Flying in the post - Military Jets, set of 8, MS, etc, issued 30 July 2026

You could argue, with some justification, that the Royal Air Force has had more than its fair share of stamp issues over the years, but Royal Mail is concentrating here in the evolution of jet aircraft with passenger jets being covered by a set of five in 2002.

Of course 'RAF Jets' means some more repeat visits, notably the Avro Vulcan which gets the full treatment this time.  One subject that doesn't specifically get a revisit this time is the Red Arrows.

From Royal Mail

2026 marks a number of important anniversaries in the evolution of Jet Aircraft and Royal Mail is delighted to recognise these key events with a set of commemorative stamps in celebration of some of the British military’s most iconic jet aircraft alongside the story of Sir Frank Whittle and the development of the jet propulsion engine. 

This year mark 50 years since the Hawker Siddeley Hawk entered service in 1976, 70 years since the Gloster Javelin and Avro Vulcan entered service in 1956, and 80 years since the de Havilland Vampire first entered service in 1946. 

This year is also 30 years since the death of Sir Frank Whittle (1 June 1907 – 8 August 1996) an English engineer, inventor and Royal Air Force officer who is credited with co-creating the jet propulsion engine. 

In 2002, Whittle was ranked number 42 in the BBC poll of the 100 Greatest Britons. The Medal Cover in this product range celebrates Sir Frank Whittle’s impressive career.

The Stamps 

Set of 8 x 1st class stamps featuring Military Jets issues 30 July 2026

Sheet 1: Gloster Meteor F1, Gloster Javelin FAW9, Hawker Siddeley Hawk T1, Avro Vulcan B2

Sheet 2: De Havilland Vampire FB5, Panavia Tornado GR4, Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer S2B, Lockheed Martin D- 35B Lightning IIÏ

Miniature Sheet

2026 marks 30 years since the death of Sir Frank Whittle, the Pioneer of the Jet Aircraft, who is the focus of our Miniature Sheet. Whittle developed the jet propulsion engine and this Miniature sheet includes four 1st class stamps featuring photographs of him throughout his career.

Military Jet Aircraft:  Frank Whittle miniature sheet of 4 x 1st class stamps issued 30 July 2026

Technical details and acknowledgements

The 41 x 30 mm stamps are from Webb & Webb Design Ltd printed in lithography with ordinary gum by Cartor Security Printers in two sheets of 48 perforated 14½x14.  The 146 x 74 mm miniature sheet contains 41 x 30 mm stamps perforated 14½x14.

RAF logos are trade marks of the UK Secretary of State for Defence and used under licence. llustrations: Gloster Meteor F1, Gloster Javelin FAW9, Avro Vulcan B2 and Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer S2B © Chris French; Hawker Siddeley Hawk T1, De Havilland Vampire FB5 and Panavia Tornado GR4 © Paul Couper; Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II © Alex Hamilton.

Frank Whittle at RAF Cranwell, c.1925 © Estate of Frank Whittle; Frank Whittle at his desk, c.1945 © IWM TR 3737; Frank Whittle with his WU turbojet, c.1988 © SSPL/Getty Images; Frank Whittle with his research team, 1944 and background image of Frank Whittle using a slide rule, 1944 © James Jarche/Popperfoto via Getty Images

Collector Sheet and 'Fan Sheet'.

This ten stamp Collectors Sheet (£19.20) showcases the stunning illustrations of the set of 8 stamps, plus 2 each of the Gloster Meteor and De Havilland Vampire. The 10 stamps are paired with photographs of the aircraft in flight against a backdrop of a Gloster Javelin FAW7 in flight.

The Avro Vulcan B2 Fan Sheet (£8) celebrates aviation history with the iconic Avro Vulcan B2 —Britain’s revolutionary delta-wing strategic bomber and Cold War legend. The Vulcan B2 embodied power and innovation when it came into service in 1960. This striking sheet includes 4 of the Avro Vulcan B2 1st class stamps and captures the spirit of one of the RAF’s most advanced and unforgettable jet aircraft of its time.

Products available

Set of 8 stamps, miniature sheet, first day covers (2), stamp cards (13), presentation pack, press sheet of 15 miniature sheets, Collector sheet, Fan sheet, medal cover (featuring the ms 25g silver-plated copper proof medallion, limited to 5,000 and priced at £25), framed set (£40), framed and signed enlarged illustration of the Meteor (limited to 200, price £150).

(The Gloster Meteor was previously shown in the Aircraft Designers issue of 1997, the Hawker Siddley Hawk and the Avron Vulcan in the Red Arrows issue of 2024, the Vulcan (shown at the top of this post) in the RAF Centenary set of 2018, 

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Relaunch of the Postal History of the World blog.

Five years after I set it up I have made the first substantive post to my World Postal History blog.

Read about the connection between a registered airmail cover from Soviet Russia to England and a famous Hollywood film star. 

