Whilst in Ostrava, Hornung witnessed the German invasion of Czechoslovakia in March 1939 but managed to escape to Bogumin, then in unoccupied Poland, dressed as a postman in the mail wagon of a goods train.[2] After that he joined the Czechoslovak Legion. Hornung spoke Polish and Czech fluently as both were used freely in Ostrava.
Philatelic career
Hornung was a former Secretary of the Philatelic Traders Society and organiser of the Stampex show.[1] He was also a founder member of the Association Internationale des Journalistes Philateliques (AIJP) in 1952 and its former President.[1] As a philatelist, Hornung specialised in the stamps and postal history of Turkey and won Large Gold medals at India 1989, New Zealand 1990, London 1990, Philatokyo 1991 and Granada 1992.[1]
Philatelic memberships
Hornung was a member of the following societies (amongst others):
International Association of Philatelic Journalists
Royal Philatelic Society London
Philatelic publications
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Stamp Collecting, Hamlyn, London, 1970. ISBN0-600-01797-4
Wie Sammle Ich Richtig Briefmarken, Verlag Werner Dausien, 1972. ISBN3-7684-4233-0 (German language)
The Czecho-Slovak Legion in Poland and Russia 1939-1945 and Czechoslovaks in the Middle East, 1940 - 1943, Czechoslovak Philatelic Society of Great Britain, 2003. (With Dr. Vratislav Palkoska)
The Early Postal History of Carpatho-Ukraine with Particular Reference to The Usage Of The First Postage Stamps of Austria, 2007. ISBN978-0-9536555-9-5