150th Anniversary of the Birth of Winston Churchill set & PSB - 30 November 2024.

When I saw that these stamps were on Royal Mail's shop yesterday, a day before my embargo, I was annoyed not so much that they were early again, but that I hadn't got a blog post ready.  But it seems that I have: I must have done this last week and totally forgot about it!  The benefits of the ability to schedule posts for later publication.

The 150th anniversary of the birth of one of Britain's most iconic figures, Sir Winston Churchill is marked this year. To commemorate this significant milestone, Royal Mail is proud to present a special collection of stamps and collectibles celebrating the life and legacy of the man who led the nation through its darkest hours. This exclusive set captures the essence of Churchill's remarkable journey—from his early years as a soldier and statesman to his leadership during World War II and beyond.

The set of eight special stamps commemorate the 150th anniversary of Winston Churchill’s birth, honouring one of Britain’s greatest leaders. The stamps feature carefully selected images of Churchill, capturing key moments from his extraordinary life—from his early years in the military and in journalism to his pivotal role during World War II, whilst also showing his life as painter and devoted husband. Accompanying each stamp are some of Churchill's most famous quotes, offering timeless words of wisdom that continue to inspire, creating a beautiful and touching tribute to Churchill's legacy.

The stamps in detail

Set of 8 stamps marking the 150th anniversary of the birth of Sir Winston Churchill.

Upper images

2nd Class: A young Churchill in 1899.
1st Class: Churchill with Vice Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay, 28 August 1940
£1.00: Churchill painting at Miami Beach, Florida, USA, 1946,
£2.00: Churchill at work during a train journey, June 1941.
 
Lower images
 
2nd Class: Churchill in the military uniform of a hussar, 1895.
1st Class: Churchill making ‘V for victory’ sign outside 10 Downing St, June 1943,
£1.00: Churchill & Clementine, his wife, Horse Guard’s Parade, January 1941
£2.00: Churchill in later life.

Technical details and acknowledgements

The stamps were printed by Cartor Security Printers in lithography in vertical se-tenant pairs, on gummed paper sheets of 60.  Perforations are 14½ x 14.

Image of Sir Winston Churchill reproduced courtesy of Churchill Heritage Limited and Curtis Brown, London. Quotations from the writings and speeches of Sir Winston Churchill © the Estate of Winston S. Churchill, reproduced courtesy of Curtis Brown, London. Photographs: Churchill in 1899 by Elliott & Fry, photograph by Hulton Archive/Getty Images; Churchill in the military uniform of a hussar, 1895, reproduced courtesy of Curtis Brown, London, on behalf of the Broadwater Collection; Churchill with Vice Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay, 28 August 1940 © IWM H 3508; Churchill making ‘V for victory’ sign outside 10 Downing Street, June 1943, photograph by HF Davis/Topical Press Agency/Hulton Archive/Getty Images; Churchill painting at Miami Beach, Florida, USA, 1946, photograph by Bettmann/Getty Images; Churchill with his wife, Clementine, on Horse Guard’s Parade, London, January 1941, photograph by Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images; Churchill at work during a train journey, June 1941 © IWM H 10874; Churchill in later life, photograph by Baron/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Prestige Stamp Book - £20.45

The Prestige Stamp Book offers a rich, 24-page biography of Winston Churchill, exploring his remarkable life and career, written by Allen Packwood, Director of the Churchill Archives Centre. Expertly Curated Content - Authored by a leading Churchill historian, this book delves deep into Churchill’s personal and public life, offering unique insights into his legacy as a statesman, soldier, and Nobel Prize-winning author. With stunning visuals, the book carries carefully selected imagery, the book captures Churchill’s defining moments, from his early military adventures to his leadership during the Second World War.

The Prestige Stamp Book contains all eight commemorative stamps on panes 1 & 2. Pane 4 contains four of the new King Charles III Union Flag stamps, and pane 3 contains two each of the 50p & £1 definitives with security codes M24L MPIL.

Collectors Sheet

The sheet is self-adhesive making 8 new stamps, plus two extra 1st class.  It includes 10 Churchill stamps paired with photographs of Churchill at defining moments through his life and career. The dramatic background to the sheet shows Churchill in the middle of delivering a speech. (This is a preliminary image with no values shown.)

Winston Churchill 150th anniversary Collectors Sheet.

