Commonwealth Stamps Opinion: 567. An Post Commemorates The Lusitania.

An Post, the postal service of Ireland, issued 2 stamps and 1 miniature sheet on 7 May 2015 to commemorate the centenary of the sinking of the RMS Lusitania on 7 May 1915 by a German U-boat torpedo 14 miles off the coast of Ireland. The ship was sailing from New York with many US passengers aboard it and the shock at the great loss of life - 1198 people in total - was one of the factors which eventually led to The United States' entrance into the First World War.

The issue was designed by Vincent Killowry and Steve Simpson and lithographed by Cartor:-

Vanuatu Post issued a set of 4 stamps on 11 March 2015 on the subject of products made in Vanuatu (illustrated above). The issue was designed by Denise Durkin and lithographed by Southern Colour Print.

Universal Mail United Kingdom has added 2 new strips of postcard airmail stamps to its non-bespoke England series. The first is numbered UK 0120 and is on the subject of Cornwall and has similar designs to strip number UK0105 but incorporates the Cornish county flag, the cross of St. Piran, in its design rather than the flag of England which appears in UK0105:-

Stamps from top of strip UK0120 with St. Piran's flag

Lower 3 stamps of strip UK0120

Top 2 stamps from strip UK0115 with St. George's flag.

Cross of St. Piran, Cornwall county flag

The second new strip (UK0121) is on the subject of the county of Durham. Rather unfairly, unlike the Cornish stamps, the stamps that make up UK0121 do not include the county flag of Durham, the cross of St. Cuthbert, which was adopted in 2013. Universal Mail is now selling the strips for £5 each:-

Top 2 stamps from Durham strip UK0121 with Union Jack.

Stamps from lower half of UK0121 strip.

Cross of St. Cuthbert, Durham county flag.

The US-based philatelic agency, IGPC, has announced the release of a number of philatelic products from some of its client territories:-

Antigua And Barbuda -

15 April 2015 - Beaches of Antigua definitive issue - 5 stamps:-

15 April 2015 - High value definitives (flag and coat of arms of Antigua And Barbuda) - $50 and $100 values:-

2015 - Flowers of Antigua And Barbuda, the pink desert rose - 1 sheetlet of 8 identical stamps and 1 miniature sheet containing a single stamp. I wondered if this flower might be the national flower of Antigua And Barbuda as it is given great prominence in this issue but that honour is in fact bestowed upon the Agave or dagger log which is also depicted below:-

Antiguan national flower - the agave or dagger log.

2 February 2015 - Horses in art - 1 miniature sheet (previously mentioned in Blog 542 but now illustrated). See also Blog 550:-

2015 - International Year of Light - 2 miniature sheets - 1 containing 4 different stamps and one containing a single circular stamp:-

2015 - 125th anniversary of the death of Vincent Van Gogh - 1 sheetlet of 6 different stamps (previously mentioned in Blog 546 but now illustrated). A single-stamp miniature sheet was also issued as illustrated in Blog 546:-

Grenada -

2015 - "Horses in art" - 3 miniature sheets, 1 of 4 different stamps and 2 each containing a single different stamp:-

2015 - Paintings by Vincent Van Gogh - 1 sheetlet of 6 different stamps and 1 m.s.:-

2015 - Whales - 2 miniature sheets, 1 of 4 different stamps and one containing a single stamp:-

Grenada Grenadines-

150th birth anniversary of Qi Baishi (Chinese artist) - 1 miniature sheet of 4 different stamps:-

Guyana -

2015 - "Extreme sports", skate boarding - 2 miniature sheets, 1 of 5 different stamps and one containing a single stamp:-

Nevis -

15 April 2015 - Europhilex Stamp Exhibition London 2015 - Lighthouses of England - 1 sheetlet of 6 different stamps and 1 miniature sheet:-

- 15 April 2015 - International Year of Light - 1 sheetlet of 5 different stamps and 1 miniature sheet:-

2015 - Volcanoes of the world (one stamp depicts Nevis Peak) - 2 miniature sheets, 1 containing 6 different stamps and 1 consisting of a single stamp):-

2015 - Events of the papacy of Benedict XVI - 2 miniature sheets, 1 consisting of 6 different stamps and 1 containing a single stamp:-

St. Vincent And The Grenadines -

13 April 2015 - Cricket World Cup 2015 - 1 miniature sheet:-

2015 - Taipei 2015 Philatelic Exhibition, Animals of Taiwan - 2 miniature sheets, 1 of 4 different stamps and 1 containing a single stamp:-

2015 - Taipei 2015 Philatelic Exhibition, 2nd issue, sites and scenes of Taiwan - 2 miniature sheets, 1 consisting of 7 different stamps and one containing a single stamp:-

Sierra Leone -

2015 - National Parks of Africa - 2 single stamp miniature sheets (mentioned in Blog 542 but now illustrated):-

2015 - International Year of light - 2 miniature sheets, 1 containing 6 different stamps and 1 containing a single stamp:-

Tuvalu -

13 April 2015 - Europhilex Stamp Exhibition London 2015 - "Sites and scenes of London " - 2 miniature sheets (an illustration of only one of them is available at present):-

2015 - War artists of the First World World War - 4 miniature sheets (2 each of 4 different stamps and 2 each featuring a different single stamp) (see Blog 499D):-