20th Anniversary of the Republic

Turkey marked the twentieth anniversary of the Republic on 29 October 1943 with a set of six. Domfil enters one of them, the 4½ kuruş olive, as 943.30 «Desfile / March-past», and that value is catalogued here; the other five are recorded below as non-scout companions.

The design is a photographic view of a column of youths in white shirts and dark shorts marching past a saluting official, printed by Alâeddin Kıral Basımevi. The inscription reads TÜRKİYE POSTALARI above and CUMHURİYETİN 20 nci YILDÖNÜMÜ HATIRASI below — in memory of the twentieth anniversary of the Republic. Colnect titles it Soccer Team on Parade.

The Scout claim on this stamp is weak and worth stating plainly. There is no fleur-de-lis, no Scout hat, no organisation named anywhere on the design, and the marchers wear plain athletic kit. Enlarging the original resolves the collars as open shirt necks rather than neckerchiefs. What Domfil indexes is the march-past itself, the same motif it uses for Pioneer and state-youth parades elsewhere; on the evidence of the stamp this is a sports or civic parade of the republican anniversary, and the entry rests on the catalogue's judgement rather than on anything visible in the design.

The set runs Michel TR 1161–1166, Scott TR 922–927, Yvert TR 1020–1025 and Unificato 1020/1025; Domfil gives the range as 943.30/35.