Royal Mail will issue a set of six stamps saluting the Merchant Navy on September 19, with an accompanying four-stamp miniature sheet honouring the achievements and the sacrifice of those who took part in the perilous Atlantic and Arctic convoys in World War II.
The history of Britain’s merchant fleet is intertwined with the fortunes of the nation.
The Empire was built on the carriage of goods, by private organisations such as the East India Company, and emigrants and mail, not least by Royal Mail ships.
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.
Royal Mail is celebrating Andy Murray’s victory in the Wimbledon Men’s Singles Final with a miniature sheet issued on August 8.
By beating Novak Djokovic in straight sets, Murray became the first Briton to win the men’s singles in 77 years, since Fred Perry did so in 1936.
The four-stamp miniature sheet uses the colours of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, green and purple, to salute Murray as a ‘1st class sporting success’.
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.
Royal Mail issued a Royal Portraits set of six stamps on May 30 to mark the 60th anniversary of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, and the 1st class value reproduces a detail of a portrait which it commissioned specially.
The painting by Nicky Philipps is a full-length study showing the Queen in her Order of the Garter robes.
This is the first time Royal Mail has commissioned a painted portrait of the Queen.
Royal Mail is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Football Association and the 140th anniversary of the Scottish Football Association with its Football Heroes miniature sheet, issued on May 9.
Eleven 1st class stamps portrayindividual British footballers who stood out in their generation, not least in representing their respective countries.
The designs form a composite image, and the miniature sheet places them all together in a team line-up.
Royal Mail is issuing a set of ten 1st class stamps on April 16 celebrating some of Britain’s most remarkable individuals, on the 100th or 150th anniversary of their birth.
The Great Britons honoured include an actor and actress, a national and a local politician, a football manager, a composer, a photographer, a writer, a broadcaster and an archaeologist.
Only two have featured previously on British stamps, Vivien Leigh in the 1985 British Film Year and 1996 Centenary of Cinema sets, and Peter Cushing in the 2008 Carry On & Hammer Films set.
Doctor Who, the world’s longest-running science-fiction television series, marks its 50th birthday this year, and Royal Mail is issuing stamps on March 26, four days before an Easter special is broadcast.
A set of 11 sheet stamps illustrates all the actors who have played the Doctor over the years, each with the backdrop used in the title sequence in his period.
The earliest two are in black and white, as broadcast.
Scenes from each of Jane Austen’s six published novels feature on a set of stamps marking the 200th anniversary of the publication of Pride & Prejudice.
Released on February 21, the stamps use illustrations by Angela Barrett which were commissioned especially for the issue.
The set was designed by Webb & Webb and printed in lithography by Cartor.
Royal Mail’s first stamp issue of2013 celebrates the 150th anniversary of the world’s oldest underground railway.
Issued on January 9, the London Underground issue comprises six separate stamps charting the history of the network, and a miniature sheet of four wide-format stamps focusing on the design heritage of its promotional posters.
The sheet stamps all feature a timeline across the lower quarter of the design, giving the date of the image and using
the livery colour of the relevant Underground line.
