"THE CZECH SCOUT POST 1918"

Scout Post Service

During the first days of Independence of the Czechoslovak Republic (at the evening of 28th October 1918) an auxiliary Scout Post Service was created in Prague to assist the National Committee.  The then Deputy Chief Scout and Member of the Government J.Rössler Orovsky offered in organizing this Service as well as in designing and printing suitable stamps and cancellations.

Between the 7th (official start of mail delivery) and the 25th November 1918 (last day), official correspondence from and to the Members of the National Committee, the Police, different organizations and government stations, as well as individual personalities was guaranteed a rapid, secure and discrete delivery made on foot or with a bicycle by the Sea Scouts having their Headquarters at the Czech Yacht Club, on Streletsky Island in the centre of Prague.  Main destinations, apart of the National Committee’s Headquarters at Harrachovsky Palace, were the Ministry of Justice, the Prague Fortress, the Parliament and the Telegraph Office at the west bank of the Vltava river and the Rail Station, the Post and Telegraph Office and other places in the east bank.

The idea of printing Scout stamps was first put in September that year.  On October 20th a design depicting the national character of the Service was adopted and 30000 stamps of the blue 10 H and 50000 of the red 20 H values plus 1000 pieces of a blue 10 H stationary forming all colours of the Czechoslovak flag were printed.  They were engraved by J.Panenka and printed by Kolmar House, while the relevant postmarks and marks were made by Karnet & Kysely.  All stamps were printed one by one, so there is no block or sheet in existence whatsoever.  Both stamps (600 pieces each) were also overprinted “Arrival of President Masaryk” for that occasion.