Royal Mail will release a six-stamp miniature sheet commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain on July 16.
The first major battle in history fought entirely in the air was contested over southern England from July to October 1940.
It proved a key turning point in World War II, as the Royal Air Force denied Germany’s Luftwaffe the air superiority which was the prerequisite of an attempt to invade.
Royal Mail will commemorate the 200th anniversary of one of the most famous and decisive battles in European history, the Battle of Waterloo, by issuing six stamps and a miniature sheet on June 18.
The culmination of two decades of conflict collectively known as the Napoleonic Wars, the single-day battle in what is now Belgium on June 18, 1815, saw the final defeat of the French Emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte, at the hands of an Allied army largely composed of British forces commanded by the Duke of Wellington and Prussian forces under Gebhard von Blücher
The landscape-format counter sheet stamps, designed by Silk Pearce, illustrate some of the key exchanges in the battle in chronological order, based on paintings by 19th-century artists.
The portrait-format miniature sheet stamps, designed by Webb & Webb using modern illustrations by Chris Collingwood, depict rank-and-file infantrymen from the key nationalities who took part, emphasising the international nature of the conflict.
The 150th anniversary of the birth of Beatrix Potter will be commemorated on July 28 with a total of 10 stamps illustrating many of the timeless characters she created.
A set of six portray the leading characters in six of her most popular books, while a four-stamp miniature sheet features scenes from The Tale of Peter Rabbit.
Both a storyteller and an artist, Potter (1866-1943) made her name with a series of children’s tales featuring anthropomorphic animals, starting with The Tale of Peter Rabbit, published in 1902.
Royal Mail will release a set of six sheet stamps and a miniature sheet devoted to Bees on August 18.
With the insects in decline in their numbers and their range, it says the aim of the issue is to highlight the huge variety of British species and their importance in the pollination of food crops as well as in helping parks and gardens thrive.
The species depicted on the individual stamps include both solitary and eusocial (community) bees, and represent different regions and habitats, each one being shown with an appropriate flower.
The Birds of Prey stamp issue, released on April 4, celebrates 10 of Britain’s most spectacular avian predators.
They comprise all four falcons found in the UK (smaller birds from the Falconidae family), along with two eagles, two hawks, one buzzard and one kite (larger birds from the Accipitridae family).
All these raptors are nimble flyers with excellent binocular vision, which catch and carry off their prey with their feet.
In the Bridges issue, to be released on March 5, Royal Mail celebrates the evolution of Britain’s river crossings from small-scale functional structures to dramatic architectural landmarks.
The 10 featured bridges were constructed over a period of five centuries from a range of different materials, from stone and timber to iron and steel, and in contrasting engineering styles, from clapper and stone arch to suspension and cantilever.
Based on photographs taken from similar angles, the stamps were designed by GBH, and printed in lithography by International Security Printers.
Royal Mail issued a set of six stamps entitled Brilliant Bugs on October 1, to celebrate the enormous diversity of pollinating insects in the UK.
The stamps feature six significant pollinators, exploring a range that includes not only bees and butterflies but other species which are often overlooked.
The planet’s five million insect species contribute to the ecosystem in varied ways, including recycling dead and decaying matter.
The British Auto Legends issue on August 13 celebrates some of the most stylish motor vehicles ever manufactured in Britain, and some of the most hard-working.
Timed to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Sir Henry Royce (the co-founder of Rolls-Royce) and the centenary of Aston Martin, the issue highlights two very different kinds of legendary cars: the ‘thoroughbreds’ ofthe 1960s and 1970s on a set of sixsheet stamps, and the ‘workhorses’ ofthe public services on a four-stamp miniature sheet.
The images for the sheet stamps were shot in a studio by renowned car photographer James Mann, using specialist lighting to capture the classic lines of the vehicles.
Released on May 2, the British Engineering issue showcases national innovations and achievements in a range of disciplines over the past 50 years.
The six stamps celebrate civil, electronic, chemical and biomedical engineering projects, while noting the 50th anniversary of the prestigious MacRobert Award for innovation, bestowed annually by the Royal Academy of Engineering.
An accompanying miniature sheet celebrates the the 50th anniversary of the Harrier GR3 ‘jump jet’, originally designed by Hawker Siddeley and later manufactured by British Aerospace (now part of BAE Systems), the world’s first fighter aircraft with short take-off and vertical take off capabilities, and even the ability to fly backwards.
The British Humanitarians issue on March 15 will commemorate the lives and achievements of six individuals who devoted their energies to helping and protecting other people, both in the UK and abroad.
The three men and three women, active in the 19th and 20th centuries, shared an innate concern for their fellow human beings struggling against illness, poverty, violence or hypocrisy, and a single-minded desire to help them in practical ways.
Unusually, the issue appears to be an example of people power heavily influencing Royal Mail’s stamp programme.
Royal Mail is celebrating the life and work of 10 significant but in some cases lesser-known citizens, in a special stamp issue on February 23.
The Britons of Distinction set celebrates distinguished individuals from the realms of engineering, computing, architecture, music, politics, literature and design, with a secret agent added to the mix for good measure.
Some are quite familiar names but others less so, certainly in comparison with the Eminent Britons set of 2009.
The Buckingham Palace set, to be issued on April 15, celebrates the history of the Queen’s official residence, which is one of the few working royal palaces left in the world.
Its history can be traced back to the early 17th century, when a mulberry garden was established on the site in London to breed silkworms.
A house built there for Lord Goring in 1633 was replaced on a larger scale by the Earl of Arlington, who was Secretary of State to King Charles II, and in 1698 Arlington House was acquired by John Sheffield, who was created Duke of Buckingham in 1703.
Royal Mail will release a Butterflies set of 10 stamps on July 11, with delicate and detailed illustrations by Richard Lewington depicting these beautiful creatures to stunning effect.
The 10 species chosen are a mix of the endangered and the common, but three-quarters of species are in decline in the UK.
The Big Butterfly Count, an annual nationwide survey, takes place from July 20–August 1, just after the issue comes out.
