Alan Keith Huggins MBE (May 1936 – 27 June 2025) 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. While closely associated with stamp collecting and the study of postage, it is possible ...

who in 1981, with Marcus Samuel, was awarded the

Crawford Medal :::''See also'' Crawford Award for fantasy novels. :::''See also'' Max Crawford Medal Australian academic award. The Crawford Medal is a vermeil medal awarded by the Royal Philatelic Society London for the most valuable and original contribution t ...

for his work ''Specimen stamps and stationery of Great Britain''. Huggins specialized in British postal stationery and had been a philatelic expert in the subject since 1980 and an AIEP (International Association of Philatelic Experts) member since 2001. He 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 to honour those who have advanced philately through research, expertise, or service. ...

in 1983 and served as Keeper of the Roll from 2003 to 2008. He was an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society, London and received its Bacon Medal in 2014 and its Tilleard Medal in 2018. He received the Collectors Club’s

Lichtenstein Medal The Lichtenstein Medal, also known as the ''Alfred F. Lichtenstein Memorial Award for Distinguished Service to Philately'' is given annually to a living individual for outstanding service to philately. Origin The Lichtenstein Medal was establishe ...

in 1994, the FIP Medal for Service in 2004 and the FEPA Award for Service in 2009. In the

1996 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1996 were appointments by most of the sixteen Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other c ...

list, Huggins was appointed

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 ...

(MBE) for services to the British Philatelic Trust. This was the first occasion this honour was given within philately, other than those awarded directly by the monarch to the 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. Of ...

. Huggins was a one-time President of the

Royal Philatelic Society London The Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL) is the oldest philately, 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 ...

and also a one-time Chairman of The

Postal Stationery Society The Postal Stationery Society was formed on 26 September 1992 at an inaugural meeting held at the Union Jack Club, London.,''Gibbons Stamp Monthly'', July 2013. Starting in February 1993 the Society has published a ''Journal'' containing Society ...

(1992–1999). Huggins was trained as a biochemist. His PhD thesis was titled ''Uncoupling reagents and intermediary metabolism in isolated tissues'' (1962; King's College School of Medicine and Dentistry). He followed a career as an academic and then as a University Administrator. He was Deputy Secretary at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

from 1986 to 1990 and its Pro-Provost from 1997 to 2002. Huggins died on 27 June 2025, at the age of 89.

Philatelic publications

* ''British Postal Stationery: A Priced Handbook of the Postal Stationery of Great Britain''. London: Great Britain Philatelic Society, London, 1970 188p. * ''The De La Rue Punch Book''. London: Robson Lowe, 1979 16p. (Published as a Supplement to The Philatelic Journal of Great Britain, June 1979.) * (with Marcus Samuel) ''Specimen Stamps and Stationery of Great Britain.'' Safron Walden: G.B. Philatelic Publications Ltd., 1980 254p. * ''The Origin, Development and Usage of British Postal Stationery in the Nineteenth Century; notes on a display presented to The Collectors Club, New York, Wednesday, 5 June 1991''. London: The Author, 1991 8p. * ''Competitive Exhibiting at Local and Federation Level''. London: The Association of British Philatelic Societies Ltd, with support by the British Philatelic Trust, 2001 12p. Series Title: ABPS Booklet; No. 3. * (with Peter Langmead) ''The Telegraph Stamps and Stationery of Great Britain 1851-1954''. Putney: Published by GB Philatelic Publications Ltd. for the Great Britain Philatelic Society, 2003 190p. * (with Colin Baker) ''Collect British Postal Stationery: A Simplified Listing of British Postal Stationery 1840 to 2007''. Gerrards Cross: GB Philatelic Publications Ltd, 2007 151p. * (with Edward Klempka) ''Great Britain: The 1840 Prepaid Parliamentary Envelopes''. London: The Royal Philatelic Society London, 2013 99p. * (with Alan Holyoake) ''The Mulready Postal Stationery: Its Genesis, Production and Usage''. Sutton Coldfield: GB Philatelic Publications, 2015 211p.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huggins, Alan K. 1936 births 2025 deaths British philatelists Presidents of the Royal Philatelic Society London Signatories to the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists Members of the Order of the British Empire Provosts of University College London