Raymond James George Collins (8 August 1897 – 5 June 1965) was a New Zealand

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. While closely associated with stamp collecting and the study of postage, it is possible ...

who was added to 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 to honour those who have advanced philately through research, expertise, or service. ...

in 1936 and was the youngest man to receive that honour.Birch, Brian. (2013)
Biographies of Philatelists and Dealers
'. 13th edition. Standish, Wigan: Brian Birch, p. 633. Collins was unable to attend the signing ceremony in person."The 23rd Philatelic Congress of Great Britain, Paignton. June 9th-12th, 1936." ''

The London Philatelist ''The London Philatelist'' was first published in January 1892
by Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

on 14 December 1922. Also in 1922, Collins organized the first New Zealand philatelic exhibition and congress, at which the New Zealand Philatelic Council was formed. That same year he was appointed the New Zealand representative of the

Royal Philatelic Society 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 ...

. The founder of Verne Collins & Company of Christchurch, he was a prolific author on the philately of New Zealand and edited and published the ''New Zealand Stamp Collector'' until shortly before his death."R.J.G. Collins, M.B.E." ''The London Philatelist'', Vol. 74, pp. 167. He was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in the

1957 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1957 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced in supplements to the ''Lon ...

Selected publications

* * * * *

References

1897 births 1965 deaths New Zealand philatelists Philately of New Zealand Signatories to the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire {{NewZealand-bio-stub