This list of United Kingdom commemorative stamps deals with commemorative stamps issued by Royal Mail, the postal administration of the United Kingdom.
Postage stamps were first used in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on 6 May 1840, with the introduction of the world's first adhesive postage stamps, the Penny Black and Two Pence Blue. Until 1924, all British stamps depicted only the portrait of the reigning monarch, with the exception of the 'High Value' stamps (the so-called "Sea Horses" design) issued in 1913, which were twice the size of normal stamps with added pictorial design.
In 1924, the first commemorative stamp was issued for the British Empire Exhibition. There were then occasional issues over the next thirty years, when the frequency of new issues became more regular. From the mid-1960s, in most years, six to nine sets of commemorative stamps have been issued every year. The General Post Office introduced official First Day Covers and Presentation Packs in the mid-1960s and PHQ Cards, postcard sized reproductions of commemorative stamps, have also been issued to accompany every new set of stamps since the mid-1970s.
| Issue date | Commemorative Issue | No. in set | Designer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1924 | |||
| 23 April 1924 | British Empire Exhibition (dated 1924) | Two (1d, 1+1⁄2d) Both with Watermark | Harold Nelson [1] |
| 1925 | |||
| 9 May 1925 | British Empire Exhibition (dated 1925) | Two (1d, 1+1⁄2d) Both with Watermark | Harold Nelson [1] |
| 1929 | |||
| 10 May 1929 | 9th UPU Congress, London | Five (1⁄2d, 1d, 1+1⁄2d, 2+1⁄2d, £1) All with Watermark | F W Farleigh, Ernest Linzell, Harold Nelson [2] |
| 1935 | |||
| 7 May 1935 | Silver Jubilee of George V | Four (1⁄2d, 1d, 1+1⁄2d, 2+1⁄2d) All with Watermark | Barnett Freedman [3] |
| 1937 | |||
| 13 May 1937 | Coronation of George VI | One (1+1⁄2d) With Watermark | |
| 1940 | |||
| 6 May 1940 | Centenary of First Adhesive Postage Stamp | Six (1⁄2d, 1d, 1+1⁄2d, 2d, 2+1⁄2d, 3d) All with Watermark | |
| 1946 | |||
| 11 June 1946 | Victory | Two (2+1⁄2d, 3d) Both with Watermark | |
| 1948 | |||
| 26 April 1948 | Royal Silver Wedding | Two (2+1⁄2d, £1) Both with Watermark | |
| 29 July 1948 | Olympic Games | Four (2+1⁄2d, 3d, 6d, 1s) All with Watermark | |
| 1949 | |||
| 10 October 1949 | 75th Anniversary of Universal Postal Union | Four (2+1⁄2d, 3d, 6d, 1s) All with Watermark | |
| 1951 | |||
| 3 May 1951 | Festival of Britain | Two (2+1⁄2d, 4d) Both with Watermark | |
| 3 May 1951 | High Value Definitives George VI (This set is not a Commemorative issue, it is the first set of 'Pictorial' High Value Definitives) | Four (2s 6d, 5s, 10s, £1) All with Watermark | |
| 1953 | |||
| 3 June 1953 | Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II | Four (2+1⁄2d, 4d, 1s 3d, 1s 6d) All with Watermark | |
| 1955 | |||
| September 1955 | Castles (Not a Commemorative issue, the 2nd set of 'Pictorial' High Value Definitives) | Four (10s and £1 first issued 1 September, 2s 6d and 5s first issued 23 September) All with Watermark | |
| 1957 | |||
| 1 August 1957 | World Scout Jubilee Jamboree | Three (2+1⁄2d, 4d, 1s 3d) All with Watermark | |
| 12 September 1957 | 46th Inter-Parliamentary Union Conference | One (4d) With Watermark | |
| 1958 | |||
| 18 July 1958 | 6th British Empire & Commonwealth Games | Three (3d, 6d, 1s 3d) All with Watermark | |
| 1960 | |||
| 7 July 1960 | Tercentenary of Establishment of General Letter Office | Two (3d, 1s 3d) | Faith Jaques |
| 19 September 1960 | 1st Anniversary of European Postal & Telecommunications Conference | Two (6d, 1s 6d) | |
| 1961 | |||
| 28 August 1961 | Centenary of Post Office Savings Bank | Three (2+1⁄2d, 3d, 1s 6d) | |
| 18 September 1961 | European Postal & Telecommunications (CEPT) Conference, Torquay | Three (2d, 4d, 10d) | |
| 25 September 1961 | 7th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference | Two (6d, 1s 3d) | Faith Jaques |
| 1962 | |||
| 14 November 1962 | (Introduction of the double issue: Phosphor and Ordinary sets) National Productivity Year | Three (2+1⁄2d, 3d, 1s 3d) Also issued in Phosphor set. | David Gentleman [4] |
| 1963 | |||
| 21 March 1963 | (Introduction of GPO First Day of Issue Postmark) Freedom From Hunger | Two (2+1⁄2d, 1s 3d) Also issued in Phosphor set. | |
| 7 May 1963 | Paris Postal Conference Centenary | One (6d) Also issued in Phosphor set. | |
| 16 May 1963 | National Nature Week | Two (3d, 4+1⁄2d) Also issued in Phosphor set. | |
| 31 May 1963 | 9th International Lifeboat Conference, Edinburgh | Three (2+1⁄2d, 4d, 1s 6d) Also issued in Phosphor set. | David Gentleman [4] |
