About Avion

We at Avion have been satisfying collectors for over 70 years, having been established in 1948 by Ken West. The current owners, Roger and Sue West, have taken the family business to new levels catering for the specialist and thematic collector. Here's a little background about the current owners and the business...

Roger B West

Roger is a well known philatelist and an acknowledged expert in the stamps of St Helena. In 1994 he edited the handbook 'Madame Joseph Forged Postmarks' which has been widely acclaimed as one of the most important philatelic reference works. Roger has a number of displays which prove popular when shown to Societies all over the United Kingdom namely St Helena Forgeries, Tete-Beche, Dominica, Specimen Stamps and his highly acclaimed 'An Evening Wasted'. Outside of philately, Roger enjoys good music (mainly Jazz, Classical, Country and Easy Listening) and in recent years has taken up playing the keyboard. His other passion is cooking - Chinese cuisine being his forte.

Sue West

Sue has been Roger's wife and partner for over forty years and plays an important role in the running of the business.

Sue collects shells on stamps and enjoys 'popular' music but her main hobby is patchwork and quilting.

The Business

Our unrivaled stock is vast by any standard boasting over 100,000 items. This stock includes basic stamps (mint, used and on cover), some of the more difficult Gulf States and a fine range of 'Locals'. We also include a superb selection of errors, varieties and proofs - an area of philately we have become so closely associated with. In more recent times we have introduced postmarks and slogans, and an interesting selection of forgeries. All in all, a stock with items for all collectors.

Being so vast, the Avion Thematic stock is methodically listed on the Apple-Mac computer and so arranged that each item may be called up by Country or Theme. If you were interested in 'Birds' for example, your list would contain over 7,500 items. If you wanted only 'Birds of Prey" this would be reduced to 1,950 items and if you confined your interest to just 'Owls', then you'd have a list of 1,120.

Each item Is fully described and identified with a catalogue number (usually Stanley Gibbons, but may be Michel or Scott). There will also be our own reference number and this is all you need quote if placing an order. For your convenience, we accept payment by credit cards, personal cheques (UK Sterling only), bank drafts (drawn on a UK bank) or cash in Sterling, US Dollars or Euros. For small sums we accept current GB postage stamps at 90% face value.

All orders are dispatched the day they are received (except during holiday periods) and are sent fully insured in well protected envelopes.

We are active members at local philatelic societies and sponsors of the 'Phoenix Trophy Competition'. Our collective knowledge is always at the disposal of anyone who asks. We will be happy to serve you in any way we can.

So if you would like to receive a FREE LIST, please let us know your collecting interests. Or if you have a query on any aspect of philately, we will be happy to help - albeit what to collect, how to arrange your collection or perhaps what to invest in, please contact us by clicking here