Norvic Philatelics Blog

Slogan postmarks for July 2026 - and other interesting postal markings.

2026-07-10T15:15:28.890+01:00

We are a third of the way through July but so far I have had no reports of new slogans. Royal Mail has featured in many news articles about dog attacks on postal workers, and by now we would have expected to see a Dog Awareness slogan, but no.

So once again we have the British Heart Foundation, and I can show both examples received here. Bristol Mail Centre 04/07/2026 and Norwich Mail Centre 08-07-2026.

BHF Norwich Mail Centre 08-07-2026

BHF Bristol (BA,BS,GL,TA) Mail Centre 04/07/2026

OTHER POSTMARKS AND POSTAL MARKINGS

Our reader in Canada (SS) has sent a picture of a cover with a counter datestamp. This is another case of not identifying the town or area because the inscription on the SID is simply VICTORIA ROAD. This could be in north London, in Romford, Leeds, Swindon and Kirkby in Ashfield. Fortunately, being tracked, we can see that it was posted in the Swindon area.

Victoria Road, Swindon, self-inking datestamp 01 07 2026

International Tracked and Signed letter from Swindon to Vancouver, Canada.

Victoria Road, Swindon, from Google maps.

Remember, slogan postmarks appearing in July will be added to this post, so check here before you spend time scanning and emailing.

A reminder of what these monthly listings are for.

For each month I record the different slogans in use, plus the default slogan that is used when there is nothing else.

For each of these I try to record only one of each of the basic two types, plus any that are reversed on square envelopes, which normally only gives three or four.

Occasionally a slogan appears with different line spacing in the same format.

I do not record multiple versions of the same as any of these unless I later get a much better example of one that I showed purely for the record, but which is otherwise not very clear.

The only exception to this, which doesn't seem to happen much these days, is when a slogan is used well out of time.

I mention this only to avoid readers unnecessarily duplicating what has already been provided.

Ireland's version of Post and Go - Stamps on a Roll.

2026-07-10T13:29:59.526+01:00

I was asked by a couple of collectors of Irish stamps to buy some of their Stamps on a Roll (SOAR) during my visit to Ireland last month.

I had bought one batch previously, but this gave me the opportunity to look more closely and learn about the stamps and the machines.

Aside from being a different format and type of machine to Royal Mail's Post and Go stamps, one important thing about these is that they are available at counters and from self-service kiosks - but the overprinting is different, of course, so there is plenty of scope for study.

The machines are also used for dropping off packages and bill-payment. This is one at Ennis the county town of County Clare.

The machines dispense three pre-set values - Domestic and Northern Ireland (€1.85), Europe (€3.50) and Worldwide (€3.95) for 100g.

At the counter you can theoretically buy stamps of any value, although your experience may vary. At the larger office in Castlebar (Co. Mayo) I was able to buy a set of 1c stamps. At Ballycroy (near Westport, Co. Mayo)) I was offered 10c stamps, and at Shannonbridge (Co. Offaly) they were reluctant to sell me anything less than 20c stamps.

The stamps shown are from the Art on a Stamp series. The 1c stamps are phase 3 which is a set of 4, the other two are phase 2, which is a set of 8. These were the stamps generally available from branch counters.

However, at Letterkeny, Co Donegal, the machine held the set of Irish Culture and Objects series 3 from 2019. For the purist a continuous strip of 16 to incorporate all the designs is desirable but due to the uncertainty of the operation of the machines, two strips of 8 are highly collectable.

Irish Culture and Objects series 3 from Letterkenny's self-service kiosk

I was always in a hurry, not wanting to delay a family holiday too much, so ordered 8 first (because that was all I needed if it had been the other set), and - not remembering all the detail (I don't collect them) - ordered another set and then 4 in case the set total was more than 16.

Sometimes An Post presents a particular challenge to collectors. The History of Ireland in 100 Objects series started in 2017 and many of the stamps are issued in the SOAR range.

However, others are issued in booklets, some NVIs with Domestic, Europe or World values I believe. Obviously the international ones will not be found as easily in Ireland, and the domestic ones not as easily outside Ireland.

A fascinating area of collecting. (But I'm not going to start now!)

I should have asked if any readers here wanted me to get any - I'll try to remember next time we visit.

A batch of King Charles Business Sheet stamps available

2026-07-10T12:33:50.235+01:00

Due to a cancelled order I can offer again some of the King Charles stamps which I offered back in the spring. There are two of each of these, in horizontal pairs which can be supplied as is, or split if nobody wants the pairs.

Business Sheets

M24L - 1st and 1st Large* - £19 (£38 for two)

M25L - 1st class - £2.50 (£5)

M26L - 2nd and 1st Large - £5 (£10)

Counter Sheets

M24L - 2nd Large, 1st Large £5.70 (£11.40)

M25L - 20p, 2nd, 1st - £3.40 (£6.80)

Booklets

M24L - 2nd and 1st MEIL - £3.25 (£6.50)

M25L - 2nd £1.50 (£3)

M26L - 1st, 1st Large - £6.25 (£12.50)

I would like these to be taken as a lot, or three lots as grouped above, but will consider other options.

Payment in UK by Bank Transfer or cheque.

Payment from international customer by UK or Euro Bank Transfer or PayPal.

Please email (addresses at top of right hand column).