| 15 August 1963 | Red Cross Centenary Congress | Three (3d, 1s 3d, 1s 6d) Also issued in Phosphor set. | |
| 3 December 1963 | Opening of COMPAC (Trans-Pacific Telephone Cable) | One (1s 6d) Also issued in Phosphor set. | |
| 1964 | |||
| 23 April 1964 | (Introduction of GPO Presentation Pack) Shakespeare Festival | Five (3d, 6d, 1s 3d, 1s 6d, 2s 6d) Four (3d, 6d, 1s 3d, 1s 6d) also issued in Phosphor set. | David Gentleman [4] |
| 1 July 1964 | 20th International Geographical Congress, London | Four (2+1⁄2d, 4d, 8d, 1s 6d) Also issued in Phosphor set. | |
| 5 August 1964 | 10th International Botanical Congress, Edinburgh | Four (3d, 6d, 9d, 1s3d) Also issued in Phosphor set. | |
| 4 September 1964 | Opening of Forth Road Bridge | Two (3d, 6d) Also issued in Phosphor set. | Andrew Restall |
| 1965 | |||
| 8 July 1965 | Winston Churchill Commemoration | Two (4d, 1s 3d) Also issued in Phosphor set. | David Gentleman [4] |
| 19 July 1965 | 700th Anniversary of Simon de Montfort's Parliament | Two (6d, 2s 6d) One (6d) also issued in Phosphor . | Stewart Black D.A |
| 9 August 1965 | Salvation Army Centenary | Two (3d, 1s6d) Also issued in Phosphor set. | |
| 1 September 1965 | Centenary of Joseph Lister's discovery of Antiseptic Surgery | Two (4d, 1s) Also issued in Phosphor set. | |
| 1 September 1965 | Commonwealth Arts Festival | Two (6s, 1s 6d) Also issued in Phosphor set. | David Gentleman [4] |
| 13 September 1965 | 25th Anniversary of Battle of Britain | Eight (6 different stamps at 4d, 9d, 1s 3d) Also issued in Phosphor set. | David Gentleman and Rosalind Dease [5] |
| 8 October 1965 | Post Office Tower | Two (3d, 1s 3d) Also issued in Phosphor set. | Clive Abbott |
| 25 October 1965 | 20th Anniversary of UNO and International Co-operation Year | Two (3d, 1s 6d) Also issued in Phosphor set. | |
| 15 November 1965 | ITU Centenary | Two (9d, 1s 6d) Also issued in Phosphor set. | |
| 1966 | |||
| 25 January 1966 | Burns Commemoration | Two (4d, 1s 3d) Also issued in Phosphor set. | Gordon F. Huntley |
| 28 February 1966 | 900th Anniversary of Westminster Abbey | Two (3d, 2s 6d) One (3d) also issued in Phosphor. | Sheila Robinson [6] |
| 2 May 1966 | Landscapes | Four (4d, 6d, 1s 3d, 1s 6d) Also issued in Phosphor set. | Leonard Rosoman |
| 1 June 1966 | World Cup Football Championship | Three (4d, 6d, 1s 3d) Also issued in Phosphor set. | |
| 8 August 1966 | British Birds | Four (Four different 4d)Also issued in Phosphor set. | J Norris Wood [7] |
| 18 August 1966 | England's World Cup Football Victory {4d value from the June set, with 'England Winners' added to design} | One (4d) | David Gentleman [4] |
| 19 September 1966 | British Technology | Four (4d, 6d, 1s 3d, 1s 6d)Also issued in Phosphor set. | D Gillespie [8] |
| 14 October 1966 | 900th Anniversary of Battle of Hastings | Eight (Six different 4d, 6d, 1s 3d)Also issued in Phosphor set. | David Gentleman [4] |
| 1 December 1966 | Christmas | Two (3d, 1s 6d)Also issued in Phosphor set. | Tasveer Shemza and James Berry. [9] Shemza and Berry were six-year-old children whose stamp designs won a Blue Peter competition. Shemza was the daughter of the artist Anwar Shemza. [10] |
| 1967 | |||
| 20 February 1967 | European Free Trade Association (EFTA) | Two | |
| 24 April 1967 | British Wild Flowers | Six |
|
| 10 July 1967 | British Paintings | Three | |
| 24 July 1967 | Sir Francis Chichester's World Voyage | One | |
| 19 September 1967 | British Discovery and Invention | Four | |
| 18 October 1967 | Christmas (4d value) | One | |
| 27 November 1967 | Christmas (3d & 1s 6d values) | Two | |
| 1968 | |||
| 29 April 1968 | British Bridges | Four | |
| 29 May 1968 | British Anniversaries | Four | David Gentleman [4] |
| 12 August 1968 | British Paintings | Four | |
| 25 November 1968 | Christmas | Three | |
| 1969 | |||
| 15 January 1969 | British Ships | Six (5d, 3 × 9d se-tenant, 2 × 1s se-tenant) | David Gentleman [4] |
| 3 March 1969 | First flight of Concorde | Three (4d, 9d, 1s 6d) | Michael Goaman [12] & David Gentleman [4] |
| 2 April 1969 | Anniversaries | Five | |
| 28 May 1969 | British Architecture, Cathedrals | Six | |
| 1 July 1969 | Investiture of HRH The Prince of Wales | Five | |
| 13 August 1969 | Gandhi Centenary Year | One | |
| 1 October 1969 | Post Office Technology Commemoration | Four | David Gentleman [4] |
| 26 November 1969 | Christmas | Three | |
From 1965 onwards, in most years, there were between six and ten sets issued every year. The listings for the years after 1969 are set out in decades.
