Great Britain commemorative stamps 1970–79
Commemorative stamps, postage stamps issued to honor or commemorate a place, event or person, have been released by Great Britain since 1970. Several sets were released during the decade of the 1970s.
History
Postage Stamps were first used in Great Britain on 6 May 1840, with the introduction of the world's first Adhesive Postage Stamp known as the Penny Black. Until 1924, all British stamps depicted only the portrait of the reigning Monarch, with the exception of the 'High Value' stamps (also known as the "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. PHQ Cards, postcard sized reproductions of commemorative stamps, have also been issued to accompany every new set of stamps since the mid-seventies.
Issue Date | Issue details | Stamps in set | Designer(s) |
---|---|---|---|
1970 | |||
11 February 1970 | British Rural Architecture | Four | David Gentleman[1] |
1 April 1970 | Anniversaries | Five | |
3 June 1970 | Literary anniversaries | Five | |
15 July 1970 | Ninth British Commonwealth Games | Three | |
18 September 1970 | "Philympia 70" Stamp Exhibition | Three | David Gentleman[1] |
25 November 1970 | Christmas | Three | |
1971 | |||
16 June 1971 | "Ulster 1971" Paintings (first decimal commemoratives) | Three | Stuart Rose[2] |
28 July 1971 | Literary Anniversaries | Three | |
25 August 1971 | British Anniversaries | Three | |
22 September 1971 | British Architecture | Four | |
13 October 1971 | Christmas | Three | |
1972 | |||
16 February 1972 | British Polar Explorers | Four | P.B. Powell |
26 April 1972 | General Anniversaries | Three | |
21 June 1972 | British Architecture, Village Churches | Five | |
13 September 1972 | Broadcasting Anniversaries | Four | David Gentleman[1] |
18 October 1972 | Christmas | Three | |
20 November 1972 | Royal Silver Wedding | Two | |
1973 | |||
3 January 1973 | Britain's entry into European Communities | Three | |
28 February 1973 | Plant A Tree Year | One | |
18 April 1973 | British Explorers | Five | |
16 May 1973 | County Cricket 1873-1973 | Three | |
4 July 1973 | British Paintings | Four | |
15 August 1973 | 400th Anniv. birth of Inigo Jones | Four | |
12 September 1973 | Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference | Two | |
14 November 1973 | Royal Wedding | Two | |
28 November 1973 | Christmas | Six | David Gentleman[1] |
1974 | |||
27 February 1974 | British Trees | One | David Gentleman[1] |
24 April 1974 | Bicentenary of Fire Prevention Act | Four | David Gentleman[1] |
12 June 1974 | Centenary of Universal Postal Union | Four | |
10 July 1974 | Medieval Warriors | Four | |
9 October 1974 | Birth Centenary of Sir Winston Churchill | Four | |
27 November 1974 | Christmas | Four | |
1975 | |||
22 January 1975 | Health & Handicap Funds | One | |
19 February 1975 | Birth Bicentenary of J.M.W. Turner | Four | |
23 April 1975 | European Architectural Heritage Year | Five | |
11 June 1975 | Sailing | Four | |
13 August 1975 | 150th Anniversary of the first Steam Train | Four | |
3 September 1975 | 62nd Inter-Parliamentary Union Conference | One | |
22 October 1975 | Birth Centenary of Jane Austen | Four | |
26 November 1975 | Christmas | Four | |
1976 | |||
10 March 1976 | Telephone Centenary | Four (8 1⁄2p,10p,11p,13p) | |
28 April 1976 | Social Reformers | Four (8 1⁄2p,10p,11p,13p) | David Gentleman[1] |
2 June 1976 | Bicentenary of American Revolution | One (11p) | |
30 June 1976 | Centenary of National Rose Society | Four (8 1⁄2p,10p,11p,13p) | |
4 August 1976 | British Cultural Traditions | Four (8 1⁄2p,10p,11p,13p) | |
29 September 1976 | 500th Anniversary of British Printing | Four (8 1⁄2p,10p,11p,13p) | |
24 November 1976 | Christmas | Four (6 1⁄2p, 8 1⁄2p, 11p,13p) | |
1977 | |||
12 January 1977 | Racket Sports | Four (8 1⁄2p,10p,11p,13p) | |
2 March 1977 | Royal Institute of Chemistry Centenary | Four (8 1⁄2p,10p,11p,13p) | |
11 May 1977 | Silver Jubilee (8 1⁄2p-10p-11p-13p values) | Four {full set = 5} | |
8 June 1977 | Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, London | One (13p) | |
15 June 1977 | Silver Jubilee (9p value) | One {full set = 5} | |
5 October 1977 | British Wildlife | Five (5 X 9p) | |
23 November 1977 | Christmas | Six (5 X 7p, 9p) | David Gentleman[1] |
1978 | |||
25 January 1978 | Energy Resources | Four (9p, 10p, 11p, 13p) | |
1 March 1978 | British Architecture | Four + Miniature Sheet (9p, 10p, 11p, 13p) |
Stamps: Ronald Maddox;
Mini-sheet: Jeffery Matthews |
31 May 1978 | 25th Anniversary of Coronation | Four | |
5 July 1978 | Horses | Four | |
2 August 1978 | Centenaries of Cyclists' Touring Club and British Cycling Federation |
Four | |
22 November 1978 | Christmas | Four | Faith Jacques |
1979 | |||
7 February 1979 | Dogs | Four | |
21 March 1979 | Spring Wild Flowers | Four | |
9 May 1979 | First Direct Elections to European assembly | Four | |
6 June 1979 | Horse Racing paintings | Four | |
11 July 1979 | International Year of the Child | Four | |
22 August 1979 | Death Centenary of Sir Roland Hill | Four | |
26 September 1979 | 150th Anniversary of Metropolitan Police | Four | |
24 October 1979 | Death Centenary of Sir Roland Hill | Miniature Sheet | |
21 November 1979 | Christmas | Five | |
Other decades
Acknowledgments
- Stanley Gibbons
- Concise Stamp Catalogue
- Gibbons Stamp Monthly
- Royal Mail Stamp Guide
- Royal Mail British Philatelic Bulletin
See also
- Stanley Gibbons
- Stamp Collecting
- List of people on stamps
- Philately
- stamps
- PHQ Cards
References
- "David Gentleman's 103 Issued Stamps - 1970-1999". The British Postal Museum & Archive. Archived from the original on 11 June 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
- James Watson (March 1981). "British Special Stamps: 'Ulster '71' Paintings, 1971". British Philatelic Bulletin. 18 (7): 301.