Highland Airways - Extension to Wick

Highland Airways. Company Envelopes extension to Wick.

On the 1st December 1934 Highland Airways extended the Inverness to Kirkwall route to include Wick on the North Coast of Scotland. The route was timed to enable passengers to meet the train going from Inverness to Glasgow. To commemorate this new mail event the company produced 650 commemorative envelopes. They were divided into 4 lots going through the routes that included Wick and 20 that went from Inverness to Kirkwall. There were no commemorative envelopes going from Kirkwall to Inverness. The envelope was a big bold pattern that was in total contrast to the rather dull company envelope used to commemorate the first flight to Kirkwall.

Extension to Wick - The Vignette

The company had R.B. McMillan Ltd of Derby print 1000 advertising vignettes for the route extension. Most of the Company envelopes used vignettes and they also appeared on private envelopes as the Company sold them to the public at 1/- each.

Progressive proofs

Adopted designs. There were two designs accepted. The second is by far the most used.

The first flight vignette in a mint block of six. Mint blocks are very scarce.

The John O’Groats Journal Advertising Envelope

The John O’Groats journal of Wick produced an advertising envelope to commemorate the extension. There are three types. 1a. The Christmas number for the first flight. Has the text ‘FIRST AIR MAIL/FROM WICK’ above the plane. Has the date in red below the plane. In the right corner below Lord Alness has the text. ‘ORDER YOUR CHRISTMAS NUMBER NOW’’. 1b. First general use envelope. ‘FIRST AIR MAIL/FROM WICK’ is replaced by the more general ‘INVERNESS TO WICK/AIR MAIL’. Below the plane are the journey times ‘Arrives Wick …. 11.5 am/Departs for South 1.30 pm’. There is no reference to the Christmas number. 1c. Second general use envelope. As above except the ‘Departs for South 1.30 pm’ has been edited in red manuscript to 2. p.m.’ The company also produced an insert for the envelopes that advertised both Highland Airways and the journal.

The Orcadian produced an envelope for the extension to Wick without the advertising. There was just one first flight envelope. This example is sent from Kirkwall to Wick.

The Alexander Cross Envelopes

Another kind of souvenir envelope produced for the Wick extension were the Cross envelopes. Printed by Alexander Cross these were all sent to himself ‘Poste Restante’. The top line on the top left of the envelope has the route leg. Underneath is space for an air mail label. Then there is a boxed picture of a black and white plane. Underneath written in red is ‘Opening of the regular/Air Mail Service by/Highland Airways Ltd/between Inverness/Wick and Kirkwall/1 st Dec 1934’. There were 6 covers for all legs but the Inverness - Kirkwall and Kirkwall - Inverness are slightly different from the other four in that the leg information is in 12pt rather than 10 and there is only one bar separating the words Kirkwall and Inverness.

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F Wick to Kirkwall Kirkwall to Wick Inverness to Kirkwall. Only 20 flown Mint envelope

This is a used example of the Wick to Kirkwall leg. All Cross envelopes were sent Poste Restante, so they all have backstamps.

Inverness to Wick. Pilot signed.

Wick to Inverness

British Internal Airmails of the 1930’s

Type 1a. John O’Groats Journal First Flight envelope Insert for the John O’Groats envelope Type 1b. John O’Groats Journal General envelope Type 1c. John O’Groats Journal General envelope

Inverness to Wick Wick to Inverness Wick to Kirkwall Wick to Kirkwall Inverness to Wick. Mint. Wick to Inverness. Mint. Wick to Kirkwall. Mint. Kirkwall to Wick. Mint.

The vignette as used on a plain envelope.

Inverness to Kirkwall. Mint. 12 pt bold type. Kirkwall to Inverness. Mint. 12pt bold type

Wick to Kirkwall

Kirkwall to Wick

Inverness to Kirkwall. Only 20 flown

Mint envelope

Type 1a. John O’Groats Journal First Flight envelope

Insert for the John O’Groats envelope

Type 1b. John O’Groats Journal General envelope

Type 1c. John O’Groats Journal General envelope

Inverness to Wick

Wick to Inverness

Wick to Kirkwall

Inverness to Wick. Mint.

Wick to Inverness. Mint.

Wick to Kirkwall. Mint.

Kirkwall to Wick. Mint.

Inverness to Kirkwall. Mint. 12 pt bold type.

Kirkwall to Inverness. Mint. 12pt bold type

Highland Airways Timetable

Although undated this is the Airlines first timetable produced in 1933. The timetable produced in 1934 shows flights from Aberdeen.

Stromness First Flight Covers to Wick

The first six month trial contract for Highland Airways was very restictive. Only letters under 2oz were carried and even postcards had to go by steamer. Another tight restriction was that airmail went to Kirkwall only. Any mail to towns and villages outside of Kirkwall went by steamer. Stromness the second largest town on the Mainland and in the far South West corner, petitioned the GPO for an air service. But the GPO denied the request on the ground of cost. Although the GPO refused to send a van from Stromness to Kirkwall to meet the plane on a regular basis it appears that on the 1st December 1933 when Wick (already a passenger stop) became a mail destination. mail was sent from Stromness to the plane at Kirkwall. Whether this was official or unnofficial is unknown, but mail from Stromness postmarked on the 1st December got on the plane from Kirkwall. A van would have taken the mail to Kirkwall so any mail marked Stromness - Wick is essentially Kirkwall - Wick. An example of the Stromness - Wick cachet and the backstamp is shown below. It is thought this was a one off and subsequently Stromness mail reverted to the steamer.