Sir David Parkes Masson CIE

Order of the Indian Empire

The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1878. The Order includes members of three classes:#Knight Grand Commander #Knight Commander #Companion...

 VD

Volunteer Decoration

The Volunteer Officers' Decoration was created by Royal Warrant under command of Queen Victoria on 25 July 1892 to reward 'efficient and capable' officers of the Volunteer Force who had served for twenty years...

 (1847 – 30 December 1915) was a British philatelist who was one of the "Fathers of Philately" entered on the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists

Roll of Distinguished Philatelists

The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists is a philatelic award of international scale, created by the Philatelic Congress of Great Britain in 1921...

 in 1921. He was a wealthy banker in India, owned large estates in Malaysia and held a number of important public offices in British India.

Philately

Masson was a former Treasurer, Vice President and President of the Philatelic Society of India

Philatelic Society of India

The Philatelic Society of India was formed in 1897 by a group of, mainly, expatriate Englishmen resident in the country as the first all-India philatelic society...

and a frequent contributor to the Philatelic Journal of India. He was a member of The Philatelic Society, London, now The Royal Philatelic Society London, and a Fellow of that society from 1899. He formed world class collections of Afghanistan and Kashmir, as well as important collections of Ceylon, Portuguese India, Sirmoor, Poonch and British India. His work showed that the so-called first issue of Kashmir was bogus, a feat which The London Philatelist

The London Philatelist

The London Philatelist was first published in January 1892 and is the journal of the Royal Philatelic Society London.It is published ten times annually and includes coverage of worldwide philatelic and postal history topics...

 called "...one of the most memorable and startling of accepted disclosures ever made in philately".

Outside philately

Masson lived much of his life in India. He was Managing Director of the Punjab Banking Co. of Lahore, Karachi and Kashmir. He served as ADC to the Commander-in-Chief and Viceroy of India, and for fifteen years was Lieutenant-Colonel in the 1st Punjab Volunteer Rifles. He was a Deputy Grand Master of Masonry in the Punjab, holder of the Volunteer Decoration, a Member of the Council of the Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab and a Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire.

Death

Masson contracted a serious illness while inspecting his estates in Penang

Penang

Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...

 and was obliged to return to London, where he died on 30 December 1915. He left a widow, Therese Emilie Louise Masson, and a daughter, Marie Therese Stanley-Creek. He was buried at Brookwood on 1 January 1916.

Selected publications

• Jammu and Kashmir. (Two parts bound together) Calcutta & Lahore: Philatelic Society of India
  Philatelic Society of India
  The Philatelic Society of India was formed in 1897 by a group of, mainly, expatriate Englishmen resident in the country as the first all-India philatelic society...
  
  , 1900 & 1901. Online excerpts.
• Sirmoor I. Calcutta: Supplement to the British Journal of India, Vol. 10, 1906.
• The Postage Stamps of Afghanistan. Madras: Philatelic Society of India, 1908. (With B. Gordon Jones)