Winter Charles Renouf CIE (5 March 1868 – 28 June 1954) was a British member of the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British Raj, British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 3 ...

who specialised in agriculture. He was also a justice of the peace in India, official member of the Central Legislative Assembly, and political agent at

Bahawalpur Bahawalpur (Urdu: ; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the 13th largest city of Pakistan and List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, 8th most populous city of Punjab. Bahawalpur is the capital of Bahawalpur Division. Founded in ...

. In 1921, he was president of the Cantonment Reforms Committee set up by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

. He retired in 1922. Renouf was a noted

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 one of the first to take an interest in early Indian postal markings and British Indian stamps used abroad. He edited '' The Philatelic Journal of India'' and was Hon. Vice-President of the

Philatelic Society of India The Philatelic Society of India (PSI) was formed in 1897 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. ...

. His philatelic work was continued by Jal Cooper and his classification system of Indian postal markings continues to be referred to as "Renouf types".

Early life and family

Winter Renouf was born on 5 March 1868 in

St Helier St Helier (; Jèrriais: ; ) is the Capital city, capital of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. It is the most populous of the twelve parishes of Jersey, with a population of 35,822, over one-third of the island' ...

, Jersey, in the Channel Islands. His father, Francis G. Renouf, was a mathematician and a

master mariner A master mariner is a licensed mariner who holds the highest grade of licensed seafarer qualification; namely, a master's license. A master mariner is therefore allowed to serve as the captain (nautical), master of a merchant ship for which natio ...

, and his mother was Elizabeth J. Renouf (née Vardon).
Background notes on The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists September 2011
', Roll of Distinguished Philatelists Trust, London, 2011
Archived here.
/ref> He was educated at Victoria College, Jersey, before attending Wren and Gurney's preparatory school in London from where he won a scholarship to Christ Church, University of Oxford. He passed the examination of the

in 1887 in second place. Renouf married Ellie Marion (née Sheeu) on 14 November 1893, at

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...

. Their best man was Mr O'Dwyer. Ellie died in 1941.

Career

Renouf reached India in 1889 where he joined the Bengal Civil Service. He served in the Punjab as assistant commissioner at

Murree Murree () is a mountain resort city in the northernmost region of the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Lying in the Galyat region of the Pir Panjal Range under the western Himalayas, it forms the outskirts of the Islamabad–Rawal ...

. In 1892 he was appointed Justice of the Peace and in 1899 he was appointed deputy commissioner. In 1901, he became director of land records and agriculture. In 1910, he published a bulletin on the advantages of growing "

hard Hard means something that is difficult to do. It may also refer to: * Hardness, resistance of physical materials to deformation or fracture * Hard water, water with high mineral content Arts and entertainment * Hard (TV series), ''Hard'' (TV ser ...

" Canadian red wheats there over the " soft" white wheats that predominated, the latter having been introduced following a report by McDougall Brothers in their favour in 1882. He was an official member of the

Central Legislative Assembly The Central Legislative Assembly was the lower house of the Indian Legislature, the legislature of British India. It was created by the Government of India Act 1919, implementing the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms. It was also sometimes calle ...

and

political agent Political Agent or political agent may refer to: *Political Resident, a representative with consular duties and political contacts with local chiefs * Political officer (British Empire), an officer of the British imperial civil administration, also ...

. In 1921, he was president of the Cantonment Reforms Committee set up by the

before retiring the following year.

Philately

Renouf was a noted philatelist who was one of the first to take an interest in early Indian postal markings and British Indian stamps used abroad, publishing monographs on those subjects in 1919 and 1920 respectively. He edited ''The Philatelic Journal of India'' and was Hon. Vice-President of the Philatelic Society of India. He signed the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists in 1921. He joined 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 ...

in 1923 where he was proposed by

Edward Denny Bacon Sir Edward Denny Bacon (29 August 1860 – 5 June 1938)
in the

and Herbert R. Oldfield. His work on early Indian cancellations was expanded and re-written as an appendix to volume three (Asia) of

Robson Lowe John Harry Robson Lowe (7 January 1905, London – 19 August 1997, Bournemouth) was an English professional philatelist, stamp dealer and stamp auctioneer. Life and career Robson Lowe is regarded by philatelists as the father of postal his ...

's ''The Encyclopaedia of British Empire Postage Stamps 1775-1950''. In an obituary in 1954, Jal Cooper, whose philatelic interests coincided with Renouf's and who continued his work, described Renouf as one of the "stalwarts" of early Indian philately."The Late Mr. W. C. Renouf, C.I.E., I.C.S.", Jal Cooper, ''News Sheet''. India Study Circle, No. 20 (1954), p. 2. His Indian collection was auctioned by Robson Lowe in 1960.Who Was Who in British Philately

Association of British Philatelic Societies The Association of British Philatelic Societies, commonly known as the ''ABPS'', is the British national association of philatelic societies, regional philatelic federations, and specialist philatelic societies.Archived here.
/ref>

Death and legacy

Renouf died at his home in Jersey on 28 June 1954"Mr. W. C. Renouf", ''The Times'', 1 July 1954, p. 10. after a "very painful and long illness" during the last two years of which he became blind, causing him to be unable to follow his hobby of philately which he regarded as a great loss. He received an obituary from Jal Cooper in the newsletter of the India Study Circle. He is buried with his wife at St Clement, Jersey. His classification of Indian postmarks is still referred to in the pages of the India Study Circle's ''India Post'' as "Renouf types"."Underpaid", Clifford Gregory, ''India Post'', Vol. 39, No. 161 (March 2005), p. 37.

Publications

Articles

* "The Cultivation of 'Stronger' and More Valuable Wheats for Export from the Punjab", ''Bulletin'', No. 1 (1910), Department of Agriculture, Punjab. * "Early Indian Cancellations, 1855-1884". Appendix I (pp. 485-549) in Robson Lowe (Ed.) ''The Encyclopaedia of British Empire Postage Stamps 1775-1950. Volume III The Empire in Asia''. Robson Lowe Ltd., London, 1951.

Books

* ''Early Indian Cancellations and Postmarks 1852-84''. Philatelic Society of India, Lahore, 1919. (Supplement, 1923) * ''British-Indian Stamps Used Abroad''. Philatelic Society of India, Lahore, 1920. (Supplement, 1923)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Renouf, Winter Charles British philatelists 1868 births 1954 deaths Signatories to the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists People educated at Victoria College, Jersey Indian Civil Service (British India) officers Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire Philately of India Jersey people Justices of the peace Members of the Central Legislative Assembly of India