Ascension Islands Stamps
1938
Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island in the South Atlantic Ocean and forms part of a British Overseas Territory together with Saint Helena and Tristan da Cunha. It is about 1,000 miles from the coast of Africa and 1,400 miles from the coast of Brazil. It is governed as part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, of which the main island, Saint Helena, is around 800 miles to the southeast. The territory also includes the sparsely-populated Tristan da Cunha archipelago, some 2,300 miles to the south.
The island is named after the day of its recorded discovery, Ascension Day.
In 1939 the island became important as a high-frequency direction finding radio station covering the mid-Atlantic trade routes. The islands did not see much action during the war but the American 38th Combat Engineering Battalion of the US Army Corps of Engineers did construct a runway on Ascension Island (Wideawake Airbase IATA: ASI, ICAO: FHAW). The first aircraft to use the runway was a Fairy Swordfish from HMS Archer in June 1942 and the airfield went on to be used by more than 25,000 aicraft as a staging post during the war.
The island's main military use was to support amphibious and anti-submarine warfare operations, primarily against the German Kreigsmarine, using Catalina flying boats. The island was also used as a stopping off point for aircraft crossing the Atlantic from the US to the war zones in Europe and Africa.
1938
SG 38 to 47
Landscapes and Scenes
Issued: 12th May 1938. Printed recess by Del La Rue and perf 13½ on 'Multiple Script CA' watermarked paper.
This attractive series of 16 stamps (not including variants) depict a portrait of King George VI in an oval surmounted by a crown. Inside the central frame are various scenes (some repeated) and places around Ascension, including George Town (the capital and chief settlement), Green Mountain (also known as 'The Peak' and the highest point on Ascension), The Three Sisters (also known as 'Sisters Peak'), The Pier and Long Beach (just under a kilometre long, adjacent to Georgetown and is the most important nesting beach for green turtles).
