottage. The cottage still looks like it's in good shape. No small feat considering that it's over 200 years old. In The Caneing in Conduit Street (1796), James Gillray caricatured Pitt's streetcorner assault on Vancouver. Here we are heading back to Richmond along the river. Sitting up on the hill is The Royal Star and Garter Home. This facility is a home for disabled Ex-Service men and women. The Thames Path is an extensive walking footpath along the river, formerly used as a towpath for barges. Because of the gentle nature of this stretch of the Thames, numerous small boats, both motorized and human propelled, are available for hire. Maybe the next time we're in this area, we'll take one out for a cruise.
Answer to Last Week's Salvation Army Quiz
	We received eight correct answers to last week's stamp identification quiz. That means a $8.00 donation to Salvation Army. Here's the portion of the stamp we asked you to identify Here's the answer - Canada #375, the 1958 5c black "Free Press" Newspaper Industry issue.
The Salvation Army Quiz
	We show you a head of state or famous person from a stamp without revealing what country he or she is from. You guess the name of the person. Send us an email with your answer. For every correct answer we will donate $1.00 to our favourite charity, the Salvation Army. Click here to go to the The Salvation Army International Home Page to see what services they offer to communities around the world.