Wilding Period Domestic Registration, AR, and Special Delivery Fees


1. Registration


Source: Canada Official Postal Guide 1952-53



Kitchener to London, April 1, 1954
20 cents registration + 5 cents forward letter rate
The Karsh 1 cent and 4 cent denominations were in period. The Wilding 1 cent and 4 cent denominations were issued on June 10, 1954



Montreal to Toronto, April 21, 1954
20 cents registration + 5 cents forward letter rate
The 2 cent Karsh was still is period. The 2 cent Wilding definitive was issued on June 10, 1954.



Leamington to Kingsville, October 30, 1956
20 cents registration fee + 5 cents forward letter rate



Sault Ste Marie to Toronto, April 24, 1958
20 cents registration fee + 5 cents forward letter rate



Nova Scotia Textiles Limited, Windsor, N.S., to New Minas, May 1 1961
20 cents registration + 8 cents forward letter rate for 2 ounces

Illustrated back:





Montreal local registered letter, April 12, 1955
Strip of four 6 cent stamps paying the fee + postage
20 cents registration + 4 cents local letter rate



Montreal local registered letter, March 14 1957
30 cents registration ($50 indemnity) + 4 cents local postage

AR handstamp advising that an AR card was attached to the envelope


Insufficiently Paid

Insufficiently paid registered letters were forwarded and the amount shortpaid (single deficiency) was collected on delivery.


Toronto local correspondence, October 15, 1957
Correct rate: 24 cents
20 cents registration fee + 4 cents local letter rate
Prepaid 20 cents thus shortpaid 4 cents


Taxed 5 cents (should have been 4 cents)


Official Mail

All mailable matter sent by Federal Government Departments at Ottawa and franked as being departmental in character was free of government postage. The registration fee however had to be prepaid.


Tax Appeal Board, Ottawa to London, Ontario
20 cents registration + Free postage ( Cecil L. Snyder)



National Revenue, Canada correspondence
Fort Erie to St. Catharines, September 11, 1954
20 cents registration fee + 5 cents forward letter rate
"G" overprints for official mail
The Karsh official stamp was still in period. The 5 cent Wilding definitive official was issued on January 11, 1955.



National Revenue of Canada , Collector of Customs correspondence
Toronto Airport to Oakville, October 21, 1956
20 cents registration fee + 5 cents forward letter rate
"G" overprints for official mail



Royal Canadian Mounted Police correspondence
Niagara Falls to Toronto, November 12 1962
20 cents registration + 5 cents forward letter
"G" overprints for official mail



Royal Canadian Mint to Norwich, August 10, 1959
20 cents registration + 35 cents postage ( 11 ounce forward letter rate)
This was probably a coin order for which postage was required


Officers of the House of Commons

Mailable matter from an officer of the House of Commons was sent free. Registration had to be prepaid.



Clerk of the House of Commons to Kincardine, December 9, 1954
20 cents registration fee + free postage


2. Acknowledgment of Receipt (AR)

The AR fee was 10 cents at time of mailing and 20 cents subsequent to despatch.


Mail from Sarnia to Wallaceburg, June 11 1956
Acknowledged at Wallaceburg on June 13, 1956
10 cents AR fee

The AR card was from a 1943 print run





Local Vancouver correspondence mailed July 28, 1961
Acknowledged July 31, 1961
10 cents AR fee




3. Special Delivery Fee

The special delivery fee for letters was 10 cents.


Toronto local letter, March 22, 1960
10 cents special delivery fee + 4 cents local letter rate



Hamilton local correspondence, December 31, 1958
10 cents special delivery fee + 4 cents local letter rate (Return Postage Prepaid meter)





Campbellton to Montreal, May 12, 1956
10 cents special delivery fee + 5 cents forward letter rate



Winnipeg to Toronto, June 25, 1961
10 cents special delivery + 5 cents forward letter rate



Saskatoon to Montreal, May 28, 1959
10 cents special delivery + 5 cents forward letter rate


Kingston to Toronto, 11:00 a.m., August 25, 1959
Toronto Special Delivery "barrel" receiver, 8:00 p.m. August 25, 1959
10 cents special delivery fee + 4 cents post card rate



Moncton to Winnipeg, 2:00 p.m. August 26, 1957
Winnipeg "barrel" receiver, 7:00 a.m. August 27, 1957
10 cents special delivery fee + 5 cents forward letter rate (double post card rated as a letter)



Trail to Woodstock, February 25, 1955

Forward letter rate...................5c
Registration fee........................20c
Special Delivery fee.................10c
Total...........................................35c


Transit cancellations

Grise Fiord Ellesmere Island


Grise Fiord is the northernmost civilian community of Canada, located in the High Arctic on Ellesmere Island.



CBC graphic

In the early 1950s, the Canadian federal government relocated Inuit from northern Quebec to settle at Grise Fiord. Eight Inuit families were moved after being promised homes and game to hunt, but the relocated people discovered no buildings and very little familiar wildlife.They were told that they would be returned home after a year if they wished, but this offer was later withdrawn as it would damage Canada's claims to sovereignty in the area and the Inuit were forced to stay.

