Philatelist H.A. Slade (1910)
The following was first published in the “The Stamp Collectors’ Fortnightly”, September, 1910.
The Hon. Secretary of the Herts Philatelic Society, Mr. H. A. Slade, is every inch a Hertfordshire man. He was born at St. Albans in 1865, was educated mainly at St. Alban’s Grammar School (though Thanet College, Margate, also had something to do with that part of his career) and for the greater part of his forty years he has lived in the pleasant, old-world Hertfordshire town which was his birthplace.
From his earliest days, Mr. Slade was fond of Philately, and he has made several good general collections. Specialism, during recent years, has claimed him as a devotee – or should one say as a victim? He has devoted particular attention to Russia, the Scandinavian countries, and Chile.
Long, long ago – too long ago for the exact date to be a matter of very great consequence – Mr. Slade founded the Suburban Exchange Club, and has ever since conducted it with energy and to the perfect satisfaction of its many members. The name ‘Suburban’ is of course a misnomer, for Mr. Slade’s Exchange has members in all kinds of places; but then the list of British philatelic exchange clubs is rich in geographical and other anachronisms. In making any selection of ‘the best’ stamp exchanges, one would certainly include the club which Mr. Slade so ably administers, for its packets are good ones and its postal list is notable for many of the best-known names in Philately.
Also Mr. SIade was one of those who helped to found the Herts Philatelic Society. Here is another misnomer, for though the original intention of its founders was to make the ‘ Herts’ a society of Hertfordshire philatelists, as its name would imply, yet nowadays it is simply and solely a metropolitan society, having probably far more members resident outside than inside the borders of the county of Hertfordshire. There is little need to speak of the great success and the steady progress and expansion of the Herts Philatelic Society, for these are things already well known to the great majority of philatelists. The Society today stands in the position of being one of the soundest and most influential of British philatelic organisations. Its meetings are of great educational value; its Great Britain will long be held in grateful recollection by all who took part in the gathering. Much of the success of the Society in all its undertakings is to be credited to Mr. SIade, who, as we have said, was one of the pioneer members, and who, ever since the foundation of the Society, has fulfilled the duties of the dual office of Hon. Secretary and Treasurer.
Many other hobbies and occupations conspire to restrict the time which Mr. Slade can give to Philately. The holder of a clerkship at the Foreign Office, he, like many another Government servant, does a little journalism, dramatic criticism being his chosen department. He is a keen golfer, and he is fond of gardening – and small blame to him. Golf and gardening are assuredly the ideal companion-hobbies to Philately. These, however, do not exhaust the list of Mr. Slade’s interests, for he is an ardent angler and keen on a game of chess. He is of course a member of the ‘Royal’ and many other philatelic societies.