Products available

Stamp Set, presentation pack, stamp cards, prestige stamp book, first day covers (set and definitive pane), collectors' sheet, coin covers (3), framed set.

Note: there are differing opinions as to the legacy of Churchill's long life.  Comments which venture too far on this will not be published.  You are entitled to your own views but this is not the place to go into lengthy discussions about them.

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------------------ Olive Billings 1927 - 2024 --------------------

Earlier today my dear mother passed away peacefully at her care home in Dereham at the age of 97.  

This was not unexpected but nonetheless causes us great sadness.  The photo was taken back in 2016 before my wife and I undertook our 10 week round-the-world trip. Subsequently we took her on a return trip to Majorca when she was 91 and she did a lot of walking.

She had been unable to stand since a fall in early 2022, but before that she lived an independent life at home locally after my father passed away in 2011.  

Unfortunately mum declined in the last few months.  We will all miss her terribly.  

I count the readers and contributors to this blog as friends and know that you will understand if my responses here and to emails are not as prompt as usual.

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Get ready for Christmas post delays

Ahead of the Christmas rush period for Royal Mail I thought I would post some of the predictions of postal workers - you know, the people at the coalface who actually know what is going on, rather than the suits in the boardroom and facing parliamentary committees who deny there is anything untoward.

I'm compiling this from the start of October and will publish when I think there is enough to make it interesting for readers. Most will be taken from Twitter (now known as X).

Friday 4 October

We are told we never prioritise tracked over LETTERS............ BUT due to space constraints we have to clear all packets and parcels because rolling them over causes a MAJOR health n safety issue, and H&S trumps everything else! So take all the tracked and leave the letters  [@CoahcPyrah]

Specific & explicit instruction to ensure tracked are done above all else.
"Premium product" is the phrase to watch out for now we're heading into Xmas pressure period.
It's not "ignoring letters" it's "focusing on premium products".
Newspeak. 2yrs on from strikes & worse now.    [@Angry_Postman]

But management deny telling us to prioritise tracked ‘premium products’ above all else  I suspect this Christmas will be without doubt the biggest s**t show any of us have ever seen  [@andy_cooper9]

 

 

Tues 8 October

30mins now entire office has been sat waiting for the last lorry. Who'd have thunk moving traffic* to rush hour would cause issues & network delays...

(* A couple of months back the last despatches from the mail centres to delivery offices have been put back an hour or so. This was presumably so that the Mail Centres could clear late arrivals but it no means that the lorry is caught in rush-hour traffic, delaying departure of your postie from the delivery office.)

14 November

I have a major access road closed till Xmas Eve on my round [@postmann26] - East Kent.

80 tracked, can't even fit it all in van. Ludicrous  [@Angry_Postman]

Explain why I'm to abandon letters (including several NHS ones & cards) - In order to deliver Amazon Prime packets? 

Important items such as a massive box of tissues. Sorry you don't get your hosp appointment/results but you don't matter as much as paper tissues [@Angry_Postman]

Some rounds at ours {office} haven't posted {delivered} a letter all week  [@Phil19703] - Northern Ireland

 

(No recent updates received and I forgot this would publish today.  If anybody has any other verified stories from the postal system, please send them.)

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November slogan and other interesting postmarks and postal markings

November started off with the default British Heart Foundation slogan, before it was replaced by one for Remembrance Day.

This was the first slogan we have received for some time, BHF from Cornwall Mail Centre on 01/11/2024.

British Heart Foundation slogan Cornwall Mail Centre 01/11/2024

UPDATE 12 November: my thanks to JH for sending the alternative BHF layout dated 11-11-2024.  Still no sign of Movermber.

British Heart Foundation slogan Peterborough Mail Centre 11-11-2024

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Remembrance.  My thanks to JH for this reminder of Armistice Day on Monday 11 November; used at Swindon Mail Centre on 07-11-2024.

Lest We Forget.
Armistice Day
11 November 2024

Lest We Forget Armistice Day Swindon Mail Centre 07-11-2024

UPDATE:  two readers have provided the other layout.  This is the better one from KD (thanks also to JF) from North & West Yorkshire 08/11/2024

Lest We Forget Armistice Day North & West Yorkshire Mail Centre 08/11/2024

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Other postmarks, postal markings etc.

The Lest We Forget image also shows a counter date stamp from Headington Oxfordshire.  This is unusual in having the county name and in full. So many that we have seen are almost anonymous!

The branch is now in the Co-operative supermarket, and the Headington History website has a page devoted to the post office over the centuries.

Headington (Oxfordshire) Post Office (Google maps)

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Our Canadian correspondent SS has another package posted at Littlehamtpton's Wick News post office branch - all they need to do now is cancel the stamps!  They must be misinterpreting a PO Ltd instruction.

Wick News A counter date stamp 3 OC 24, but not cancelling the stamps.

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Remember, all postmarks appearing in November will be added to this post, so check here before you spend time scanning and emailing.

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New Wales Country definitives 14 November 2024, but airmail stamps to end

As well as the 2024 Christmas stamps Royal Mail have also put on their website for pre-order two new Wales Country definitives with the profile of King Charles III.

Queen Elizabeth II Wales 2nd class definitive

As standing order customers will know from their advance notice, the Wales Definitive has been billed at a value of £2.50, leading some to think that it is erroneously an airmail stamp at the pre-October 7th rate.  But of course the sum of the 2nd class and 1st class is now £2.50, and it is these two values which are being issued on 14 November, the King's birthday.

The stamps can be seen here.

In accordance with Royal Mail’s environmental policy, all existing stock of definitive and country definitive stamps featuring the portrait of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II are being issued to exhaustion, and new Definitive stamps with the King Charles III portrait will be issued according to supply and demand.

The Welsh 1st and 2nd Class Definitive stamps will be available for the first time featuring the King’s silhouette. 

The stamp designs featuring Welsh national symbols have been retained from previous country definitive designs. The Welsh Dragon has been forged from Welsh steel, whilst the Leek has been carved from Welsh sycamore. 

Country Definitives will now be limited to 1st and 2nd Class NVIs and no longer include international values.

The 39 x 30 mm self-adhesive stamps are printed in sheets of 25 by Cartor Security Printers in lithography.

When they will be available generally in Post Office branches is anyone's guess!  Please send your reports.

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Christmas Cathedrals 2024 set and miniature sheet (etc) - 5 November 2024

Now that Royal Mail have put the 2024 Christmas stamps on their website for pre-ordering, it makes me - once again - question whether I need to post details of new issues here at all.  But they do provide us with more technical details than they put on their website, so for everybody's benefit I shall continue.

The details will appear here on the date of issue but in the meantime you can see the products here.

Royal Mail are celebrating Christmas 2024 with a set of 5 stamps paying homage to some of the most spectacular Cathedrals in the UK. Visitors entering a cathedral in the UK are likely to be struck by their size and grandeur, intrigued by the architecture and history or moved by their services, from a liturgical pageant with exquisite music to the stillness of morning prayer.

The stamps have been illustrated by British artist Judy Joel.

Set of 5 Christmas stamps issued 5 November 2024.

Christmas 2024 miniature sheet of 5 stamps.

Details

2nd Class (£0.85) - St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral, Edinburgh

1st Class (£1.65) - Liverpool Anglican Cathedral

2nd Large Letter (£1.55) - St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh (Church of Ireland)

1st Large Letter (£2.60) - St Deiniol’s Cathedral, Bangor / Cadeirlan Deiniol Sant ym Mangor (Church in Wales – Anglican).

£2.80 - Westminster Cathedral, London (Catholic)

Technical Details

The 39 x 30 mm stamps designed by Together Design London Ltd are printed by Cartor Security Printers in gravure.  The stamps and miniature sheet are all self-adhesive.  The miniature sheet measures 179 x 74 mm. © Royal Mail 2024. 

Generic/Collector Sheet

The sheet contains eight each 2nd and 1st class stamps, 2 x £2.80, and one each of 2nd Large and 1st Large stamps.  (The image provided shows the original draft with a value of £2.50 for the airmail stamp).  The sheet is printed in lithography which means the stamps are different, if you collect single stamps from sheets - and you'll have a lot left over because there is just ONE set of 5.  (Price £30.95).

Christmas Collector sheet issued 5 November 2024 containing just one set of stamps.

Booklets

Products

First Day Covers (2), Presentation Pack, Retail Books (2), Collector Sheet, Postcards (6).

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Royal Mail 2025 Stamp Programme - any guesses?

Before we get to the Christmas stamp issue, I thought it worth prompting our readers to make some suggestions for the 2025 programme.

You know the basics of the programme, whatever the specific subjects.  There is likely to be at least one music set ....

at least one television/film set, 

Christmas of course (a non-secular subject), and some blatant thematic sets with no commemorative worth.

Suggestions by email only please to ian@norphil.co.uk, only one per person unless I prompt you for clarification or expansion.

Results and comparison with the actual programme in due course.  The exercise ends when the programme is announced - please don't leak it if you see the calendar in a post office, it won't be published here.

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Late arrival in the Machin collection.

It's 18 months since the King Charles definitives were issued, but as we know Royal Mail printers produced an enormous number of 2nd and 1st class Machin definitives such that they are still being sold now, and are certainly still being provided in the SwapOut scheme.  

But there is still room for discoveries and I am indebted to CB for sending this picture of a massive shift of the iridescent layer on a 1st class booklet stamp.  So large is the shift that it is impossible to establish whether this is from a book of 8 MEIL or book of four, MFIL.

UPDATE: Thanks to HJF & DG I can confirm that this is a MFIL/M22L stamp with barcode date 14.03.22 based on interpretation of the barcode.

1st class Machin booklet stamp with 2mm left shift and slight downward shift of the iridescent printing.

The email reminded me that I had been given an identical stamp (on cover) by a relative.  Unfortunately neither example is postmarked so we don't know where the stamps were used.  

Second example of a 1st class Machin booklet stamp with 2mm left shift and slight downward shift of the iridescent printing.

If you do get stamped mail - and Christmas is coming - it's still worth looking for oddities like this.  Whilst not valuable it is interesting, especially if you can include a photograph in your collection which shows the error more clearly.

I don't recall seeing anything as prominent as this on the barcoded stamps before.

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More new King Charles definitive booklets, and sheet printings.

We reported 2024 reprints of the Counter Sheet definitive stamps in February when the 1st and 2nd class sheets were found in Post Offices.  Other sheet printings have been announced by Royal Mail, and booklets have been found locally.

The 1st class was reprinted on 170/1/2024 and the 2nd class on 18/01/24.  Not previously mentioned here were reprints of the 1st class Large on 01/03/24 and the 2nd class Large on 04/03/2024.  There were further reprints of the 1st class on 12/03/2024 and the 2nd class on 13/03/24.

The 2nd class booklet of 8 stamps was reported in May of this year and we have just received the 1st class M24L booklet of 8, both with source code MEIL.

2nd class King Charles III definitive booklet reprint 2024 - MEIL M24L

2nd class King Charles III definitive booklet reprint 2024 single - MEIL M24L

1st class King Charles III definitive booklet single 2024 reprint - MEIL M24L

1st class King Charles III definitive booklet single 2024 reprint showing cylinder number C1.

Country Definitives

Several collectors have reported (mainly in the new tariff post) that Royal Mail Philatelic will be charging them for new Welsh Country Definitives on 14 November.  Of course I know about these but because of Royal Mail's stupid embargo system, I am not supposed to be writing about them or showing the images until the end of this month.

Well, imagine the current 2nd and 1st class Wales stamps with the head of King Charles instead of Queen Elizabeth.  There, that's not difficult.   

There will be no airmail rate stamp.  The new pair of stamps have a value of £2.50 - unfortunately the cost to send an airmail letter will be £2.80.

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NBIT for the Axe? After spending £millions, Post Office Ltd may outsource latest in-house project.

The much-criticised Capture computer system was developed in-house by Post Office. The Horizon system was developed by ICL/Fujitsu.  The New Branch Information Technology system was being developed in-house, and is running way over budget - and is unlikely to be available for several years, during which Post Office Ltd will have to continue to use Fujitsu to maintain Horizon.

According to Computer Weekly:

As things stand, the Post Office contract with IT supplier Fujitsu to support Horizon ends in March 2025, and if that’s not extended, the consequences could be catastrophic for the branch network. Even Fujitsu is cautious about continuing, and has said it will only do so if convinced the Post Office has a viable replacement plan in place.

The Post Office has asked for a five-year extension, with a three-year break point. The full five years could see up to £180m of additional taxpayer money go to the IT supplier.

According to witnesses at the public inquiry into the Post Office scandal, the two companies have yet to agree a new contract, with less than six months to go.

Former Post Office chief transformation officer Chris Brocklesby told the inquiry that, if everything went according to plan, the earliest the Horizon replacement – dubbed New Branch IT (NBIT) – would begin roll-out is June 2026, with Horizon finally switched off at the end of 2028.

But according to another CW report today 

The “writing is on the wall” for the Post Office’s plan to build its New Branch IT (NBIT) system in-house, as it considers dumping it in favour of an off-the-shelf electronic point of sale (EPOS) alternative.

A source said the Post Office looks set to U-turn on its current plan to replace the controversial Horizon IT system with in-house developed software and either switch to an off-the-shelf system from a supplier or bring Horizon in-house.

The source, who wished to remain anonymous, said the Post Office is considering a contract with EPOS platform provider Escher, the supplier of the Riposte middleware that was previously used in early versions of the Horizon system. There is also support within the Post Office IT department for bringing the existing and controversial Horizon system in-house. The source said a decision has not been made yet, but it appears “the writing is on the wall” for the in-house NBIT software, which is expected to be dumped.

This follows an admission by recently installed Post Office chairman Nigel Railton, during his appearance at the Post Office scandal public inquiry this week, that the company’s decision to build the new system in-house was one of two reasons the project was “set up to fail”.

Railton told the inquiry: “One was the decision ‘to get off Horizon’, which is different to building a system for the future, and the second was the decision to build in-house.” He said there are many “horror stories” of people trying to build systems in-house, adding: “I think, based on my experience, that this was always set up to fail in the first place.”

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A recent internal Post Office document sent to staff by acting CEO Neil Brocklehurst revealed that changes to the NBIT programme are being considered. “While the strategic review is ongoing, and informed by other discussions with the board and stakeholders, we have taken the opportunity to review our current approach to our delivery of new technology, to make sure it will deliver what postmasters need in the most effective way possible,” it said.

“This means from next week we will start reassessing and reprioritising the NBIT programme. This does not mean we will be stopping everything. Critical investment in Horizon’s infrastructure will continue and, importantly, we will be moving forward with the installation of new technology into branches over the next 12 months,” the document said.

According to the source, the NBIT team has been told to hold off building any more features until a decision is made on whether to continue with the current in-house project.

Watch this space or follow Computer Weekly.

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October slogan and other interesting postmarks and postal markings

With everybody having sent all their cards in the third week of September (send a card slogan), slogans reverted to the default and stayed that way into October.

Thank you to RW and JH for sending early examples of the British Heart Foundation slogan in the two formats,  Home Counties North 01-10-2024 and Sheffield Mail Centre 04/10/2024.

British Heart Foundation slogan from Home Counties North 01-10-2024

 

British Heart Foundation slogan from Sheffield Mail Centre 04/10/2024

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UPDATE 16 October.  Thanks to DW for the first new slogan this month, for World Menopause Awareness Day.

World Menopause
Awareness Day
18 October
Let's talk and share experiences
to make a real difference

 

Menopause Awareness Day slogan Edinburgh Mail Centre 14-10-2024

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Other postmarks, postal markings etc.

UPDATE 23 October:  SS in Canada has sent another Exeter packet stamp, and unlike the last ones this one has the postcode EX2 7XX at the foot.

Exeter Mail Centre packet stamp with postcode EX2 7XX 8 OCT 2024

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Thanks to JF for providing this cover which has stamps cancelled with the wavy line handstamp instead of by a pen.  This was sent to India from Bath, Somerset, so well done to the people in Bath or Bristol's Mail Centre for getting these cancelled.  India is in Zone 1 for which the postage is £4.20 for 100g, so it is overpaid by 80p or more than three of these stamps. (The next weight step costs £7.05.)

Wavy line handstamp on airmail letter from Bath (or Bristol Mail Centre) 2024.

UPDATE:  Rob has pointed out that this is paid as a standard letter (C5 size) so properly paid at £2.50: for some reason I doubled that and said that it was 80p overpaid at £4.20 - time to give up!

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We should get a Movember slogan this month, so if you receive or come across that or any other interesting postal markings from any period or place, please send them to the email address in the top right of this blog.  Thank you.

UPDATE:  No Movember slogan has been reported for October.

Remember, all postmarks appearing in October will be added to this post, so check here before you spend time scanning and emailing.

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Music Giants X - The Who - blockbuster issue 17 October 2024.

Royal Mail's latest musical extravaganza features the 1960s rock band The Who, which really is my generation.  Formed in 1964, they celebrate their 60th anniversary this year (like Porridge).

Royal Mail's write-up 

Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle and Keith Moon formed The Who in 1964. Within five years, they went from performing club shows to headlining the Woodstock festival and becoming the biggest box-office draw in the world. The group changed the way rock music was presented live and produced records that were often intelligent and challenging in content while pushing technological boundaries – both on the stage and in the studio.

The band embraced different genres of music, from proto-punk to soft rock, mock opera to rock opera, and heavy rock to orchestrated rock. They produced songs that spoke for the disaffected youth and, as The Who themselves grew older, the middle-aged. Pete Townshend, as chief songwriter, became the voice of his generation. Along their 60-year journey, The Who lost Keith Moon (in 1978) and John Entwistle (in 2002), but Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend continue to thrill audiences with some of the best rock music ever written. 

They also support a host of charities, for which they have raised millions of pounds in funding over the years. There has never been another band quite like The Who. Having sold over 100 million records worldwide, and now celebrating their 60th anniversary, the group are among the most innovative and influential bands of the rock and roll era. 

Set of 8 stamps celebrating the 60th anniversary of rock band The Who, issued 17 October 2024.

The set consists of 4 x 1st class stamps and 4 x £2 stamps which, as many have said, do not satisfy any particular postage rate.

The stamps - album covers.

1st Class: My Generation
Released in the UK in December 1965 and reaching number five in the charts, My Generation is one of the best debut albums.
in history. Mixing cover versions with original material, the record highlights The Who’s unique song writing and performing abilities, not least on its title track and lead single – a rallying call to the disaffected youth of Britain.
 
1st Class: Tommy
The Who’s career-making double album, 1969’s Tommy was a tour de force that peaked at number two in the UK and redrew the boundaries of what could be achieved in rock music. Centred on a narrative that has since been adapted for stage and screen, it included the transatlantic hit ‘Pinball Wizard’ and continues to enthrall audiences around the world.
 
1st Class: Who’s Next
Following Tommy was never going to be easy, but The Who managed it with Who’s Next, which topped the UK charts in 1971. Featuring songs such as ‘Baba O’Riley’ and ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’, it proved the group could deliver anthems outside of a conceptual framework and made The Who one of the first bands capable of filling stadium venues.
 
1st Class: Quadrophenia
Telling the story of Jimmy, a mod seeking his place in the world in the mid- 1960s, Quadrophenia continued Pete Townshend’s exploration of spiritual fulfilment. Issued in late 1973 and reaching number two on both sides of the Atlantic, the double album featured a complex narrative that proved to be difficult to perform live, even for The Who.
 
£2.00: Who Are You
Released at the height of the punk era in Aug 78, Who Are You picked up where The Who By Numbers left off, its title track railing against the machinations of the music business. An ailing Keith Moon died three weeks after the album’s release, just as it peaked at number 6 in the UK charts.
 
£2.00: Face Dances
The Who’s first album with new recruits Kenney Jones (drums) and John ‘Rabbit’ Bundrick (keyboards), Face Dances was released in March 1981 and heralded the band’s biggest UK tour for many years. Lead single ‘You Better You Bet’ took the group into the UK top ten for the first time since the mid- 1970s, helping its parent album hit number two.
 
£2.00: Endless Wire
Having paid tribute to bassist John Entwistle on the song ‘Old Red Wine’, written and recorded for the 2004 compilation Then and Now, Townshend and Daltrey, with Pino Palladino (bass) and Zak Starkey (drums), released The Who’s 11th album, Endless Wire, in October 2006. Based on a story by Townshend, it was hailed by critics as a return to form.
 
£2.00: WHO
In no hurry to return to the studio, The Who issued WHO 13 years after Endless Wire, in December 2019. Reaching number three in the UK, the album proved that Pete Townshend had become the ultimate cross- generational spokesman and revealed Roger Daltrey to be the epitome of a rock god, helping to steer the group’s survival through the ages.

Miniature sheet

The ms also contains a mix of 1st class and £2 stamps.  To use the latter as basic letter rate stamps, 20p more is required for international surface mail outside Europe, and 50p for international airmail; or 10p for an inland large letter under 100g.

The above paragraph was written in August before the new postage rates were announced.  So here's a rewrite:

The ms also contains a mix of 1st class and £2 stamps.  To use the latter as basic letter rate stamps, 60p (ie two stamps) more is required for international surface mail outside Europe, and 80p (at least 3 stamps) for international airmail.

Miniature sheet of 4 stamps celebrating the 60th anniversary of rock band The Who, issued 17 October 2024.
1st class: The Who in 1968; The Who at the Marquee Club in 1967; £2 The Who at Kings Hall, Belle Vue, Manchester 1973; The Who c.1965.

 

Technical details & acknowledgements

The design reverts to the 'Album Covers' style last used for the Paul McCartney issue in 2021.  The 38 x 31mm gummed stamps are printed in litho in sheets of 48 by Cartor Security Printers, perforated 14½ x 14.  
On the 192 x 74mm self-adhesive(?) miniature sheet the 60 x 30 mm stamps are also printed by CSP in litho, perforated 14½.  The stamps are designed by Royal Mail based on an original design by Studio Dempsey. 
Acknowledgements: The Who album covers © 2024 YEARHOUR 2017 LLP under license from Bravado International Group Limited. All rights reserved.    The Who pictured in 1968 © Pictorial Press Ltd/Alamy Stock Photo; The Who at the Marquee Club, London, in March 1967, photo © Ray Stevenson; The Who at Kings Hall, Belle Vue, Manchester, during the Quadrophenia tour in November 1973 © David Warner Ellis/Redferns/Getty Images; The Who pictured in c.1965 © Pictorial Press Ltd/Alamy Stock Photo; border image: The Who memorabilia © Pictorial Press Ltd/Alamy Stock Photo. 2024 YEARHOUR 2017 LLP

Prestige Stamp Book

This 24-book is written by music photographer and writer Matt Kent.  Panes 1 & 2 (the sheet stamps) are on gummed paper; Panes 3 & 4 (miniature sheet and definitives) are self-adhesive.  The defnitive pane contains just two x £2 definitives, and three labels.

The Who Prestige Stamp Book Cover

The Who Prestige Stamp Book

Collectors Sheet

Unusually in recent times this is gummed as the self-adhesive format was not possible because the die-cutter was not available for the 'Album Covers' format.  So the same as the sheet stamps (although the phosphor may turn out to be different: time will tell).

The Who Collectors Sheet issued 17 October 2024

Not a Retail booklet

No retail booklets have been issued since the introduction of barcoded definitives due to the change of size and difficulty accommodating the mix.  Royal Mail are now pleased to be able to introduce these again produce something similar for this issue with 4 x 1st Class The Who stamps in a specially designed stamp booklet. 

The book features a graphic background of The Who roundel or ‘target’ and includes the 4 x 1st Class album cover stamps of: My Generation, Tommy, Who’s Next and Quadrophenia in a folded book.
Print: these self-adhesive booklets are printed in gravure (presumably by the Walsall end of Cartor Security Printers) and so make 4 different stamps.

Retail booklet of 4 x 1st class The Who stamps, printed gravure on self-adhesive paper, issued 17 October 2024.

UPDATE 11 October.

A spokesman for Royal Mail has confirmed that this product is not considered as a Retail Book and that that term was only used to describe its format and size.

"These are planned only for the Music issues at this time, by extension then they are for the fan bases and are in response to those fans loving the option of having mint stamps for postage within their basket of collectibles.  It’s also a low price product for the fan collector. It isn’t a substitute for the Retail Booklets or Retail Booklet focused stamp collectors.  It will not be distributed by Post Office Ltd nor Royal Mail Retail."

In my view even if some supermarkets resist this type of product, with a barcode and a simple A5 point of sale card Royal Mail could have sold to people doing their grocery or greetings card shopping.  The demographic that still sends cards are exactly the people who would have enjoyed The Who.

I know the Philatelic team at Royal Mail were disappointed that Retail or Commemorative Booklets were not accommodated when the barcoded stamps were issued as "the rationale behind them is as valid today as it was then in terms of taking stamps to a non-stamp collecting audience". 

Maybe next year? 

Products

Set of 8 stamps, miniature sheet, presentation pack, first day covers (2), stamp cards (13), press sheet of 8 miniature sheets, collectors sheet, prestige stamp book, limited edition prestige stamp book, retail booklet,  fan sheets (2), medal covers (2), platinum stamp set, framed products.

Fans of the US television forensic crime series CSI will know that four tracks from The Who have been used as the theme tunes since the middle of series 1.   The original CSI: Crime Scene Investigation used Who Are You;  CSI: Miami used Won't Get Fooled Again;  CSI:NY - Baba O'Riley; CSI: Cyber - I Can See For Miles; and CSI: Vegas - Who Are You. 

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