Bases and Postmarks

Issue Date: 8th December 2003











British land-based activities in British Antarctic Territory (BAT, formerly Falkland Islands Dependancies until 1961) were undertaken at or from research bases (known as stations after 1967) throughout the region. In 1944 the British Government established its first stations in the Antarctic as part of the Second World War expedition known as Operation Tabarin. Its objectives were to deter access to anchorages by enemy ships, provide meteorological observations to help improve weather forecasting for British shipping in the south Atlantic, and strengthen Britain's claim to the Falkland Islands Dependencies, and also provide the opportunity to undertake scientific work.

Operation Tabarin was a joint undertaking by the Admiralty and the Colonial Office. In 1945 it was renamed the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS), and all control passed to the Colonial Office (later absorbed nto the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

There were then four bases, although one was never occupied (Base C, Sandefjord Bay, South Orkney Islands). By the time FIDS was renamed British Antarctic Survey (BAS) in 1962 18 Antarctic stations had been established, and operated for varying periods; another was built in 1976. Each base was designated by a letter.

The largest number open at any one time was 13, in 1958-59, during the International Geophysical Year, but since 1996 BAS has operated only two overwintering stations (Rothera and Halley), and one summer-only station (Signy) in BAT. Of these 18, all but View Point and Fossil Bluff were official post offices. Since 1967 BAS has been a component of the Natural Environment Research Council.

In recognition of the historical importance of early British Scientific research in the Antarctic Peninsula region, four unoccupied British stations have been designated Historic Sites under the Antarctic Treaty System. They are Port Lockroy, Argentine Islands (Winter Island), Horseshoe Island and Stonington Island.

1p Base G - Admiralty Bay, Martel Inlet, Keller Peninsula, King George Island, South Shetland Islands (Lat. 62 05 S, Long. 58 25 W).

Admiralty Bay opened in January 1947, and another hut added in February 1948 (removed in 1950 and re-erected at Base H). Further huts were established about 300m away in January 1949 and in January 1956. The primary purpose of the base was geology, meteorology and glaciology.

The station was occupied from 18 January 1947 until 23 March 1947, and from January 1948 to 19 January 1961. It was removed by members of the Brazilian Antarctic Expedition based at the nearby Commandante Ferraz Station in 1995/96.

From February 1946 until June 1953 the post office cancellations indicated "Falkland Islands Dependency South Shetlands", but from November 1953 until the closure of the station in January 1961 it stated "Admiralty Bay South Shetlands".

2p Base B - Deception Island, Whalers Bay, Deception Is;and, South Shetland Islands (Lat. 62 59 S, Long. 60 34 W).

Deception was the first British base in the Antarctic, built during Operation Tabarin in early February 1944. Its purpose was mainly meteorology and geology, and later as the centre for aircraft operations in 1955-57 and from 1959-69.

Originally, buildings from the former Norwegian Aktieselskabet Haktor whaling station were used, but the main accommodation and office building was detroyed by fire in September 1946. Another building and the former Magistrate's Villa were then used. A hut was erected in December 1955 for the Falkland Islands Dependencies Aerial Survey Expedition, 1955-57, later becoming part of Base B. An aircraft hangar was completed in March 1962.

It was occupied from Febrary 1944 until December 1967, when it was evacuated temporarily following volcanic eruptions in the island, and from 4 December 1968 until 23 February 1969. It was evacuated again on 21 February 1969 when further eruptions destroyed the station buildings, the remains of the former whaling station designated as Historic Site No. 71 under the Antarctic Treaty in 1995.

The post office opened on 5 February 1944, although the postmark indicated "Falkland Islands Dependency South Shetlands". The name Deception Island was not used until 1953 (as "Deception Island South Shetlands").

5p Base D - Hope Bay, Hope Bay, Trinity Peninsula, northern Antarctic Peninsula (Lat. 63 24 S, Long. 56 59 W).

This was the fourth British base built during Operation Tabarin, in February 1945. An attempt was made to establish the station in February 1944, but sea ice conditions prevented unloading of stores. Its main purpose was survey, geology, geophysics, glaciology, mereorology, botany and human and dog physiology.