Exploring Russian language, political place-name changing and industrial development, this story took an unexpected turn.

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Closure of more than 50 post offices operated by Morrisons this summer.

 (From the Daily Express 12 July2026) 

At least 52 Post Office branches are expected to shut by early October, according to analysis of Post Office consultation documents by Better Retailing. Many of the affected branches are in southern England, although closures are also planned across the UK in locations including York and Glamorgan. The Post Office is understood to be looking for replacement locations so affected communities can still access services.

Morrisons said the affected convenience stores had been unprofitable for some time and were acquired through its McColls £190million rescue deal in 2022.

Avon Drive Post Office, 18 Avon Drive, Bedford, MK41 7AF

Bewdley Post Office, 7 Load Street, Bewdley, DY12 2AF

Blackwater Post Office,  24 London Road, Blackwater, Camberley, GU17 9AA

Brigg Post Office, 8 Wrawby Street, Brigg, DN20 8ER

Burpham Post Office, 214 London Road, Burpham, Guildford, GU4 7JS

Calne Post Office, 21 Phelps Parade, Calne, SN11 0HA

Chalfont St Peter Post Office, 51-55 St Peters Court, Chalfont St Peter, Gerrards Cross, SL9 9QQ

Church Road Post Office, 96 Church Road, Barnes, London, SW13 0DQ

Clerkhill Post Office, Clerkhill Road, Peterhead, AB42 2XE

Coley Park Post Office,  56 Wensley Road, Coley Park, Reading, RG1 6DJ

Crown Wood Post Office, Crown Wood, Bracknell, RG12 0TH

Darras Hall Post Office, 25 The Broadway, Ponteland, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE20 9PW

Defoe Parade Post Office, 3 Defoe Parade, Grays, RM16 4QR

Downend Post Office, 4 Downend Road, Downend, Bristol, BS16 5UJ

Edinburgh Road Post Office, 69-71 Edinburgh Road, Jarrow, NE32 4BB

Fairfax Avenue Post Office, 161 Fairfax Avenue, Hull, HU5 4QZ

Fleet Post Office, 229 Fleet Road, Fleet, GU51 3HH

Goldsworth Park Post Office, 5 Denton Way, Woking, GU21 3LG

Great Baddow Post Office, The Vineyards, Great Baddow, Chelmsford, CM2 7QS

Greystoke Avenue Post Office, 12 Arnside Road, Southmead, Bristol, BS10 6AT

Grove Hill Post Office, 3 Grove Hill Centre, Hemel Hempstead, HP2 6BJ

Hallgrove Post Office, 10 Hallgrove, Welwyn Garden City, AL7 4PH

Hassocks Post Office, 44 Keymer Road, Hassocks, BN6 8AR

Heatherside Post Office, 8 Heatherside Arcade, Heatherside, GU15 1AX

Horley Post Office, Unit 4 Consort Way, Horley, RH6 7AF

Hundredstone Post Office, 53 Glenthorne Avenue, Yeovil, BA21 4PN

Ifield Drive Post Office, Ifield Drive, Crawley, RH11 0DQ

Jansel Square Post Office, 35 Jansel Square, Aylesbury, HP21 7ET

Leominster Post Office, 1-3 South Street, Leominster, HR6 8JA

Locks Bottom Post Office, 336-338 Crofton Road, Orpington, BR6 8NW

Longfield Post Office,  69 Station Road, Longfield, DA3 7QA

Luton Post Office, 214 Luton Road, Chatham, ME4 5BS

Manston Drive Post Office, 3 Snowley Parade, Bishops Stortford, CM23 5EP

Marshalswick Post Office, 29 The Quadrant, Marshalswick, St Albans, AL4 9RE

Montague Avenue Post Office, 53 Montague Avenue, Southampton, SO19 0QB

Murch Post Office, The Parade, Dinas Powys, CF64 4NR

New Ash Green Post Office, 19-21 The Row, New Ash Green, Longfield, DA3 8JB

New Milton Post Office, 75-77 Station Road, New Milton, BH25 6JD

North Parade Post Office, 16-18 North Parade, Chessington, KT9 1QF

Radyr Post Office, 10 Station Road, Radyr, Cardiff, CF15 8AA

Riverview Park Post Office, 4-6 The Alma, Gravesend, DA12 4NG

Rochford Post Office, 14 West Street, Rochford, SS4 1AJ

Shortstown Post Office, North Drive, Shortstown, Bedford, MK42 0TL

Stephenson Square Post Office, 10 Stephenson Square, Walsall, WS2 7DY

Surbiton Post Office,  2-3 Victoria Road, Surbiton, KT6 4JU

Taunton Road Post Office, 135 Taunton Road, Bridgwater, TA6 6BD

Thatcham Post Office, 54-55 The Broadway, Thatcham, RG19 3HP

The Neighbourhood Centre Post Office, 9 The Neighbourhood Centre, Poole, BH17 9DW

The Oval Post Office, 17-19 The Oval, Stevenage, SG1 5RA

West Park Post Office, 444 Crownhill Road, West Park, Plymouth, PL5 2QT

Whipton Post Office, 352 Pinhoe Road, Exeter, EX4 8AJ

Woodthorpe Post Office,  51 Moorcroft Road, York, YO24 2RQ

 

I'll leave the experts to pick out which - if any- of these have Self-Service Kiosks (SSKs) and then I can make adjustments to the January Post & Go post.

