Thursday, 24 April 2025

Valour and Victory: Stories of World War II - and songs - 1 May 2025

Ahead of the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day on 8th May, Royal Mail is issuing a set of stamps which don't actually mention the event.

From the Royal Mail write-up:

This year marks the 80th anniversary of VE Day and to commemorate this, Royal Mail is proud to present a special collection of stamps and collectibles telling the stories of those who served the wider war effort. Nations might wage wars, but individuals fight them. 

The 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War is an opportunity to acknowledge just some of the extraordinary people who helped to win the war – fighting on different fronts and in numerous campaigns, working for the war effort both at home and behind enemy lines, and volunteering from across the Commonwealth. It was the courage and dedication of these individuals, and so many more, that led to the eventual victory in 1945. 

A set of ten special stamps celebrating the courage and dedication of individuals whose actions saved lives, changed history and shaped Britain’s war effort.  

Among these individuals was Vera Lynn, a young singer from East London best known for her wartime ballads including "We’ll Meet Again" and "The White Cliffs of Dover." Touring, singing and presenting on BBC radio, and visiting military bases and hospitals in the Middle East and Asia, she became central to the maintenance of morale during the war. Known as the ‘Forces’ Sweetheart’, Vera Lynn came to symbolise the nation’s spirit in wartime. 

The set is accompanied with a special four-stamp miniature sheet honouring the "Forces’ Sweetheart" –Dame Vera Lynn. A tribute to a national icon – commemorating Vera Lynn’s tireless efforts to support the troops and her advocacy for military veterans.

The stamps - 10 x 1st class

A set of ten special stamps celebrating the courage and dedication of individuals whose actions saved lives, changed history and shaped Britain’s war effort. Each stamp features an authentic photograph of the person, capturing their wartime role. They include pilots, nurses, commandos, resistance fighters, codebreakers, engineers, and firefighters. Designed for stamp collectors and history enthusiasts alike

Valour and Victory set of 10 1st class stamps issued 1 May 2025.

Details (all details and wording from Royal Mail)

GEORGE ARTHUR ROBERTS BEM, MSM (1891-1970)
George Arthur Roberts was a military veteran, activist, and firefighter during the London Blitz. Born in Trinidad, Roberts had travelled to Britain and joined the British Army, fighting on the Western Front during the First World War.  Settling in South London, he was a founding member of both the British Legion and the League of Coloured Peoples.
Too old for combat in the Second World War, he was the first Black man to join the London Auxiliary Fire Service in 1938, serving bravely throughout the Blitz. Roberts was awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) for bravery and for his work setting up and leading discussion and education groups in the Fire Service.
 
MARY MORRIS (1921-1997)
Mary Morris nursed on the home front and in mainland Europe after D-Day in 1944. Born in County Galway, Ireland, she moved to London in 1939 to train at Guy’s Hospital. Morris’s diaries describe how she nursed troops returning wet and wounded from Dunkirk, badly burnt pilots (both British and German) of the Battle of Britain, and victims of the London Blitz. Joining the nursing branch of the British Army, she travelled to Normandy in 1944, caring for casualties of the landings and describing her ward as a “multi-national microcosm of a Europe at war.” Her diaries were published in 2014.
 
TOMMY MACPHERSON OBE, MC, TD, DL, CROIX DE GUERRE, LÉGION D'HONNEUR (1920-2014)
Colonel Sir Ronald Thomas (‘Tommy’) Stewart Macpherson was a Commando known for his audacious actions. These included being dropped by submarine in North Africa, where he sabotaged enemy positions before being caught. After several escape attempts from Italian camps, Macpherson was imprisoned in Austria, Germany and Poland. Escaping to Britain, he was parachuted into central France in 1944 to join with the Resistance as part of Operation Jedburgh. Destroying bridges, railways, and roads vital to the German occupation, Macpherson eventually accepted the surrender of thousands of Axis troops.
At one point, 300,000 francs (£1m today) was offered for his capture. He was later sent behind enemy lines in Italy and was on standby to fly to Japan when the end of the war came.

