W. A. S. Westoby

His obituary in The London Philatelist stated that he had "...fairly earned the title of the Grand Seigneur of Philately.

Westoby was born in 1815 at Emberton, Buckinghamshire, the son of Amos Westoby who had graduated from St Edmund Hall, Oxford and been ordained the previous year; his mother Mary (née Swannell) died in 1818.

At one point he resigned and was later re-elected, possibly because membership of the society was at one time limited to residents of London.

[8] Westoby was a prolific contributor to philatelic journals under the pen name "A Parisian Collector", including The Philatelist and The Stamp-Collector's Magazine.

[2] Westoby was a barrister of Lincoln's Inn and wrote a number of legal books including guides to the laws of Belgium and France for foreigners resident there and a guide to the Wills of British subjects made abroad.