This follows the announcement that Modella Capital's restructuring planes for its TG Jones (ex WH Smith) stores could see the closure of up to 60 stores.  Some containing post offices - East Ham, Waltham Cross, Torquay, Hull, Ayr, Middleton and Solihul  - are already earmarked for closure.

These are even more likely to have SSKs in as they often followed the closure of Crown or other major urban Post Offices.  

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Slogan postmarks for July 2026 - and other interesting postal markings.

We are a third of the way through July but so far I have had no reports of new slogans.  Royal Mail has featured in many news articles about dog attacks on postal workers, and by now we would have expected to see a Dog Awareness slogan, but no.

So once again we have the British Heart Foundation, and I can show both examples received here. Bristol Mail Centre 04/07/2026 and Norwich Mail Centre 08-07-2026.

BHF Norwich Mail Centre 08-07-2026

BHF Bristol (BA,BS,GL,TA) Mail Centre 04/07/2026

 

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OTHER POSTMARKS AND POSTAL MARKINGS

Our reader in Canada (SS) has sent a picture of a cover with a counter datestamp.  This is another case of not identifying the town or area because the inscription on the SID is simply VICTORIA ROAD.  This could be in north London, in Romford, Leeds, Swindon and Kirkby in Ashfield. Fortunately, being tracked, we can see that it was posted in the Swindon area.

Victoria Road, Swindon, self-inking datestamp 01 07 2026

International Tracked and Signed letter from Swindon to Vancouver, Canada.

Victoria Road, Swindon, from Google maps.

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Update 13 July  I've just posted details of summer post office closures, but here is news from Northern Ireland of a new opening.  Thanks to GF for this:

"Killycomain Road" in Portadown, Northern Ireland is inside a completely new shop - EuroSpar at 117 Killycomain Road, Portadown, Craigavon, BT63 5JH, complete with petrol forecourt and parking.

There is an older "Killycomain" post office in Russells Food & Drink, 23-25 Gilford Road, Portadown, Craigavon, BT63 5EF (16 minutes walk away)

Another PO nearby is "Seagoe, Craigavon" in Spar, 52 Lurgan Road, Portadown. (Also about 16 minutes away)

Craigavon was to be a new town (like Milton Keynes) begun in 1965 and was meant to link Portadown & Lurgan - but it didn't work.  Wikipedia has an article about Craigavon.  If you live in Portadown or Lurgan you are supposed to put "Craigavon" in your address - but a lot of us don't.

Illustrations of the three self-inking datestamps.  The new one is another one without a town name.

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

A reminder of what these monthly listings are for.  

For each month I record the different slogans in use, plus the default slogan that is used when there is nothing else.

For each of these I try to record only one of each of the basic two types, plus any that are reversed on square envelopes, which normally only gives three or four.  

Occasionally a slogan appears with different line spacing in the same format. 

I do not record multiple versions of the same as any of these unless I later get a much better example of one that I showed purely for the record, but which is otherwise not very clear.

The only exception to this, which doesn't seem to happen much these days, is when a slogan is used well out of time.  

I mention this only to avoid readers unnecessarily duplicating what has already been provided.

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Ireland's version of Post and Go - Stamps on a Roll.

I was asked by a couple of collectors of Irish stamps to buy some of their Stamps on a Roll (SOAR) during my visit to Ireland last month.

I had bought one batch previously, but this gave me the opportunity to look more closely and learn about the stamps and the machines.

Aside from being a different format and type of machine to Royal Mail's Post and Go stamps, one important thing about these is that they are available at counters and from self-service kiosks - but the overprinting is different, of course, so there is plenty of scope for study.

The machines are also used for dropping off packages and bill-payment.  This is one at Ennis the county town of County Clare.

 

The machines dispense three pre-set values - Domestic and Northern Ireland (€1.85), Europe (€3.50) and Worldwide (€3.95) for 100g.  

At the counter you can theoretically buy stamps of any value, although your experience may vary.  At the larger office in Castlebar (Co. Mayo) I was able to buy a set of 1c stamps.  At Ballycroy (near Westport, Co. Mayo)) I was offered 10c stamps, and at Shannonbridge (Co. Offaly) they were reluctant to sell me anything less than 20c stamps. 