VIOLETTE SZABO GC, CROIX DE GUERRE WITH STAR, MÉDAILLE DE LA RÉSISTANCE (1921-1945)
Born in Paris to British-French parents, Szabó grew up in both Picardy, France, and London. She joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service before volunteering for the Special Operations Executive (SOE) in 1942. Szabó undertook two missions to France for the SOE and was captured after a fierce gun battle in 1944. After interrogation in Paris, Szabó was transferred to Ravensbrück Concentration Camp, where she was executed alongside her comrades Denise Bloch and Lilian Rolfe in February 1945. She was 23 years old and left behind a young daughter.
Szabó was posthumously awarded the George Cross, the Croix de Guerre with Star, and the Médaille de la Résistance.
 
JOHN HARRISON (1914-2020)
John Harrison served in the Royal Navy on the destroyer HMS Belfast as an Ordnance Officer responsible for maintaining ‘A’ and ‘B’ gun turrets at the front of the ship. Conditions at sea were often hard, and he was saved from being washed overboard in the Arctic Ocean only when his hand froze onto the metal handle of the turret door. When HMS Belfast was badly damaged by a magnetic mine in November 1939, John Harrison suffered two broken vertebrae in the explosion. The ship was out of action for three years, but he transferred to HMS Atherstone before undertaking shore duties.

BHANBHAGTA GURUNG (1921-2008)
Havildar (Sergeant) Bhanbhagta Gurung was awarded the Victoria Cross while serving as a Rifleman in the 2nd Gurkha Rifles in Burma, now Myanmar, in 1945. Born in the Gorkha District of Nepal, Bhanbhagta Gurung joined the Gurkha Rifles in 1940.
He fought in Operation Longcloth, the first Chindit mission in Burma in 1943, and was awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery under heavy fire during attempts to clear Japanese soldiers from their position on high ground near Tamandu, Burma, in March 1945.
After the war, he returned to Nepal to care for his family. In 2000, the Gurkha training block at Catterick Camp in Yorkshire was named after him.
 
THOMAS PEIRSON FRANK (1881-1951)
Sir Thomas Peirson Frank was a civil engineer and surveyor, serving as London County Council Coordinating Officer for Road Repairs and Public Utility Services from 1939 to 1945, and was known as ‘the man who saved London from drowning.’
As war approached, Peirson Frank worked in secret to identify the most vulnerable areas of the city, establishing flood defences and the rapid-response Thames Flood Prevention Emergency Repairs Unit.
During the Blitz, flooding was a risk to low-lying areas of London – including the Underground, where so many sought shelter from the bombs. Peirson Frank’s rapid- response teams repaired over 100 breaches of the Thames wall during air raids and saved many lives. He was knighted for his vital work in 1942.
 
MAHINDER SINGH PUJJI DFC (1918-2010)
Born in Simla (present-day Shimla, India), Singh Pujji was a pilot and Squadron Leader with the Royal Air Force (RAF) and Indian Air Force, who fought in Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.
Training as a pilot in the 1930s, he volunteered for service with the RAF, arriving in Britain in 1940. Flying both Hurricanes and Spitfires, Singh Pujji was involved in many dogfights with Luftwaffe pilots and was forced down twice.
In 1945, Singh Pujji was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his outstanding courage and leadership over Japanese-occupied territory. He eventually settled in London and worked as an air-traffic controller at Heathrow Airport.
 
WILLIAM TUTTE OBE, FRS, FRSC (1917-2002)
A brilliant mathematician and codebreaker, William (‘Bill’) Tutte’s work was key to decrypting the Lorenz cipher, the German code used for top-level communication and intelligence. The son of a housekeeper and a gardener from Newmarket, Tutte won a scholarship to the University of Cambridge before joining the Research Section at Bletchley Park, the centre of British codebreaking.
Tutte’s groundbreaking work on the structure of the Lorenz machine enabled the team at Bletchley Park to crack the Lorenz cipher, a system even more complex than Enigma, providing information vital for D-Day planning and invasion. After the war, Tutte emigrated to Canada, becoming a Professor at the University of Waterloo.
 
LILIAN BADER (1918-2015)
Leading Aircraftwoman Lilian Bader was born in Liverpool and raised in a Middlesbrough convent after being orphaned at the age of nine.  When war broke out, she worked at a Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI) canteen but was forced to leave because of her ethnicity. Undaunted, she volunteered to join the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) in 1944, and went on to train as an Instrument Repairer, passing her course ‘First Class’ and becoming one of the first members of the WAAF to qualify in this role.  She excelled at her job and was soon promoted to Acting Corporal. Bader went on to take a degree at London University and became a teacher.

Technical details and acknowledgements

The 37 x 35 mm stamps were designed by Supple Studio and are printed in 2 sheets of 50 in se-tenant strips by Cartor Security Printers in litho with ordinary gum. Perforations are 14 x 14½.

The designs are montages, so there are many cknowledgements:

 George Arthur Roberts photograph © The Roberts Family; London Fire Brigade tackling fires during the Blitz, May 1941 © IWM HU 1129;
Mary Morris photograph © The Mary Ellen Morris Trust; nurses climbing through rubble, photograph by Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images;
Tommy Macpherson photograph (GB0232/D1501/1/4) © Macpherson of Biallid Collection, Highland Archive Centre; the French Resistance c.1944 © Mary Evans/Grenville Collins Postcard Collection; //Violette Szabó photograph © PA Images/Alamy Stock Photo; fake French ID card of Violette Szabó © Dixnoonanwebb/Bournemouth News/Shutterstock;
John Harrison photograph courtesy of Coral Green; HMS Belfast, fully fitted out in July 1939 © IWM HU 4662;
Bhanbhagta Gurung photograph © The Gurkha Museum Trust; Gurkha Rifles of the British Indian Army crossing the Irrawaddy River, Burma, January 1945, photograph courtesy of the National Army Museum, London;
Thomas Peirson Frank portrait © Estate of Frank O Salisbury. All rights reserved, DACS. 2025; view of the Thames following the first air raid of the London Blitz, September 1940, photograph by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images;
Mahinder Singh Pujji photograph © IWM HU 92610; flight line-up of Hawker Hurricane aircraft and their pilots © IWM CH 6761;
William Tutte, with the Trinity Mathematical Society, May 1938, photograph © The Master and Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge; Lorenz cipher machine © Ken Hawkins/Alamy Stock Photo;
Lilian Bader photograph © IWM HU 53753; Airspeed Oxford cockpit © Trustees of the Royal Air Force Museum.

Miniature Sheet
Dame Vera Lynn miniature sheet 4 x 1st class stamps issued 1 May 2025

A special four-stamp miniature sheet celebrating Dame Vera Lynn, the singer who uplifted British troops and civilians during WWII. The stamps capture Vera Lynn in different aspects of her wartime career, including her ENSA performances, BBC wartime radio, and troop visits.  Commemorating her tireless efforts to support the troops and her advocacy for military veterans.

Technical details

The 146 x 74 mm sheet contains four 41 x 30 mm stamps designed by Together Design London Ltd.  It's printed in litho by Cartor Security Printers with perforations 14 x 14½.

Acknowledgements: Vera Lynn in ENSA uniform (1941) – Popperfoto via Getty Images; ...  serving cups of tea to servicemen (Trafalgar Square, London, 1942) – Keystone/Getty Images; ... entertaining troops during WWII – Trinity Mirror/Mirrorpix/Alamy Stock Photo; ..  on BBC wartime radio programme Sincerely Yours (November 1941) – BBC Photo Library. 

Prestige Stamp Book

This Prestige Stamp Book is a richly detailed tribute to the people who shaped Britain's Second World War effort, from frontline soldiers and resistance fighters to home front workers and intelligence specialists.
It contains all fourteen stamps in the Valour and Victory stamp issue and an additional page of definitive stamps, unique to the issue.
Through compelling stories, historical insights, and archival photography, the book highlights the human impact of war and the diverse roles played by individuals from Britain and the Commonwealth.
The People’s War – How individuals from Britain, the Commonwealth, and occupied nations came together to fight on the front lines, work in vital industries, and serve in intelligence and resistance operations.
Bravery on the Home Front – The heroic efforts of firefighters, engineers, and volunteers during the Blitz, including the Civil Defence network, Thames Flood Prevention teams, and the Home Guard. Codebreaking & Intelligence – The top-secret work of Bletchley Park, featuring William Tutte’s breakthrough in decrypting the Lorenz cipher, which helped shape the outcome of the war.
Women in Wartime – The crucial contributions of the Women’s Auxiliary Services (WAAF, WRNS, ATS), including Lilian Bader, and the SOE agents, like Violette Szabó, who risked their lives in enemy territory. Frontline Battles & the Commonwealth’s Role – The fearless service of Gurkha soldiers, RAF pilots, and Royal Navy sailors, highlighting Bhanbhagta Gurung, Mahinder Singh Pujji, and John Harrison.

All the panes are printed in litho with conventional gum; the definitive pane is self-adhesive in gravure. 



Prestige Stamp Book of 4 panes including a pane of definitive stamps containing
20p and 2 each 50p & £1 coded M25L MPIL.

Collector Sheet

... includes the 10 Valour and Victory stamps paired with photographs showing the work of the ten roles carried out by those individuals featured on the stamps. The background shows the crowds in London's Trafalgar Square on VE Day. 
Note: As is standard, the Collector Sheet is printed in litho and self-adhesive. The set of stamps from sheets have ordinary gum.

Products available

Set of 10 stamps, miniature sheet, prestige stamp book, first day covers (3 including definitive block), presentation pack, stamp cards, collector sheet, press sheet of 15 miniature sheets, various coin covers, framed set, set of 10 '24 carat gold' stamps limited edition of 1945.

 


Tuesday, 22 April 2025

Is there any set that the forgers will not copy?

My thanks to reader BB who sent me a surprise package of assorted forgeries before the weekend.

The dog from the 2001 1st class self-adhesive Cats & Dogs set (and booklet) looks very good - until you compare it with a genuine one.

2001 Cats & Dogs (part set)  - and forgery above.

The forgery has a totally different appearance and even has pseudo-phosphor bands, which are much wider than the originals, and much more pronounced.  That was used by a 'proud member of the PTS' who I shall not name.

BB also sent this sheet of the more recent Cats 1st class stamps from 2022.  There are no phosphor bands on these which have ordinary gum, but otherwise they are very passable copies of the originals.


1st class Cats sheet 2022 - forgery with no phosphor bands.

These were sent by the eBay seller by special delivery - in this envelope.   The postage is paid with 4 x 1st class Large Christmas stamps, with a total face value £8.40 -  well above the postage rate of £7.95.  And of course the seller didn't worry about overpayment because all these are forgeries as well!

Four forged 1st class Christmas stamps (3 different) overpaying the Special Delivery postage rate.

So if you collect forgeries, there are still plenty available and you can usually find them at good prices because they are sold for postage.

But if you want genuine stamps at low prices then you need to buy from a reliable dealer.  We still have plenty of stock in our shop - 1st class, or airmail

 


Monday, 7 April 2025

Ol' Brown Eyes is retiring - again!

If Ol' Blue-Eyes can do it, so can I!

Frank Sinatra (USPS)
Well, I'm not really retiring from this hobby and business, but I'm taking the next steps to divest myself of 'stuff' that I no longer need.  That way I shall be able to concentrate on the subjects that I am more interested in, and do some research, organise, and expand my collections. Along the way I shall be finding things and offering them here or on one of the social media channels, or maybe even giving them away.

Don't get me wrong, the last 20 years have been interesting, exciting even, especially the innovation of the security printing on Machin definitives, which meant that - for the first couple of years at least - we never knew what was coming next with year codes and source codes dropping on us at random times during each year.

Follow that up with change to the source codes, peculiar fluorescence in the iridescent ink and even the colour ink, while on the country definitives the grid positions and primary sheet sizes seemed to be constantly changing.

But now that era has ended and all those stamps have gone at least from here.   Royal Mail printed so many datamatrix stamps with the Machin head that they are still sending them out under their SwapOut scheme, and King Charles stamps are only just making an appearance. Those are, however, widely available in Post Offices now although they don't seem to have the allure of the Machins - unless you closely examine and interpret the datamatrix codes. 

Post and Go machines and branch Self-Service Kiosks kept us all engaged for many years - and there are still some surprises in store as our regular contributors report.  But can you imagine the chaos that would have ensued had the museum machines continued through the era of two tariff rises a year?  We had varieties enough when prices went up slowly!

Meanwhile the programme of 'special stamps' continues to astound and amaze.  We're astounded at the audacity of some of the subjects, and amazed that Royal Mail continue to find it worthwhile to produce so many different stamps each year at ever-increasing prices although they will say that the change to 2nd & 1st class only will be a help.  Yes, it is - but the 2nd class is only 13p shy of the £1 values that they were including, and the 1st class now only 30p shy of the £2 values (Thank you AJT for the correction to my fat-fingered 20p!).  The change is simply a reflection of reality - or am I being too cynical?

On the Stampboards forum one dedicated member tracks the cost of new issues worldwide every year, and publishes the data weekly in a league table.  Despite the plethora of junk being printed around the world from philatelic agencies exploiting thematic collectors in the name of third-world nations (see Commonwealth Stamps Opinion blog here and on many other posts), guess which postal authority tops the list?
 

Top of the league table for new issues, compiled by DJCMH 30 March 2025.

Even if you take issue with the methodology, the inclusion of everything - 46 stamps, 3 souvenir sheets, 5 collector sheets and 1 prestige book - puts Royal Mail at the top of the list with a face value of £185.55 - or nearly £15 per week.  (And even then he might have it wrong, because we've had 2 PSBs!)

SO what to do?

As I have shown on my other blog, I am actually more interested in the stamps being used.

So I am now selling off all stock of special stamps and modern definitives for postage. If,you need more stamps you will find some good prices I hope. And if you have been a regular customer or contributor here email me for a discount code to get even lower prices.  If you want any particular commemorative stamps, sets, miniature sheets before 2010 then let me know.
 
The prices for datamatrix definitives are lower than for commemoratives because I really want rid of those that are taking up a lot of space.  When I sent all my Machins and Country definitives to Royal Mail's incinerator, they sent me a lot of green or purple DMX Machins.  If you know of a business which still uses stamps, this will be a way to help them and me (and possibly yourself). 

And I've put into separate categories the definitive-sized stamps and airmail Post and Go stamps which are useful if you send postcards or small letters. Post and airmail letter or card for as little as £2.25 instead of the £3.20 Royal Mail now charge. Useful for Postcrossers.


On the subject of Postal History, I have been collecting stamps on cover, card and parcel wrapper for many years.  When the Security Machins were rampant I put aside examples of the different source and year codes on cover.  It was this that led to the conclusion that counter sheet stamps (at least for 2nd & 1st class) were far less common than booklet or business sheet stamps.

I never did sort them all out and make a selection for myself, but when I do that I am sure I will find a lot of duplication.  If anybody else has been undertaking a similar exercise and  has gaps to fill please let me know and I will try to help before I consign all the rest to kiloware.  This could be especially useful for overseas collectors wanting domestic use of these stamps.  The only cost to you will be the postage to get them to you.

For special/commemorative stamps there is less opportunity for adding to your collections as I have so few, but I do have some sets and odds of some commemoratives from 10-15 years ago.  When I find them I'll let you know!  Here's a taster pic:

2014 set of 10 fishes used on covers.


What about you and your collections?

It's quite clear that the readers of this blog do so because they are primarily interested in British stamps (and postmarks).  But few collectors don't have sidelines, even if it is based on childhood collections.

In fact, now that some collectors have given up Great Britain new issues, aside from turning back to earlier issues they are looking for other things to collect.  This might be something thematic, associated with another hobby or their work, or another country (or area), or picture postcards.  I have them all!

Well no, I don't have every country and certainly don't cover the world with postcards and postal history, but I've bought all sorts of stamp, cover and card lots over 50 years and not had time to deal with them all (see paragraph 1!).  

So if you have particular interests outside GB philately do let me know and I will keep a register of interests and contact you when I find anything significant.  Or if you see something I post here or on either of my other two blogs (Great Britain Postal History or the embryonic World Postal History), email me at the usual address (please, not through the shop system as I can't easily reply that software) and we can proceed from there.

I look forward to hearing from you, and I hope you will join me in further interesting posts on the three blogs.

 


On and off at Christmas - or, did you know?

The Christmas stamps of 2001 were innovative; the first after the complex Millennium series of special    issues, they were self-adhesive for the first time.  To help post office counter staff to get used to them without spoiling any sheets of special labels were printed in the same format (sheets of 50) with the De La Rue logo in black on a white background.  These training sheets, and the actual stamps retained the paper around and between the stamps, known as the matrix.

This format continued for 2002, but in 2004 the matrix was removed at the factory, which made it much easier for counter staff and customers to remove the stamps.  This was to be the model for all future self-adhesive issues and was extended to booklets and business sheets.

Except that it wasn't the case with all the stamps.  Each year Royal Mail (and at that time Post Office) employees were given 50 x 1st class stamps at Christmas (on condition that they did not sell them to collectors!).   The 50 stamps were usually in two panes of 25 and the matrix was retained.  Of course this made them attractive to collectors, so some were swapped for normal ones while others were given away or sold (yes - really!)

The difference can be seen clearly in this example of the 2006 stamps.

Christmas 2006 1st class: 'Public' version; above 'Staff' version below.

I have examples of many years available at current face value or less for blocks.  A pair or a marginal single is essential to show the difference, but bigger blocks are quite impressive.

Availability - as well as singles and pairs from the middle of the sheet, I can offer the following.

2004 - printing date marginal strips or blocks; sale date marginal strips or blocks. Cylinder blocks, gutter pair, and gutter blocks now available.

2005 - cylinder blocks and colour dot blocks or strip. - One gutter paid only remaining.

2006 - sale date marginal strips or blocks, singles.

2007 - printing date marginal strips or blocks; sale date marginal strips or blocks, pairs.

2008 - colour dot strip/block; one single.

2009 - half-sheet of 25 with cylinder and colour dots; colour dot block/strip, single.

2010 - colour dot strip/block; two singles.

2011 - printing date marginal strips or blocks; sale date marginal strips or blocks, half-sheet of 25.

2012 - half-sheet of 25 with cylinder and colour dots; few others.

These were distributed in half-sheets of 25, the top half has the dates, the lower half has the cylinder numbers and colour blocks. While available sheets can be split into blocks, strips and singles.

Please email ian[at]norphil.co.uk with your requirements.

I'll try to keep this updated with available stock.

 


Thursday, 3 April 2025

April 2025 Slogan Postmarks and other interesting postal markings

After my criticism of Royal Mail's publicity machine in last month's news, I can praise them for the announcement of a slogan in support of the UK's Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC's appeal to help the thousands of people injured and displaced as a result of last week's powerful earthquake which struck Myanmar and the wider region.  

This was shown on social media but so far there is nothing on their Media website to say when it is being used. (It certainly needs to be before the dummy date of 5 May shown in this mock-up!).  Please send examples for publication.

Mock-up of slogan for DEC Myanmar Earthquake Appeal to be used in April 2025.

Thanks to MM for a live example, from a square envelope for which the postmark missed any stamps, so it's the clearest postmark for a while.   From Mount Pleasant Mail Centre 02-04-2025

DEC Myanmar Earthquake Appeal slogan used at Mount Pleasant 02-04-2025

Update 6 April. Thanks to flip on Stampboards for the other layout of this postmark, from the Bristol Mail Centre [BA,BS,GL,TA] 03/04/2025.  Thanks also to DP & GS for other examples of the one above.

DEC Myanmar Earthquake Appeal slogan used at Bristol Mail Centre 03/04/2025


And thanks to JH for this example which is the clearest seen so far, from Peterborough Mail Centre on 5 April

DEC Myanmar Earthquake Appeal slogan used at Peterborough Mail Centre 05-04-2025


UPDATE 14 April: Myanmar has slipped from the headlines and so too has the charity appeal from Royal Mail, as we return to the default British Heart Foundation slogan, from Norwich Mail Centre 11-04-2025.

British Heart Foundation slogan Norwich Mail Centre 11-04-2025



UPDATE 14 April.  Look out for this one in use from tomorrow (15th) to Thursday 17th April marking Rory McIlroy's Golf Grand Slam.  (Although stated to be from 15th, it may well be in use today to land on doormats tomorrow.)

Rory McIlroy Grand Slam - Royal Mail publicity image.


The first example of this slogan from RW indicates that it was indeed in use on 14 April, though I can't see where this is from.

Rory McIlroy Grand Slam - unknown Mail Centre 14 April 2025

 A clearer example from CB on 14/04/2025 at Nottingham Mail Centre

Rory McIlroy Grand Slam - Nottingham Mail Centre 14 April 2025


UPDATE And we're back again to the default, thanks to RW in Devon, this time form Exter Mail Centre 17-04-2025

British Heart Foundation slogan Exeter Mail Centre 17-04-2025



Other postmarks and postal markings

One of the consequences of the regulation of postal services is the limit on the amount by which 2nd class post can be increased; this regulation does not apply to 1st class.  A consequence of this is that in recent times the rate for a 2nd class Large Letter up to 100g is lower than that for a 1st class (small) letter - £1.55 vs £1.65 until today.  

This might account for the marking on this envelope supplied by SH.  

Revenue Protection Treat as 2nd Class (2025)
 

I have seen several other similar Revenue Protection marks.  This one, as I wrote at the time 

"is fully paid for 2nd class up to 100g.   It is a c5 envelope and could be heavy but I would think the company sought to keep the sending under 100g.   

"After checking, it has been marked 'treat as 1st class'.  Would this be because it has been delayed by the checking process, or because there was a shortfall and it has been recovered in bulk?" 


Whatever the reason for treating this as 1st class (and I think the delay would be a good enough reason for promoting from 2nd to 1st) the latest one works in the opposite way.

Fully prepaid for a 1st class letter up to 100g and up to 5mm thick, it seems as if this was thicker*, so it was treated as (just over-)paid for a 2nd class Large Letter.   I nice piece of postal history all the more so because most people would discard it as of no consequence. ( *SH confirms that it was actually square and just oversize for an ordinary letter, rather than thick.)


UPDATE  In this case it is likely that someone had doubts and referred this 1st class 1d black stamp to higher authority.  The boxed mark reads

DO NOT SURCHARGE
CORRECT POSTAGE RAISED BY

07 JAN 2025

REVENUE PROTECTION
MCO TREAT AS FIRST CLASS

So they determined that (as we all know) the 1d black remains valid and sent it on it's way.

Revenue Protection mark indicating 1st class 1d black is valid - 2025.


UPDATE: My thanks to regular contributor Lars Tåders for this photo of the small postbox at his local branch, crudely decorated to mark St George's Day.  (It looks as if it could do with a good clean as well!)

 

Postbox decorated for St George's Day - simply painting white areas is very clever!

 

 


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