Not for the first time Royal Mail is issuing stamps depicting the Red Arrows RAF Aerobatic Display Team. The first, in 2008, was issued coincident with the 60th anniversary of the Farnborough Air show (and centenary of the first flight in a powered aircraft in the UK), and the second (miniature sheet) was issued to mark the centenary of the Royal Air Force.
Now the 60th season of the Red Arrows displays is marked with a set of 8 stamps, miniature sheet, prestige stamp book and medal covers.
Previous issues
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| 2008 Air Displays Smilers Sheet with 1st class Red Arrows stamps. |
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| 2018 Red Arrows miniature sheet - RAF Centenary. |
The new stamps
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| Set of 8 stamps (4 x 1st, 4 x £2) marking 60th season of Red Arrows displays. |
The stamps, in se-tenant pairs, depict:
1st class: Red 1 (1967), Diamond Nine formation (1968), Gnats looping over RAF Kemble (1976), Gnat with Hawks, which replaced Gnats in 1979.
£2: Synchro Pair inverted pass (2003), Vixen Break manoeuvre (2007), last flight with Avro Vulcan XH558 (2015), Coronation flypast (2023).
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| Miniature sheet of four stamps (2 x 1st class, 2 x £2.50) marking 60th season of Red Arrows displays. |
1st class: Red Arrows over Niagara Falls, North America; Red Arrows over Akrotiri coast, Cyprus (training base).
£2.50: Red Arrows over Paris, France; Red Arrows over the Pyramids, Egypt.
Background image: Red Arrows over Greece.
Technical details
The 50 x 30 mm stamps were designed by Interabang, printed on gummed paper in lithography by Cartor Security Printers in sheets of 60 (4 sheets) perforated 14. The 146 x 74 mm miniature sheet is also gummed and has stamps 41 x 30 mm perforated 14½ x 14.
Acknowledgements: Ray Hanna of the Red Arrows, Red 1, 1967 © Trinity Mirror/Mirrorpix/Alamy Stock Photo; Diamond Nine formation, 1968 © IWM RAF-T 8173; looping over RAF Kemble, 1976 © Richard Cooke/Alamy Stock Photo; Gnat with Hawks © Peter R March; Synchro Pair inverted pass, 2003 © Peter R March; Vixen Break manoeuvre, 2007 © Peter R March; last flight with Vulcan XH558, 2015, image courtesy of UK MOD © Crown copyright 2015, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0; Coronation flypast, 2023, image courtesy of UK MOD © Crown copyright 2023, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0
Red Arrows over Niagara Falls, North America © Brian Lawrence/Alamy Stock Photo; Red Arrows over Akrotiri coast, Cyprus © Jamie Hunter, Aviacom; Red Arrows over Paris, France, image courtesy of UK MOD © Crown copyright 2021, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0; Red Arrows over the Pyramids, Egypt, image courtesy of UK MOD © Crown copyright 2023, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0; background image of Red Arrows over Greece, image courtesy of UK MOD © Crown copyright 2021, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0
Prestige Stamp Book
A 24-page booklet packed with everything you need to know about the Red Arrows as they celebrate their 60th Display Season in 2024. Written by aviation author, photographer and journalist Peter March, the book traces the beginnings of the ‘Reds’ from their first public display in 1965 and uncovers the fascinating precision and teamwork that goes into every jaw-dropping display.
The stamps and stunning photography in the book tell a story of precision, skill, and sheer exhilaration as the Red Arrows paint the sky with their trademark red, white, and blue trails. Officially licensed by the MOD with a hologram of authenticity on the back cover.
PSB details: Pane 1 contains 4 x 1st class stamps; Pane 2 contains 4 x £2 stamps.
Pane 3 is self-adhesive and contains 2 x £2 King Charles III definitive stamps coded M24L MPIL.
Pane 4 contains the same stamps as the miniature sheet on ordinary gummed paper, and the same as those in the actual miniature sheet. The high values are £2.50, not £2.20 as shown on the pre-issue image.
UPDATE: my apologies to CH who sent this image over a month ago, before I was able to put the blogpost up, and I forgot to add it when I did.
This shows serially numbered holograms from two different PSBs.
Ministry of Defence Holograms on reverse of two Red Arrows prestige stamp books
Products
Set of 8 stamps, miniature sheet, presentation pack, first day covers (2), stamp cards, press sheet of 12 miniature sheets, medal cover (edition of 5000), framed stamp set.
The RM website claims that the Miniature Sheet is gummed, not self-adhesive. Given RM's track record for accuracy, I'm inclined to believe Ian rather than RM!
ReplyDeleteIn this case the recent information on the website is correct; I forgot to amend the draft blog before publication - which is annoying as I split a sheet to make maximum cards, so I knew perfectly well that the stamps were gummed. Thank you for your quick spot and report.
DeleteThe Royal Mail website has the 'France' and 'Egypt' stamps ( as if we didn't know where 'Paris' and 'the Pyramids' are ) in the PSB as £2.20 rather than £2.50.
ReplyDeleteIs that so ?
If you look on the individual stamps on the MS page, the EGYPT stamp has no value at all.
DeleteBut no, the rate increased from £2.20 to £2.50 in April and these are pre-increase designs. It's very poor that still they cannot use images of the ACTUAL stamps on their pages and publicity. Why would they? The design agency taken all this trouble to produce designs - which we have used - why would we go to the trouble of scanning some original stamps just to show what they REALLY look like? !
I find it interesting that the "Over Niagara Falls" stamp refers to "North America" rather than just one country. Don't won't to offend either Canada or the US 😎
DeletePS: I'm trying to post through Google, but it keeps rejecting me so I'm posting as Anonymous
The first flight in a powered aircraft in the UK was actually on 31st July 1894 in Bexley in London - so perhaps the stamps also commemorate 120 years of aeroplanes. Superb stamps æsthetically, gummed; so will last indefinitely; & largely useful denominations.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the point of the £2 stamp? My local post office is puzzled by my visits to ask for 50p stamps.
ReplyDeleteWell, you can stick a 20p stamp with it for slow post to foreigners, or a 50p for quicker delivery. Then a stock of pretty £2 stamps can be kept. They are usually the same size as the datamatrix ones, so you can line them up neatly on the envelope. I find this cheaper than keeping dear stocks of £2:50 & £2:20s. Also handy for making mathematics easier when sending parcels - which often require 8 different stamps on them - to avoid using anæmic looking Horizon labels.
ReplyDeleteI'm sending more mail out via international economy than airmail since April. Not noticed any difference in delivery times.
Delete