Charles Wyndham Goodwyn (11 March 1934 – 10 June 2015) was a British

philatelist Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is possi ...

, and was Keeper of the

Royal Philatelic Collection The Royal Philatelic Collection is the postage stamp collection of the British royal family. It is the most comprehensive collection of items related to the philately of the United Kingdom and the British Commonwealth, with many unique pieces. ...

from September 1995 to January 2003. He was an expert in the philately of Hong Kong and China.Courtney, Nicholas (2004). ''The Queen's Stamps'', pp. 302–308.

Organised philately

From 1991 to 1993, he served as president of the

Royal Philatelic Society London The Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL) is the oldest philatelic society in the world. It was founded on 10 April 1869 as ''The Philatelic Society, London''. The society runs a postal museum, the Spear Museum of Philatelic History, at its he ...

(RPSL), of which he was elected Honorary Fellow in 1995.

Royal Philatelic Collection

In 1993, he was hired as assistant to John Marriott, the Keeper of the

. Since the constitution of this collection by

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

, it was the first time its curator was no more alone. In September 1995, Goodwyn replaced Marriott who retired from the post of Keeper. As Keeper, Goodwyn continued his predecessors' tasks: to mount the British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

collection sent by the postal administrations and the purchases made during George VI's and

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

's reigns, and to exhibit at international stamp shows. He opened the Collection to postal historians or students whereas only members of the RPSL Expert Committee had regularly been allowed since the time of George V. When he sold in 2001, amongst duplicates, the collections of

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

and of the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...

to pay the 250.000 pounds for the Kirkcudbright cover, he reinforced the British Commonwealth specialization of the Royal Collection. Like Marriott, he got assistants and that helped hurry the mounting of the George VI collection. In September 1996,

Michael Sefi Michael Richard Sefi LVO (born 11 December 1943) is a British philatelist and was the Keeper of the Royal Philatelic Collection from 1 January 2003. Life Sefi was born in London. When he was a child, his grandfather introduced him to stamp c ...

became adjoint to the Keeper after architect Surésh Dhargalkar was hired as an assistant in April 1996. Not a philatelist, the latter could however replaced Goodwyn and travelled with parts of the Collection to exhibition. Weaker after an Australian exhibition in 1999 and the moving of the Royal Collection from

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

to St. James's Palace around 2000,Courtney, Nicholas (2004). ''The Queen's Stamps'', page 310. Goodwyn retired in January 2003 and was replaced by Sefi.Courtney, Nicholas (2004). ''The Queen's Stamps'', page 312.

Outside philately

Goodwyn had the degree of LLB.

Honours and awards

Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

in 2002. * Knight of the Ordre de Saint-Charles in

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

. * Signed the

Roll of Distinguished Philatelists The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists (RDP) is a Philately, philatelic award of international scale, created by the Philatelic Congress of Great Britain in 1921. The Roll consists of five pieces of parchment to which the signatories add their n ...

. * Smithsonian Philatelic Achievement Award in 2002.Page of the award
,

National Postal Museum The National Postal Museum, located opposite Union Station in Washington, D.C., United States, covers large portions of the Postal history of the United States and other countries. It was established through joint agreement between the United S ...

, retrieved 18 December 2007. * He received the Queen Elizabeth II Version of the

Royal Household Long and Faithful Service Medal The Royal Household Long and Faithful Service Medal is a civil decoration awarded by the British monarch to servants of the royal household for long and faithful service. History The Royal Household Long and Faithful Service Medal was establish ...

for 20 years of service to the British Royal Family in 2003.

Publications

* ''Royal Reform: postal reform 1837–1841 as reflected in the Royal Philatelic Collection'', The

Stuart Rossiter Trust The Stuart Rossiter Trust is a British charitable trust (registered charity number 292076) that was created by the will of the philatelist and postal historian Stuart Rossiter and subsequently the will of his mother. The trust was established in 19 ...

, 2000.

References and sources

;References ;Sources * Courtney, Nicholas (2004). ''The Queen's Stamps. The Authorised History of the

'', éd. Methuen, 2004, . {{DEFAULTSORT:Goodwyn, Charles 1934 births 2015 deaths British philatelists Lieutenants of the Royal Victorian Order Presidents of the Royal Philatelic Society London Signatories to the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists