The Ward Club enjoyed a thrilling tour of the Royal Philatelic Society, located at 15 Abchurch Lane in the Ward, which is a splendid Edwardian building that was formerly the Gresham Club and the London Capital Club.

The tour included each of the Society’s primary functions, including a visit inside the stamp vault. We were treated to London’s Coffee House mail - the home of the City’s insurance industry and which includes the oldest extant insurance policy document, the City of London revenue stamps and most impressively, the Guildhall Exhibition celebrating fifty years of the Penny Black - a grand Exhibition and Conversazione, organised by the Corporation of the City of London at Guildhall in May 1890.

The event was held over three days and was initiated by Sir James Whitehead, the former Lord Mayor, to benefit the Rowland Hill Benevolent Fund and was attended by the Prince of Wales. We were honoured to see this exhibition, especially it was the first time it has been re-staged since 1890.