The original hut was destroyed by fire in November 1948, but replaced by another in a new position in February 1952.

It was occupied from 13 February 1945 until 4 February 1949, and from 4 February 1952 to 13 February 1964. It was transferred to Uraguay on 8 December 1997 and renamed Teniente Ruperto Elichiribehety Uruguayan Antarctic Scientific Station.

The first mail from Hope Bay was dated 13 March 1945, the postmark indicating "Falkland Islands Dependency Graham Land." The name changed to "Hope Bay Grahamland" in December 1953.

22p Base F - Argentine Islands, Marina Point, Galindez Island, Argentine Islands, Antarctuc Peninsula (Lat. 65 15 S, Long. 64 16 W).

Base F (named Faraday station from August 1977) was opened in January 1947 and its main purpose was geophysics, meteorology and ionospherics. It was established on Winter Island, previously the site of the 1935/36 British Graham Land Expedition hut. It was closed in May 1954 when the new station was built on Galindez Island, but re-occupied in winter 1960 when personnel for Base T failed to reach Adelaide Island.

The station was occupied continuously for 49 years and 31 days from 7 January 1947 until 6 February 1996, the longest continuous occupation of any British station to date.

The Winter Island hut was designated Historic Site No. 62 under the Antarctic Treaty in 1995. The Base F complex was transferred to Ukraine in February 1996 and renamed Vernadsky station.

The post office operated throughout the duration of the station. The earliest cancellation indicated "Falkland Islands Dependency Graham land", but from January 1954 it was "Argentine Is;ands Grahamland" and, more recently, variants of this "Argentine Islands Graham Land", Argentine Island British Antarctic Territory", "Argentine Islnads" and "Argentine Is. Grahamland". From December 1980 cancellers bore "Faraday Base British Antarctic Territory" and variants of "Faraday British Antarctic Territory".

25p Base E - Stonington Island, Stonington Island, Marguerite Bay, Antarctic Peninsula (Lat. 68 11 S, Long. 67 00 W).

Base E was originally intended to be sited on the east coast of Graham Land, but this was prevented by severe sea ice conditions. Stonington Island (also known as Marguerite Bay) was built in February 1946 for the purpose of survey, geology, meteorology and biology. It was established near the US East Base. The station closed in 1950 as sea ice prevented access to relieve the station in the previous year. It reopened in 1960 as the centre for field work in the southern Antarctic Peninsula area when Horseshoe Island (Station Y) closed. The base was resited in March 1961, the new hut being the first two-storey building erected by FIDS. Extensions were added in 1965 and 1972. Buildings from the US East Base were also used.

It was occupied from 25 February 1946 until 12 February 1950, 9 March 1958 to 7 March 1959, and from 14 August 1960 to 23 February 1975. The site was cleaned up by BAS in 1991/92 and in 2003, and designated Historic Site No. 64 under the Antarctic Treaty in 1995.

The post office opened officially on 13 March 1946 with a canceller indicating "Falkland Islands Dependancy Graham Land" (See also Bases A and D). The base was closed from 1950 to 1958 when it, but not the post office were again reopened from 1961 to 1962, when the postmark was "Base E Stonington Island". Later mail was taken to Base T for cancelling.

40p Base A - Port Lockroy, Goudier Island, Wiencke Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctic Peninsula (Lat. 64 49 S, Long. 63 30 W)

Port Lockroy was the second British base in the Antarctic, built during Operations Tabarin in February 1944. It's purpose was initially survey, geology, meteorology and botany. From 1950 onwards it was concerned primarily with ionospheric research.

It was occupied from 11 February 1944 to 8 April 1947, 23 January 1948 to 14 February 1949, 24 January to 11 February 1951 and 15 December 10 16 January 1962. It reopened in January 1996 and operated during the summers since then. The ionospheric work was transferred to Base F when Base A closed in 1962. In 1995 it was designated Antarctic Historic Site No. 61 under the Antarctic Treaty. The buildings were restored, and the site tidied, by BAS in 1996 and, since November 1996, the station has been maintained by the UK Antarctic Heritage trust for the benefit of tourists and visitors during summer. In 2003, it recieved visits from at least 86 cruise ships and 37 yachts, with approximately 8500 tourists coming ashore.

The first cancelled mail from this post office was dated 12 Fabruary 1944, although the postmark indicated "Falkland Islands Dependancy Graham Land". The name Port Lockroy was not included in the postmark until 1953 (as Port Lockroy Grahamland"). Port Lockroy probably ranks as the smallest post office in the world in terms of resident population (2, occasionally 3).

45p Base H - Signy, Factory Cove, Borge Bay, Signy Island, South Orkney Islands (Lat. 60 43 S, Long. 45 36 W).

Signy (known as Signy Island until August 1977) wsa BAS' primary biological research station until 1996, when much of the science was transferred to Rothera station. The original building was erected in March 1947. A laboratory was added in February 1948 and a hut transferred from Base G in February 1950. These buildings were resited close to the shore in Factory Cove in February 1955 on the site of the small 1029s Tønsbergs Hvalfangeri whaling station. A two-storey hut with living accommodation and laboratories was built in 1963/64. Another building was erected December 1980, demolished in March 1995 and replaced with a small accommodation and laboratory complex for eight persons in 1995/96. BAS undertook a major cleanup of the site in 2002/03, removing several buildings and a large steel fuel tank.

The station was occupied continuously from 18 March 1947 until 13 April 1996 (49 years 27 days), then for summers only from 1996/97 to present making it Britain's oldest operational station.

Signy post office opened in March 1947, using the same canceller that had been used during the previous year at the second station , Cape Geddes, on Laurie Island. The wording was "Falkland Islands Dependency South Orkneys". In July 1953 a new canceller indicated "Signy Island South Orkneys". There were several subsequent versions, including one in 1973-74 with "Signy Is;ands South Orkneys". From December 1981 the canceller has indicated "British Antarctic Territory Signy".

50p Base N - Anvers Island, Arthur ISland, southern Anvers Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctic Peninsula (Lat 64 46 S, Long. 64 05 W).

Anvers was built in February 1955 for the purpose of survey and geology. After it's closure, the hut was loaned to the US government in 1963 who converted it into a biological laboratory in 1965 prior to the completion of nearby Palmer Station. The building was destroyed by fire during renovation in December 1971. Debris was removed by the US Antarctic Program in 1990/91.

The base was occupied from 27 February 1955 until 10 January 1958, when local work was completed. It reopened in support of air operations from 1969 to 1971. The skiway near the station was in use from 1969 until 1973 and intermittently until December 1999. Air operations were rtansferred to Adelaide (Base T) in 1973 when the skiway deteriorated.

Postal services operated from January 1956 until January 1958, the canceller indicatin "Anvers Island Grahamland".

95p Base R - Rothera, Rothera Point, south-east Adelaide Island, southern Antarctic Peninsula (Lat. 67 34 S, Long. 68 08 W).

Rothera (known as Rothera Point until 15 August 1977) is the largest of the BAS research stations, accommodating up to 128 (in 2003) persons during summer. Research programmes incluse survey, glaciology, geology, geophysics, biology and meteorology. It is the main air facility with currently four Twin Otter and one Dash-7 aircrafy serving scientific investigations in remote regions. The station was established as a replacement for Base T where the skiway had deteriorated. Rothera Point has access to a skiway and a good harbour. The station has been occupied from 25 Octover 1975 to present.

The first building was erected in February 1976, and others followed in 1976/77 (including one transferred from Base T), 1978/79, 1985/87, 1996/97 (including a large biological laboratory, destroyed by fire in 2000 and rebuilt in 2002/03), and 1999/2001 (large accommodation building). A wharf, gravel runway, fuel tanks and hangar, became operational in 1991/92.

Initiallt, mail was taken by ship to Base T, prior to its closure, for posting. Rothera post office officiallt opened in February 1977, the canceller bearing the name "Rothera Point Adelaide IslAnd" and, from March 1982 "British Antarctic Territory Rothers" in various forms.

