The Society was formed in May 1948 by Eric Sherwood from Sale in Manchester with a membership of about 12.
Edward Lauder from Glasgow was a staunch supporter of the fledgling society and became the first President in January 1962.
Lauder died suddenly in March 1965 and Sherwood took over the position of President.
Eric was a specialist dealer of South Africa and a well known figure in the stamp trade. He passed away at a ripe old age in January 1987.
At first the members circulated a ‘News folder’ but that became impractical as the membership progressed to three figures.
In January 1953 the first society journal was published called The Springbok and is still going strong after 60+ years.
For almost 40 years it was a bi-monthly publication and from 1993 it became a quarterly journal. Issue No 339 was published in August 2017.
Eric Sherwood promoted and advertised the Society in The South African Philatelist starting in October 1949 and continued to the end of December 1972.
In January 2014 a Society website came ‘online’ and has been developed into a valuable source of information, especially our section Collect Southern Africa
The website includes an Index to all its journals The Springbok and there is an extensive list of the Society’s comprehensive Library.
Regular meetings are held in the North and the South plus a Philatelic weekend in May/June in the Midlands.
Each year in November it hosts an Annual Southern Africa Philatelic Conference and is already in its 19th year - See link above & go to that page
This important annual event is open to all the various Societies with an interest in Southern Africa Philately.
On the Saturday there are invited displays and on Sunday morning it is open to anyone wishing to present a short display.
The Conference is concluded on Sunday afternoon with a ‘live’ auction.
The 70th Anniversary was celebrated and a customised webpage may be accessed via the link above, also a sixteen page Special Edition of The Springbok has been published and may be downloaded free in PDF format from this website.
By 1954 the Society boasted 229 members and nowadays it is in the region of 120. There is no pomp and ceremony and the society is run in a casual and friendly manner...thus if anyone has an interest in this area of collecting they ought to consider joining.