WASC resources: the Atlantic Islands

An introduction to the postal history of the islands

'Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha' is a British Overseas Territory located in the South Atlantic and consisting of the island of Saint Helena, Ascension Island, and the archipelago of Tristan da Cunha (including Gough Island). Its name was Saint Helena and Dependencies until 1 September 2009, when a new constitution came into force, giving the three islands equal status as three territories, with a grouping under the Crown. The islands, though small and remote, have a complex postal history. The St. Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Philatelic Society gives further information.

Documents relevant to the area

St Helena and Ascension

Between 1983 and 2003 WASC published 39 issues of the St. Helena And Ascension Supplement, a journal specialising in the philately of those islands. These supplements have now been scanned (thanks to Stephen Garland) and may be downloaded individually from the links below.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39

Ascension

In the 1950s and 1960s, Study Editors compiled documents on various aspects of WASC philately for circulation amongst interested members. In some cases the information therein was published in Cameo, or incorporated into books. However, not all such is already in the public domain, and we have added links below from which you can view and download copies of two monographs relating to Ascension.

Ascension study paper 1 by Beale 1988
Ascension study paper 2 by Beale

Tristan da Cunha

George Crabb (1980): "The History and Postal History of Tristan da Cunha" is a comprehensive study of the island's mail. Self-published - copies are scarce.