Word With A Modern Ring

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30811, 24 July 1965, Page 12

Word With A Modern Ring

(By KENNETH ANTHONY.) 'TELECOMMUNICATIONS is a word which has a modern ring about it, and some people may be surprised to And stamps commemorating the centenary of the International Telecommunication Union on their letters this year. Most countries are celebrating the anniversary with special issues. The explanation lies in the fact that the organisation which reached its 100th birthday in May, started life aa the International Telegraph Union, the present title being adopted in 1932 to mark its developing functions. When telegrams started to be sent regularly across national frontiers, the need was soon felt for some international organisation to regulate the traffic. A meeting attended by the representatives of 20 leading nations was held in Paris in 1885. From this the I.T.U. was formed. The international telephone

service and afterwards such matters as the registration of radio frequencies came within the Union’s province. Now, when outer space itself is being used for telecommunication purposes, the organisation is more than 100 countries strong, and operates as one of the many specialised agencies of the United Nations. To accommodate its growing activities a new headquarters building for the I.T.U. was opened in Geneva in May, 1962, by U Thant, United Nations SecretaryGeneral. About 370 people are now employed in the union's secretariat. Like the Universal Postal Union, also the subject of many special stamps over the years, the. I.T.U. can claim to be one of the most successful examples of international co-operation, and the centenary is therefore a more appropriate occasion for commemorative issues than may at first appear. The British Crown colonies have each issued two I.T.U. stamps all of a similar design

except for the values and the inscription showing the name of the territory—the sort of issue known to collectors as an “omnibus.” Most of these stamps include the Queen’s head in the design, but in the case of the New Hebrides, the Anglo-French condominium mentioned in an earlier article, the portrait is replaced, as the illustration shows, by the Royal cipher and the “R.F.” monogram to indicate the joint nature of the administration.