British Empire Study Group

Join the British Empire Study Group on Thursday, November 12th at 6 pm (ET) 11 pm GMT

The BEESG hosts -Regime Change in Vietnam: illustrated through Postal Artifacts with Earl Toops
ISSUES OF THE PROVISIONAL REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT AND RESTORATION OF POSTAL SERVICES IN THE DEFEATED SOUTH

When a government falls, how does its successor establish authority—and get everyday life moving again?
Join Earl Troops for a fascinating look at Vietnam’s transformation during and after the war, told through the postal artifacts that carried its political messages. These small, everyday objects reveal a larger story of revolution, propaganda, national identity, and the struggle to govern.

During the conflict, the National Liberation Front and the Provisional Revolutionary Government issued stamps to promote their cause and assert their claim to power. After the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, those same issues helped restore postal service across the defeated South, connecting people as the country moved toward reunification.
Through these tangible traces of a turbulent era, Toops explores the often-overlooked period between South Vietnam’s collapse and the creation of a unified Vietnam in July 1976. Discover how ordinary mail can preserve the stories that official histories leave behind.

For anyone interested in history, politics, art, or Vietnam. No stamp-collecting knowledge is needed.

Join the British Empire Study Group on Thursday, November 12, at 6 p.m. Eastern Time when Earl Toops presents Regime Change in Vietnam: Issues of the Provisional Revolutionary Government and Restoration of Postal Services in the Defeated South

📅 Thursday, November 12th 2026
🕕 6:00 PM Eastern Time (New York)
🎤Earl Toops

This is a free and open event—all are welcome. Membership is neither required or expected.

A discussion will follow the presentation, with everyone welcome to participate. Closed captioning and Computer language translation are available.

About Earl Toops

Earl is a retired USAF Security Police officer (1970-90) and served in Vietnam with the 377th Security Police Squadron at Tan Son Nhut Airbase from November 1972 to March 1973. He left Vietnam on 28 March 1973, one day before all US troops had to be out of Vietnam under the terms of the Paris Peace Accords signed on 27 January 1973. He completed his Southeast Asia tour with the 8th Security Police Squadron at Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base. In addition to Vietnam and Thailand, other overseas assignments included Japan, Iran, Turkey, Germany and Iceland. After retirement, Earl lived in Bahrain, Germany and the UK (1992-2013), for a total of 33 years living overseas. In the mid/late '70's, he developed an interest in the NLF/PRG issues and began competitively exhibiting this material in local stamp shows in Germany in 1983-84. His exhibit was thrown out of a local Midwest show in 1983 for having "illegal material." His presentation entitled "Regime Change in Vietnam: Issues of the Provisional Revolutionary Government and Restoration of Postal Services in the Defeated South" has been presented at the 2022 Winton M. Blount Postal History Symposium held at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in Washington DC and at the 3rd International Postal History Congress at Prato, Italy in 2024.