The stamps shown are from the Art on a Stamp series.  The 1c stamps are phase 3 which is a set of 4, the other two are phase 2, which is a set of 8.  These were the stamps generally available from branch counters.

However, at Letterkeny, Co Donegal, the machine held the set of Irish Culture and Objects series 3 from 2019. For the purist a continuous strip of 16 to incorporate all the designs is desirable but due to the uncertainty of the operation of the machines, two strips of 8 are highly collectable.

Irish Culture and Objects series 3 from Letterkenny's self-service kiosk

I was always in a hurry, not wanting to delay a family holiday too much, so ordered 8 first (because that was all I needed if it had been the other set), and - not remembering all the detail (I don't collect them) - ordered another set and then 4 in case the set total was more than 16.

Sometimes An Post presents a particular challenge to collectors.  The History of Ireland in 100 Objects series started in 2017 and many of the stamps are issued in the SOAR range. 

However, others are issued in booklets, some NVIs with Domestic, Europe or World values I believe. Obviously the international ones will not be found as easily in Ireland, and the domestic ones not as easily outside Ireland.

A fascinating area of collecting.  (But I'm not going to start now!)  

I should have asked if any readers here wanted me to get any - I'll try to remember next time we visit.

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A batch of King Charles Business Sheet stamps available

Due to a cancelled order I can offer again some of the King Charles stamps which I offered back in the spring.  There are two of each of these, in horizontal pairs which can be supplied as is, or split if nobody wants the pairs.

Business Sheets

M24L - 1st and 1st Large*  -  £19  (£38 for two)

M25L - 1st class - £2.50 (£5)

M26L - 2nd and 1st Large - £5 (£10)

Counter Sheets

M24L -  2nd Large, 1st Large £5.70 (£11.40)

M25L - 20p, 2nd, 1st - £3.40 (£6.80) 

Booklets

M24L - 2nd and 1st MEIL - £3.25 (£6.50)

M25L - 2nd £1.50 (£3)

M26L - 1st, 1st Large - £6.25 (£12.50)

I would like these to be taken as a lot, or three lots as grouped above, but will consider other options.

Payment in UK by Bank Transfer or cheque.

Payment from international customer by UK or Euro Bank Transfer or PayPal.  

 

Please email (addresses at top of right hand column). 

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Flying in the post - Moths set of 10, 9 July 2026

According to Royal Mail

"There are over 2,500 moth species recorded in the United Kingdom, compared with around 80 butterflies, and they exhibit astonishing diversity, which is largely hidden to us humans because moths are mostly nocturnal. 

Yet many moths do fly by day and are as beautiful as butterflies, including the emperor moth and the hedge beauty moth. Bizarrely, the female of the lesser bagworm moth does not have wings, legs or scales, the very things that define moths and butterflies as Lepidoptera, the scale-winged insects. 

The number of species in the UK is rising as our warming climate encourages moths to move north from Europe, and as the warmth is allowing once rare southern species, such as the dark crimson underwing moth, to become much more widespread. 

Moths have a four-stage life cycle: egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa (cocoon), and adult – which are typically, though not always, winged (like butterflies). During the caterpillar stage, they consume food, grow, and later undergo metamorphosis to emerge as adult moths. 

Moths have a bad reputation as clothes-munchers, yet only two species in the UK eat wool and feathers. Caterpillars of others eat a remarkable range of food, including leaves, fruits, living and dead wood and even fungi. 

The complete set of ten Moths stamps showcase beautiful illustrations by renowned wildlife artist Richard Lewington, bringing each moth species to life with exceptional detail and scientific accuracy. 

This set is a vibrant celebration of British biodiversity, capturing moths in their natural settings and will appeal to nature enthusiasts and philatelists alike. 

The stamps

Set of 5 x 2nd class and 5 x 1st class stamps showing moths, issued 9 July 2026

2nd class: Emperor Moth Saturnia pavonia, Puss Moth Cerura vinula, Broad-bordered Bee Hawk-moth Hemaris fuciformis, Dark Bordered Beauty Moth Epione vespertaria, December Moth Poecilocampa populi;
1st class: Dark Crimson Underwing Moth Catocala sponsa, Scarce Crimson and Gold Moth Pyrausta sanguinalis, Swallow-tailed Moth Ourapteryx sambucaria, Hedge Beauty Moth Alabonia geoffrella, Buff-tip Moth Phalera bucephala.

Technical details

The 37 x 35 mm stamps, designed by Frontmedia Studio using artwork by Richard Lewington, have been printed in litho on ordinary gummed paper by Cartor Security Printers in two sheets of 50 , se-tenant strips of 5.

Products available

Set of 10 stamps, first day cover, presentation pack, stamp cards - no collector sheet or framed products! 

 

For more information on the United Kingdom's butterflies and moths visit Butterfly Conservation. 

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