IN MEMORIAM - VAMBOLA HURT
28. 12. 1926 District of Pühajärve, Valga county - 12. 02. 2008 Stockholm, Sweden.

Vambola Hurt was born on the 28th of december 1926 as the son of a Pühajärve police official.
He received elementary education at Laanemetsa and Keeni elementary schools. In 1939 he began studies at Valga Grammar School.

In 1944, as a 17 year old boy, he fled the country alone to Sweden away from the Sovjet occupation. In Sweden he spent the first months in refugee camps at Lindö, Kvillinge and Medevi Brunn.
In 1947 he graduated in the first batch from the Sigtuna Estonian Grammer School. Subsequently he worked in Västerås and Stockholm. In 1948 he began studies at the University of Stockholm in the Economics department, continued studies 1950 at the Stockholm School of Economics.
Vambola Hurt was a member of the student fraternity Fraternitas Estica from 1951.
Vambola Hurt worked in the economics field in many swedish companies, among others Handelsbanken and Ford.

Right up to his retirement he was Managing Director at AB Misomex, a company started by estonians.
Misomex was holder of several patents for printing machinery ( e.g. for printing of stamps and labels ).
Stamp collection was his hobby already from his early school days, in 1937. His first collection was left behind in Estonia due to the war.

In 1954 the Eesti Filatelistide Ühing Rootsis was founded in Stockholm. Vambola soon joined as a member. He was a member of the board for many years and acted as chairman 1987 – 2002. Vambola was one of the honorary members of EFÜR.

Vambola has succesfully participated in many international Philatelistic exhibitions starting from 1976.
The most dignified awards are gold medals from "London 80" and "London 90" exhibitions and large gold plated silver medal "Finlandia 88". Apart from collecting he was one of the finest experts on Estonian stamps. The co-operation with Elmar Ojaste resulted in 1986 in the release of Eesti Filateelia kataloog - the handbook, which up til now has been an irreplaceable source of information on Estonian material for collectors and researchers. In addition he has written many articles on Estonian stamps and postal history and has been a productive co-author for "Eesti Filatelist". He was among the first foreign members of the philatelistic society of "Estonia" after its restoration. After the re-liberation of Estonia Vambola Hurt contributed considerably to the build-up of the society. He participated in 1991 to the start of printing and issue of Estonian stamps and was adviser to RE Eesti Post 1992 – 1993.

The last 15 years he was active in the company "Linette".
Vambola was founding member of the "Eesti Postmuuseumi Sõprade Selts" ( Friendship society of the Estonian Postal museum ). The postal museum collections have been built up and completed and described thanks to Vambola hurt. He has also mediated some unique objects like proofs of the flower design issue.

Vambola Hurt was a very interesting discussion partner, broadminded, of firm principle and with a unique sense of humour.

Vambola Hurt was married to Inna-Karin Hubel on the 3rd of september 1955. The mourners are his son Martin and daughter Leena and a large number of friends and numerous collector companions.

Aive Küng
Manager, Eesti Postimuuseum

(Translation by Jaan Woode.)