| Name | Value |
|---|---|
| Date of Issue | November 7, 2023 |
| Year | 2023 |
| Quantity | 1,600,000 |
| Denomination |
 PERMANENT™ (P).Current monetary value: $0.92. |
| Postal Administration | Canada |
| Condition | Name | Avg Value |
|---|
Honour the courage of Mona Parsons, who assisted downed Allied airmen to escape from Nazi-occupied Netherlands, with this Permanent™ domestic rate stamp – pane of 5.
This issue pays tribute to Mona Parsons, the only female Canadian civilian imprisoned by the Nazis during the Second World War. This issue highlights her remarkable story of resistance and escape, featuring a stamp design with her portrait and the North Nova Scotia Highlanders advancing into the Netherlands in the background.
The limited Mona Parsons issue is available in multiple formats.
Born in Middleton, Nova Scotia, and raised in Wolfville, Mona Louise Parsons (1901-76) is the only female Canadian civilian to have been imprisoned by the Nazis during the Second World War. A former Ziegfeld Follies chorus dancer and nurse, Parsons married Dutch millionaire Willem Leonhardt in 1937 and the couple settled in Laren, Netherlands. Their life of luxury ended with the Nazi occupation in 1940. They helped the resistance network by hiding downed Allied airmen in their home. Arrested in September 1941, Parsons was condemned to death, though upon her own appeal, her sentence was commuted to life with hard labour in a German prison. In March 1945, an emaciated Parsons escaped with a young baroness, and the two made a long, dangerous trek on foot to the Netherlands.
Once across the border, Parsons obtained assistance from soldiers who turned out to be from the North Nova Scotia Highlanders. Later reunited with her husband, she moved back to Nova Scotia after his death in 1956. Parsons received commendations from Britain and the United States for her courage in assisting the Allies.
The stamp
Designed by Larry Burke and Anna Stredulinsky of| Burke & Burke, the stamp design features soft and muted tones with a portrait of Mona Parsons, looking left with a slight smile, her hair styled neatly, wearing a V-neck dress. In the background is a screened photograph of infantry soldiers of the North Nova Scotia Highlanders advancing into the Netherlands. “Mona Parsons” and “1901-1976” text is in the top left corner.
The sheet
The Mona Parsons: Permanent™ domestic rate stamps – pane of 5 features five water-activated gummed (WAG) stamps, arranged in a pane. The sheet replicates the same portrait image from the stamp and features a windmill from her adopted hometown of Laren, the Netherlands, in the background. “Mona Parsons” and “1901-1976” text is in the top left corner.
Honour the courage of Mona Parsons, who assisted downed Allied airmen to escape from Nazi-occupied Netherlands, with this Official First Day Cover (OFDC).
This Official First Day Cover pays tribute to Mona Parsons, the only female Canadian civilian imprisoned by the Nazis during the Second World War. This issue highlights her remarkable story of resistance and escape, featuring a stamp design with her portrait and the North Nova Scotia Highlanders advancing into the Netherlands in the background.
The limited Mona Parsons issue is available in multiple formats.
Born in Middleton, Nova Scotia, and raised in Wolfville, Mona Louise Parsons (1901-76) is the only female Canadian civilian to have been imprisoned by the Nazis during the Second World War. A former Ziegfeld Follies chorus dancer and nurse, Parsons married Dutch millionaire Willem Leonhardt in 1937 and the couple settled in Laren, Netherlands. Their life of luxury ended with the Nazi occupation in 1940. They helped the resistance network by hiding downed Allied airmen in their home. Arrested in September 1941, Parsons was condemned to death, though upon her own appeal, her sentence was commuted to life with hard labour in a German prison. In March 1945, an emaciated Parsons escaped with a young baroness, and the two made a long, dangerous trek on foot to the Netherlands.
Once across the border, Parsons obtained assistance from soldiers who turned out to be from the North Nova Scotia
Highlanders. Later reunited with her husband, she moved back to Nova Scotia after his death in 1956. Parsons received commendations from Britain and the United States for her courage in assisting the Allies.
The Official First Day Cover (OFDC) displays the Mona Parsons stamp in the top right corner. The top left corner features "Mona Parsons" and "1901-1976" against a greyscale background image of Ingleside, Mona Parsons' home in Laren, the Netherlands. The home is light-coloured with prominent dark accents, a front fence, and is surrounded by trees and landscaped bushes.
The stamp
Designed by Larry Burke and Anna Stredulinsky of| Burke & Burke, the stamp design features soft and muted tones with a portrait of Mona Parsons, looking left with a slight smile, her hair styled neatly, wearing a V-neck dress. In the background is a screened photograph of infantry soldiers of the North Nova Scotia Highlanders advancing into the Netherlands. “Mona Parsons” and “1901-1976” text is in the top left corner.
The cancel mark
The cancel location is Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, and features a line drawing of a dark-coloured windmill, representing Mona’s adopted home.
Canada Post unveiled its annual Remembrance Day stamp honouring the remarkable courage and perseverance of Mona Parsons. During the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, Parsons helped downed airmen escape back to England. She was arrested and became the only female Canadian citizen to be imprisoned by the Nazis during the war.
Born in 1901 in Middleton, N.S. – and raised in Wolfville – Parsons had been living in the Netherlands with her Dutch husband before the war. When the Nazi occupation began in May 1940, Parsons and her husband assisted what would become known as the Dutch Resistance.
They helped hide Allied airmen whose planes had been shot down over the Netherlands, their home serving as a stopping point in the resistance network. But in 1941, an informer betrayed the couple to the Nazis and they were arrested. Parsons was sentenced to death by firing squad. She appealed the ruling, and successfully got it commuted to life with hard labour.
Transported to Germany, Parsons spent the next three years in prison – until 1945, when, during an Allied bombardment, she escaped. She then embarked on a dangerous journey out of Germany, walking 125 kilometres over three weeks to the Dutch border. By the time she arrived, her feet had become badly infected and she was emaciated, weighing just 87 pounds.
Safely back in the Netherlands, Parsons sought help from an Allied soldier. Incredibly, he was also from Nova Scotia. He was part of the North Nova Scotia Highlanders unit that had advanced into the country.
Eventually, Parsons returned to Nova Scotia, where she remarried and lived until her death in 1976.
About the stamp
The Mona Parsons stamp was designed by Larry Burke, Anna Stredulinsky from Burke & Burke. It features a portrait of Mona Parsons, with a photograph of infantry soldiers of the North Nova Scotia Highlanders advancing into the Netherlands. Printed by Lowe-Martin, the issue includes a booklet of 10 Permanent™ domestic rate stamps, an Official First Day Cover and a pane of five stamps. The cancel site is Wolfville, N.S., where Mona Parsons grew up.