In 1993, the Canadian government held hearings to investigate the relocation program. The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples issued a report entitled The High Arctic Relocation: A Report on the 1953-55 Relocation, recommending a settlement.The government paid $10 million to the survivors and their families, but did not apologize until August 18, 2010. Indian Affairs and Northern Development Minister John Duncan apologized on behalf of all Canadians for the “hardship, suffering and loss they experienced as a result of the relocation.” “We deeply regret the mistakes and broken promises of this dark chapter of our history.

The card below was sent by a film maker who was encouraged by the RCMP Commissioner to come up to Ellesmere Island. I've transcribed his message below.



Grise Island to Detroit, June 13 1962


Grise Island circular date stamp


6/10/62
Gris Fiord, Ellesmere Island

Dear George,

Now glad Commissioner of RCMP prevailed upon and inspired me to come up to this "land of the long day". Thanks to the fine cooperation of two Eskimo-speaking constables assigned to expedition, we are getting gratifying results filming various aspects of life of comparatively unspoiled Polar Eskimos (As yet there is no Hudson's Bay Post or Mission here). Just returned from an exciting 300 mile hunt with them by dog team for seal and walrus across Jones Sound to Craig Harbor. Oh, my aching back.

Altho this top of the world region lacks the color varieties and lure of some other parts of world we know it is proving a most rewarding experience than anticipated due primarily to the captivating qualities of the Eskimos we meet...

HMCS Fort Erie : 1962 West African Cruise



In January and February, 1962, HMCS Fort Erie was on a West African Cruise. Ports of call included:

• Freetown (Sierra Leone)
• Dakar (Senegal)
• Lagos (Nigeria)
• Accra (Ghana)
• Abidjan (Ivory Coast)

The ship participated in Canadian trade fairs in Lagos and Accra, and upon completion of its West African cruise, sailed for Bermuda to engage in winter naval exercises.

A steward on board the Fort Erie provided this information in his Forces Air Letter to Robinson's Corner, Nova Scotia, cancelled at Montreal on February 16, 1962:










The Letter:

General E.L.M. Burns in the Middle
East : 1954 -1959


In 1981, Canada’s most renowned peacekeeper General E. L. M. "Tommy" Burns was awarded the United Nations Associations in Canada (UNA-Canada) Pearson Peace Medal. The UNA-Canada described his contributions in the Middle East as follows:

"Tommy" Burns is one of the most distinguished generals in Canadian history. After service in both World Wars, he became Deputy Minister of Veterans’ Affairs. He was then transferred to the Department of External Affairs as a Special Staff of the Truce Supervision Organization in Palestine (1954-56) and was thus nearby when the Suez Crisis of 1956 occurred.

He was a natural choice to lead the UN Emergency Force (UNEF) as he did this with distinction from November of 1956 to December of 1959, showing skill not only as a commander but as a negotiator with national and local authorities in the area.

1. UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO)

From June 1954 to November 1956, General Burns served as the UNTSO Chief of Staff. The UNTSO had been created to oversee the Security Council agreement between Israel and the Arab states. UN observers were stationed along armistice lines between Israel and Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan.

UNTSO consisted of individual observers from different countries.

Mail Service

UNTSO was not provided with its own postal service. UNTSO mail was handled by civilian posts, the postal services of other UN organizations, or by diplomatic pouch.


Correspondence from General Burns : Jerusalem




From General Burns, Jerusalem, Jordan, to Vancouver, May 23 1955
The postal services of Jordan were used for this mailing

The General had been asked to autograph the photograph below. He may also have been asked to sign the 1955 article entitled " Why Burns is There".



General Burns autograph

Weekend Article (1955)




2. United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF)

On October 29, 1956, Israeli forces launched an attack on Egypt and occupied Sinai and the Gaza Strip. A few days later British and French troops landed in the Suez Canal Zone. The United Nations General Assembly called for a ceasefire and the withdrawal of all foreign forces from occupied territories. It also established the first United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) to secure and supervise the cessation of hostilities. Following the dispatch of the Emergency Force to the area, the French and British forces left the Suez Canal Zone by 22 December 1956. The withdrawal of the Israeli forces was completed by 8 March 1957.

Mail Service

The UNEF was provided a free mail system. A special franking was stamped on the envelope.


UNEF to RCAF Station London, December 16 1957
United Nations Emergency Force franking


United Nations Commemoration of UNEF

The United Nations issued a set of stamps to commemorate its first peace-keeping effort.
Fleetwood featured a photograph of General Burns on its cachet:


General Burns, Commander of UN Forces in Egypt


Letter from General Burns

The letter below was written from Gaza on December 11, 1959, shortly before General Burns left the UNEF. He is responding to a request for shoulder flashes from a collector.