Christine Earle, FRPSL
Few, if any, have done more for philately in Surrey than Christine Earle.
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Chris was always willing to come along and give a display, often at short notice, and even if you could only guarantee very small numbers.
She would say: “The number doesn’t matter. It could be that there is just one person there who takes it all
in, really enjoys it and then has a go themselves. That is what matters, and you can get that with ten as you can with 110.”
Another story was when she was talking about winning a local club competition for the first time.
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“I was so proud,” she said. “Not because I won and had something to show when I got back home but just before going to sleep that night, I thought to myself: 'There, I can do it.’
"It may have only been a little thing to some, but the amount of confidence it gave me can’t be measured.”
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Christine loved her local Bookham Stamp Club where she was a long-standing committee member and Chair in 2013-15. But those who knew her local contribution did not know half of Christine's story. Her thematic and social displays won national and international awards and she was a well-respected national and international judge.
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Christine was elected a Fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society in 2004 where she served as Hon. Secretary from 2008 to 2013. She was also Chair of the Philatelic Fund and a member of the committee for the Queen’s visit in 2019.
Christine was, in addition, an active member of the National Philatelic Society where she regularly displayed her outstanding thematic material. She also judged the NPS competitions and wrote feature articles for Stamp Lover magazine.
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She died on Thursday 28th January 2021.
Richard Stock, the President of the Royal Philatelic Society (London), said: “Her friendliness, humour and support will be missed by Fellows, Members and everyone who knew her.”
They always say that people will be missed, but in Christine's case that is especially true. We send condolences to all those who loved her - as we all did.