THE POSTAL HISTORY OF ICAO

 

Sessions of the Assembly (from 30th to the latest)

 

This chapter provides philatelic material related to the 30th Session, and the Sessions held thereafter. All these Sessions were held in Montreal, Canada, at ICAO Headquarters.

 

30th Session (Extraordinary Session, held in Montreal, Canada, 25 to 26 May 1993):

 

 

31th Session (held in Montreal, Canada, 19 September to 4 October 1995):

 

Cover autographed by Capt. Jeppesen.

In 1995, the 29th Edward Warner Award was bestowed upon Captain Elrey Berber Jeppesen, USA, for the development of international civil aviation and air navigation in particular. When flying in the early 1930s, he recorded and sketched all the landing sites, obstacles and other standard Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) navigation reference. The introduction of the Jeppesen Airway Manual in the 1930s contributed significantly to a reduction of operational accidents in the air transport field, since neither government nor airline aviation charts existed at that time. The cachet depicts an extract of a Jeppesen Low Altitude Enroute Chart (Boston region).

 

32th Session (held in Montreal, Canada, 22 September to 2 October 1998):

 

The Aerial Symphony mural, shown on this cover, is one of the works of art on display at ICAO Headquarters (3rd floor in the Conference Centre). It is comprised of forty panels of anodized aluminum, designed by Montreal artist Michel Guilbeault and donated by the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA). The mural emphasises the subtle interface between art and science in civil aviation. It also traces the evolution of flight, this time through a variety of aircraft types, alternating with depictions of eastern and western hemispheres of the earth and brilliantly iridescent hand-coloured butterfly wings. Finally, it also suggest ICAO’s strong leadership role in guiding international civil aviation through the 21st century.

On the opposite left, is the pin prepared by ICAO and offered to the Delegates attending this Session of the Assembly.

 

33th Session (held in Montreal, Canada, 25 September to 5 October 2001):

 

Note that the ICAO Journal (name which had been in use since the first Assembly) had been renamed The Daily Bulletin from this Session.

 

The postage stamp used on the envelope marked a century and a half of Canadian administration of the postal service; designed by Sir Sandford Flemming in 1851, the original Three Pence Beaver was Canada’s first postage stamp.

On the opposite left, is the pin prepared by ICAO and offered to the Delegates attending this Session of the Assembly.

 

36th Session (held in Montreal, Canada, 18 to 28 September 2007):

 

The cachet reproduces the pure wool tapestry Man in Flight hanging behind the chair of the ANC President; it was donated to ICAO by Romania in 1976 and represents the winged mythological figure Icarus with the symbols of ICAO and the United Nations in the background of concentric curves that suggest the propagation of waves into space.

The postage stamp used on the envelope was one of the first new non-denominated stamps released by Canada Post on 16 November 2006. It bears a new icon, the letter “P” within a maple leaf; this icon indicates that the stamp is PERNAMENT and valid indefinitely.

The stamp features the striking spotted coralroot (Corallorhiza maculata). This member of the orchid family grows in deeply shaded, wooded areas from Newfoundland to British Columbia, and blossoms in mid-summer.

 

37th Session (held in Montreal, Canada, 28 September to 8 October 2010):

 

120 commemorative covers, as shown here-above, were produced and sold during the Assembly Session.

Some particularities of this cover need to be highlighted:

  1. The stamp is unique and original, since this is the first time in history that the emblem of the Organization, as represented on its flag, is depicted on a postage stamp. This personalized stamp was printed by the Canadian Bank Note Company, Limited, by order of Canada Post.
  2. The text on the cachet is printed in green, referring to one of the main topics of discussion during this Session of the Assembly, i.e. the environment. On the other hand, the central part of figure 37 is designed from a selection of drawings by children submitted during the competition on the theme of Aviation in a Green Environment, held at ICAO in 2009 for the World Environment Day (WED). The theme of that year’s WED celebration was: “Many Species. One Planet. One Future.”. Commemorated on 5 June since 1972, WED is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations and UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) stimulate worldwide awareness of the environmental challenges, thereby enhancing political attention and action. To show its support for WED, ICAO invited children and dependants of ICAO employees and of National Delegations (ages 3 to 12) to submit drawings on the theme: Aviation in a Green Environment. The winning artist was Keely McGann (10 years old).
  3. The bottom frame on the right-side commemorates the 100th anniversary of the first flight over Montreal by Count Jacques de Lesseps on 2 July 1910 with his Bleriot XI named "Le Scarabée", during the first-ever air show held in Canada.

Son of the famous builder of the Suez Canal, Jacques de Lesseps was born in Paris and trained in 1909 at the Blériot flying school on an Anzani-powered Blériot XI. He qualified for F.A.I. license No.27. In March 1910, he purchased one of the first Gnome-powered Blériot XI and named it “Le Scarabée”. In it, on 21 May 1910, he made the second aeroplane crossing of the English Channel. Only 5 weeks later, de Lesseps brought his 2 Bleriot to Canada's first aviation meet (and Quebec’s first aeroplane occurrence ever) at Lakeside, near Pointe-Claire, in the West Island, Montréal. There, in “Le Scarabée”, he made the first flight over the city of Montreal by an aeroplane, on 2 July 1910; he took off from the field at Lakeside, flew along the banks of the St. Lawrence River, then over the City Hall, and returned to Pointe Claire. The flight lasted 49 minutes; the plane was made of wood and fabric. The exploit made him an instant hero.

In honour of the 100th anniversary of the first airplane flight over Montréal, an exact replica of "Le Scarabée" was on display in the hall of honour at the City Hall, Montréal from 24 June to 31 July 2010; it may now be viewed at the Canadian Aviation Heritage Museum, McGill Macdonald Campus, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Québec, Canada.

 

                   

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