£1 Base T - Adelaide, south-west Adelaide Island, southern Antarctic Peninsula (Lat. 67 46 S, Long. 68 55 W).

Prior to Base R, Adelaide (known as Adelaide Island until January 1962) was BAS' main air facility and centre for airborne survey, glaciology and geology programmes, and also undertook meteorological research. It was established in February 1961, and another hut was erected in March 1962. A seperate accommodation hut, transferred from Fossil Bluff (Base KG) on eastern Alexander Island, was erected in January 1963. A new accommodation building was established in March 1967. It closed when the Skiway deteriorated and operations were transferred to Rothera.

It was occupied from 3 February 1961 until March 1977. The station was transferred to Chile on 14 August 1984 and renamed Teniente Luis Carvajal Villaroel Antarctic Base (Teniente Carvajal).

The Adelaide post office opened in late January 1963, before which mail had been taken to Stonington (Base E) for cancelling. The canceller indicated "Adelaide Island" in two versions.

£3 Base Y - Horseshoe Island, Bourbeois Fjord, Marguerite Bay, southern Antarctic Peninsula (Lat. 67 49 S, Long. 67 18 W).

Horseshoe Island base was built in March 1955 for the purpose of survey, geology and meteorology. It closed in 1960 but reopened briefly in 1969, and has been used intermittently by personnel from Rothera station. The site was cleaned up by BAS in 1995, and designated Historic Site No. 63 under the Antarctic Treaty in 1995. Building conservation work was undertaken in 1997. It was occupied from 11 March 1955 until 21 August 1960 and 7 March 1969 to 11 July 1969.

Like several of the small bases operating in the 1950s, the Horseshoe Island post office was short-lived, opening in January 1956 and closing in March 1960. The canceller indicated "Marguerite Bat Grahamland".

£5 Base Z - Halley, Brunt Ice Shelf, Caird Coast (currently Lat 75 35 S, Long. 26 34 W).

There have been five Halley stations (known as Halley Bay until August 1977). Approximately 1.2m of snow accumulates each year and buildings on the surface become bruised and eventually crushed by ice, neccessitating periodic rebuilding of the station. The ice shelf here is moving westward by about 7800m per year (in 2001), periodically fracturing and detaching from the continental mainland, and drifting into the Weddell Sea. The station was build primarily for upper atmosphere research, but also survey, geology, glaciology and meteorology. It has been occupied continuously since 6 January 1956.

Halley I was established by the Royal Society of London in January 1956 for the International Geophysical Year 1957/58. FIDS took over the operation of the station in January 1959, with further buildings added in February 1961. It closed in 1968 and was replaced bu Halley II (1967-1973), Halley 3 (1973-1984; the site was cleaned up in 1991), and Halley IV (1983-1992; the site was cleaned up in 1992/93). Halley V was built in 1989/92 on platforms which are raised each year so that the buildings remain obove the ice surface.

The Halley post office first operated (as the Royal Sicuety's base) from February 1956 to January 1959, the canceller indicating only "International Geophysical Year Expedition". From January 1959 the canceller bore "Base Z Halley Bay", with later versions stating "Halley Bay" in various forms, "British Antarctic Territory Halley" and British Antarctic Surveys Halley" (1983 only).

Technical details:

Design: Nick Shewring
Printer: BDT International Security Printing Ltd
Process: Lithography
Stamp Size: 28.45 x 42.58 mm
Sheet size: 50 (2x25) Perforation: 14 per 2 cms approx


In each sheet's gutter strip between the panes of 25, the relevant postmark for each base is repeated.

Acknowledgements

Historical information: Alison Martin and Joanna Rae (Research Stations and Refuges of the British Antarctic Survey and it's Predecessors, edn. 4, 2001, 14pp).

See also http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/About_BAS/Heritage/Stations/index.html

Philatelic information: JH Youle (Postmarks and Cachets of British Antarctic Bases and South Georgia. Published privately by the author, 2001, 188pp.). Contact john_youle@compuserve.com

Text by RI Lewis-Smith.



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