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage, who then affix the stamp to the face or address-side of any item of mail—an envelope or other postal cover —that they wish to send. The item is then processed by the postal system, where a postmark or cancellation mark—in modern usage indicating date and point of origin of mailing—is applied to the stamp and its left and right sides to prevent its reuse. The item is then delivered to its addressee.
Stamp collecting is the collecting of postage stamps and related objects. It is an area of philately, which is the study of stamps. It has been one of the world's most popular hobbies since the late nineteenth century with the rapid growth of the postal service, as a never-ending stream of new stamps was produced by countries that sought to advertise their distinctiveness through their stamps.
The postal and philatelic history of Canada concerns postage of the territories which have formed Canada. Before Canadian confederation, the colonies of British Columbia and Vancouver Island, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland issued stamps in their own names. The postal history falls into four major periods: French control (1604–1763), British control (1763–1841), colonial government control (1841–1867), and Canada, since 1867.
Indian postal systems for efficient military and governmental communications had developed long before the arrival of Europeans. When the Portuguese, Dutch, French, Danish and British conquered the Marathas who had already defeated the Mughals, their postal systems existed alongside those of many somewhat independent states. The British East India Company gradually annexed the other powers on the sub-continent and brought into existence a British administrative system over most of modern-day India, with a need to establish and maintain both official and commercial mail systems.
This is a list of philatelic topics.
Postage stamps and postal history of Great Britain surveys postal history from the United Kingdom and the postage stamps issued by that country and its various historical territories until the present day.
A local post is a mail service that operates only within a limited geographical area, typically a city or a single transportation route. Historically, some local posts have been operated by governments, while others, known as private local posts have been for-profit companies. Today, many stamp collectors operate hobbyists' local posts, issuing their own postal "stamps" for other collectors but rarely carrying any mail.
This is an overview of the postage stamps and postal history of Australia.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Iraq. It includes special uses under the Ottoman Empire as well as occupation issues.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Hong Kong.
The Mauritius "Post Office" stamps were issued by the British Colony Mauritius in September 1847, in two denominations: an orange-red one penny (1d) and a deep blue two pence (2d). Their name comes from the wording on the stamps reading "Post Office", which was soon changed in the next issue to "Post Paid". They are among the rarest postage stamps in the world.
The postage stamps of Ireland are issued by the postal operator of the independent Irish state. Ireland was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland when the world's first postage stamps were issued in 1840. These stamps, and all subsequent British issues, were used in Ireland until the new Irish Government assumed power in 1922. Beginning on 17 February 1922, existing British stamps were overprinted with Irish text to provide some definitives until separate Irish issues became available. Following the overprints, a regular series of definitive stamps was produced by the new Department of Posts and Telegraphs, using domestic designs. These definitives were issued on 6 December 1922; the first was a 2d stamp, depicting a map of Ireland. Since then new images, and additional values as needed, have produced nine definitive series of different designs.
PHQ cards are postcards issued by the British Post Office depicting the designs of their commemorative stamps. They are generally available to buy in main post offices about two weeks prior to the release of each new set of stamps.
The United Kingdom, known in philatelic circles as "Great Britain", released many commemorative stamps in the 1970s.
The United Kingdom, known in philatelic circles as Great Britain, released many commemorative stamps in the 1980s.
Commemorative stamps, postage stamps issued to honour or commemorate a place, event or person, have been released by Great Britain since 1924. Several sets were released during the decade of the 1990s.
A list of Great Britain commemorative stamps 2000–2009:
The postal history of Malta began in the early modern period, when pre-adhesive mail was delivered to foreign destinations by privately owned ships for a fee. The earliest known letter from Malta, sent during the rule of the Order of St John, is dated 1532. The first formal postal service on the islands was established by the Order in 1708, with the post office being located at the Casa del Commun Tesoro in Valletta. The first postal markings on mail appeared later on in the 18th century.
The Postal Union Congress (PUC) £1 stamp is one of a series of postage stamps of Great Britain issued in 1929. It is one of the classics of British philately and has been described as one of the most beautiful British stamps ever issued. The stamp was only the second British commemorative stamp to be issued. The first were the British Empire Exhibition postage stamps of 1924–25.
This is a list of Great Britain commemorative stamps 2010–2019.
