The Julian Chapman Memorial Scholarship is made available to philatelists, wherever resident, wishing to study Commonwealth stamps or postal history. The scholarship, in memory of Julian Ernest Chapman and administered by The Royal Philatelic Society London, will be a contribution towards research costs, especially travel, accommodation and subsistence for a trip, particularly overseas.

Applications, which may be made at any time, should include: an outline of the subject to be studied and how it relates to the applicant’s previous philatelic research; intentions as to publication of the results of the study; an accurate costing of the trip, including places and organisations to be visited, and a short philatelic curriculum vitae (including personal details, collecting interests, previous publications and philatelic achievements).

Potential applicants are invited in the first instance to write for fuller details to: The Julian Chapman Memorial Scholarship, The Royal Philatelic Society London, 15 Abchurch Lane, London EC4N 7BW, UK.

Members of the Committee:

R J West (Chairman), N R N Gooch, A N Moorcroft.

About Julian Chapman

Julian Ernest Chapman was born in England on 5 January 1952 and emigrated to Australia with his parents in the 1960s. In 1973, he graduated with a Batchelor of Commerce degree in Economics from the University of New South Wales. He became a teacher and was later employed as a financial administrator in the Australian Federal Department of Agriculture. He died in September 1994, aged 42. His father died in 1992 and his mother in 1999. Julian was an only child and had never married.

Julian had several pastimes but his main interests centred on philately and coin collecting. His philatelic interests included British Africa and Gibraltar, the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland, and the postal history of Lundy Island. He became a member of The Royal Philatelic Society London in 1975 and was elected a Fellow in 1987.

Julian expressed a wish to bequeath some money to the Royal and following his death provision was made in his mother’s will for establishing a scholarship in memory of her son. Following Mrs Chapman’s death the Royal received a bequest and a Memorial Scholarship has been established. 

Recipients of the Julian Chapman Memorial Scholarship:

• 2001 Peter Newroth, Victoria, Canada
• 2002 Bernard Manning, Kew East, Australia, and Denis Vandervelde, London, England
• 2003 David Stotter, Woking, England
• 2004 Neil Donen, Victoria, Canada, and John Watts, New Zealand
• 2005 David Tett FRPSL, Wheathampstead, England
• 2006 Anita McCullough, London, England, and Bernard Beston, Queensland, Australia
• 2007 Professor Akthem Al-Manaseer FRPSL, USA, for work on the 1917 Baghdad and 1919 Mosul stamps.
• 2008 Thomas Slemons FRPSL, USA and Jim Kotanchik
• 2009 Derek Diamond FRPSL, England, for study of the first pictorial issue of New Zealand 1895-1911, and George Stewart FRPSL of New Zealand for study of the Southern Rhodesia 1937 definitive issue.
• 2012 Graham Winters FRPSL, England, and Kurt Kimmel FRPSL, Switzerland, to visit Colombo, Sri Lanka to research the 1885 postal crisis in Ceylon; see the Press Release.
• 2012 Dr Christopher Board FRPSL, England, to visit South Africa to research the 1910 commemorative issue.
• 2013 Barry Burns FRPSL and Bernard Mabbett, to visit St Helena to organise the archives of the St Helena Post Office so as to be easily accessible for researchers; see the Press Release.
• 2017 Ben Palmer FRPSL, to visit New York and Queensland to undertake research for his forthcoming book The Pre-UPU Mail of Queensland; see the Press Release.