2706. 🇸🇭 Tristan Da Cunha Commemorates Submarine Visit Anniversary.

🇸🇭 Postal service of Tristan Da Cunha -

28 April 2025 - 90th anniversary of the visit of Hr Ms K XVIII to Tristan in March 1935 - 1 miniature sheet containing a single £5 stamp. This was a Dutch vessel which made a journey around the world and carried research scientists who were conducting gravity experiments. The abbreviation Hr Ms refers to Her Majesty (the Queen of the Netherlands) and the K. stands for ‘Koloniën’ (colonies) meaning that its primary function was to defend the then Dutch colonies. DesignedAndrew Robinson and lithographed by Cartor and perforated 13.5 x 13. Rating:- ****.

Thanks to Isle Of Man Stamps& Coins for information about this issue.

🇯🇪 Jersey Post -

5 May 2025 - EUROPA, Local archaeological discoveries - 6 stamps and 1 miniature sheet containing all 6 stamps. This issue was reported in Blog 2701 but I now illustrate the miniature sheet below. Designed from illustrations by Hannah George and lithographed by bpost. The combined face value of the six stamps from sheets and the miniature sheet is £21.10p. Greedy JerseyPost. 

Important British events and anniversaries not commemorated by Royal Mail (part 1) -

23 April 2025 - 250th anniversary of the birth of JMW Turner, English artist.

One of the most notable artists in British history, the bicentenary of Turner’s birth was commemorated on 19 February 1975 by the release of four stamps depicting paintings by Turner. Co-incidently 23 April is also St George’s Day and the anniversary of the birth and death of the great English playwright William Shakespeare. Royal Mail feels that no issue is needed for the 250th anniversary of this great Briton, or so it appears, but instead a set featuring an American dog cartoon is of higher priority.

🇺🇸 Intergovernmental Philatelic Corporation -

It did not take long after the announcement of his death, for IGPC to realise that it might be able to flog off a few of the numerous Pope Francis issues featured on its internet site. It’s likely that even now someone is beavering away in front of a computer screen manipulating images to produce designs for philatelic products featuring the late Pope and rake in a few dollars to boost the company’s finances.

1996. 🇧🇹 Bhutan’s Dedication Week Issue.

 

🇧🇹 Bhutan Postal Corporation Ltd issued 5 miniature sheets on, I think, 14 December 2021 commemorating the King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, in an issue titled ‘Dedication Week’. A colourful and interesting issue. Rating:- ****.

🇵🇰 Pakistan Post issued a single stamp on 9 December 2021 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Hangor Day. The Hangor was a Pakistan Navy submarine which during the 1971 war with India sank the Indian ship INS Khukri at a time when the Indian Navy was thought to be preparing for an attack on the port of Karachi. The stamp uses a design “supplied by the customer” (the Pakistan Navy?) and was lithographed by National Security Printing Corporation Karachi and is perforated 13. Rating:- ****.

🇵🇰 In Blog 1967 I depicted the sheetlet of 18 stamps and 2 miniature sheets issued by Jamaica Post to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the Jamaica Post Office. I now depict these items again but with much better quality illustrations. Sadly, it’s worth noting that the total face value of the sheetlet of 18 is 4980 Jamaican dollars, equal to £24.26p which is clearly excessive though equally we must remember that new issues from Jamaica are highly infrequent and that this set appears to be the only issue of 2021 from Jamaica Post.

1944. 🇮🇴 New Australia-UK-US Alliance Should Ensure Continuation Of BIOT Stamps.

 🇦🇺🇬🇧🇺🇸🇮🇴 Recently stamp collectors have been quite exercised about the rather worthless pronouncement by the Universal Postal Union that stamps inscribed British Indian Ocean Territory should not be used on mail from the Chagos Islands and only stamps inscribed Mauritius which claims the islands should be used on mail from the territory even though there is no Mauritian post office in the Chagos.

  Well the announcement of the establishment of the new alliance between Australia, United Kingdom and United States called AUKUS whereby Australia will not buy French diesel-powered submarines but instead have nuclear-powered submarines produced by the members of the new alliance must surely ensure that there is not a snow ball’s chance in hell of The United States with its huge and vital military base on Diego Garcia giving up the base nor allowing the British to hand the territory over to Mauritius. If there were any chance of BIOT stamps coming to an end before, this new military development should ensure that BIOT stamps will continue to appear for use by civilian workers in the territory.

  A splendid link to this story of course is the miniature sheet of 6 different stamps which was issued by BIOT in 2001 which depicts Royal Navy submarines:-

🇬🇧 Illustrations of the Royal Mail Christmas stamps due for release on 2 November 2021 have been sent to me by an anonymous source whom I thank. The set is made up of 8 stamps and there will also be an accompanying miniature sheet and a ‘generic sheet’ and 2 booklets containing 12 x 2nd Class stamps and 12 x 1st Class stamps. No other details are currently available. The 2nd Class (66p) and 1st Class (85p) clearly come in two types - with and without a barcode. The other values are 2nd Large (96p) and Ist Large (£1.29p), £1.70p and £2.55p. The miniature sheet will cost £9.52p and the cost of the booklets will be £7.92p and £10.20p and the Generic sheet price will sell at £21.75p. These are attractive stamps even when seen in rather blurred illustrations and I am pleased to see the religious theme as the subject of the 2021 stamps. Despite all this, it’s not easy to ignore the fact that even stamp issues as basic as those for use on Christmas mail now cost the one-of-everything collector a small fortune. Pity. Rating:- ****.

1942. 🇲🇾 Pos Malaysia Celebrates COVID-19 Heroes.

 

🇲🇾 Pos Malaysia issued a set of 4 stamps on 9 September 2021 to commemorate the heroes of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The designs by the young female artist Red Hong Yi are pictures in the form of miniature mosaics made from Malaysian stamps. These are very successful and original designs. An excellent and worthy issue. Rating:-*****.

🇧🇩 There have been a number of new single stamp issues released by the postal service of Bangladesh recent:- 

9 June 2021 - 50th anniversary of the Guerrilla War against the forces of West Pakistan - 1 stamp. Rating:- ****.

15 August 2021 - Operation Jackpot, part of the Bengali campaign against the forces of West Pakistan in 1971. - 1 stamp. Rating:- ****.

5 September 2021 - 48th anniversary of the admission of Bangladesh to membership of the International Telecommunications Union - 1 stamp. Rating:- ****.

🇲🇺  Mauritius Post will release its first issue of 2021 - a single stamp - on 10 September 2021to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Ferney Hydroelectric Plant. A colourful stamp. Rating:- ****.

🇯🇪 Jersey Post is planning to release two new Post And Go issues. The first, to be dispensed from 9 to 13 September only (just 5 days) from kiosk JE02 post office in Broad Street, commemorates the 20th visit to Jersey of SV Tenacious and takes the form of the strip of the 6 Nautical knot stamps with the added inscription ‘SV Tenacious/Jersey 2021’. 

  The second stamp issue takes the form of the 6 Lighthouses Post and Go stamps with the added inscription ‘Jersey Corn Riots/250th anniversary’ which was an historical event of local significance but deemed only worthy to be commemorated on some Post and Go stamps. These items will also be dispensed from kiosk JE02 in Broad Street and for the very short time period of 28 September to 2 October. Mock-ups of two of the stamps are depicted below:-