Flying in the post - Moths set of 10, 9 July 2026

2026-07-03T15:48:24.142+01:00

According to Royal Mail

"There are over 2,500 moth species recorded in the United Kingdom, compared with around 80 butterflies, and they exhibit astonishing diversity, which is largely hidden to us humans because moths are mostly nocturnal.

Yet many moths do fly by day and are as beautiful as butterflies, including the emperor moth and the hedge beauty moth. Bizarrely, the female of the lesser bagworm moth does not have wings, legs or scales, the very things that define moths and butterflies as Lepidoptera, the scale-winged insects.

The number of species in the UK is rising as our warming climate encourages moths to move north from Europe, and as the warmth is allowing once rare southern species, such as the dark crimson underwing moth, to become much more widespread.

Moths have a four-stage life cycle: egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa (cocoon), and adult – which are typically, though not always, winged (like butterflies). During the caterpillar stage, they consume food, grow, and later undergo metamorphosis to emerge as adult moths.

Moths have a bad reputation as clothes-munchers, yet only two species in the UK eat wool and feathers. Caterpillars of others eat a remarkable range of food, including leaves, fruits, living and dead wood and even fungi.

The complete set of ten Moths stamps showcase beautiful illustrations by renowned wildlife artist Richard Lewington, bringing each moth species to life with exceptional detail and scientific accuracy.

This set is a vibrant celebration of British biodiversity, capturing moths in their natural settings and will appeal to nature enthusiasts and philatelists alike.

The stamps

Set of 5 x 2nd class and 5 x 1st class stamps showing moths, issued 9 July 2026

2nd class: Emperor Moth Saturnia pavonia, Puss Moth Cerura vinula, Broad-bordered Bee Hawk-moth Hemaris fuciformis, Dark Bordered Beauty Moth Epione vespertaria, December Moth Poecilocampa populi;
1st class: Dark Crimson Underwing Moth Catocala sponsa, Scarce Crimson and Gold Moth Pyrausta sanguinalis, Swallow-tailed Moth Ourapteryx sambucaria, Hedge Beauty Moth Alabonia geoffrella, Buff-tip Moth Phalera bucephala.

Technical details

The 37 x 35 mm stamps, designed by Frontmedia Studio using artwork by Richard Lewington, have been printed in litho on ordinary gummed paper by Cartor Security Printers in two sheets of 50 , se-tenant strips of 5.

Products available

Set of 10 stamps, first day cover, presentation pack, stamp cards - no collector sheet or framed products!

For more information on the United Kingdom's butterflies and moths visit Butterfly Conservation.

UK 2nd class post moves to alternate days

2026-06-30T16:18:28.374+01:00

The mail regulator OfCom announced this time last year that a major reform to the Universal Service Obligation (USO) would be take place which would allow Royal Mail (RM) to reduce the frequency of 2nd class letter delivery.

After small area trials, RM said that this process would be rolled out across the country and that they would deliver 2nd class letters on alternate days only, Monday to Friday, with no 2nd class letter delivery on Saturdays. First class mail will continue six days a week and parcels seven days a week.

Several people have sent me copies of the door-drop leaflet which explains this to households (thank you!). As these seem to be spreading across the country I didn't give it a high priority while I had other things to write about and it was very hot.

But here, especially for international readers, is the leaflet.

If you can't read the small print, click on the image for an enlargement.

That isn't specific, and you have to visit the website to see it explained. But the 3-day promise might mean delivery on Day 7.

The Royal Mail website has the to be expected "why we're doing this" and this will enable us to "deliver a more reliable and sustainable service for you in the future".

The 'deliver in three days' aim will produce this, which clearly shows that there are some days when it makes no sense to send 2nd class.

I'm not sure how this works. If a letter is posted to be on Monday then I might get it on Thursday. But if this is the week (Week A) when I get three 2nd class deliveries, I won't get it until Friday - unless by some error it is delivered on Wednesday. And if it's posted on Tuesday on a B Week, then I won't get it until the following Monday.

That is probably acceptable for most incoming mail, but the charts they show on their website are not accurate.

UPDATE 7 July.
A postman I spoke to said that the new system is not yet fully implemented at their Delivery Office but that so far there is no 2nd class delivery on Saturday. When implemented they will use Week A in the diagram above, ie everyone will get mail on Monday, Wednesday and Friday every week. This may change as the system beds in.

More interestingly the delivery pyramid is now

Special Delivery & Parcels*
1st class stamped
Tracked24/48 & 1st class
2nd class per the plan

The prioritisation of 1st class stamped mail reflects that it will generally be social mail (with most business mail being 2nd class and/or postage paid impression/meter). So small (stamp dealer) businesses using stamps on their mail should be an improvement in delivery times to their customers.

* Most local delivery offices were built decades ago and laid out for mass letter volumes and fewer parcels so delivery of parcels on day 1 is essential to avoid congestion now that there is so much mail order business.

The bulk of letter post is 2nd class. By switching that to alternate days each delivery person will be expected to do the normal round and then half of another round.

Australia Post did it differently when they made the change, but I'm not sure their leaflet is any easier to understand, and they certainly should have corrected a few typos here.

Again, it's all for our own benefit.

Some 2nd class mail doesn't have a clear date on which it was posted, so we can never be sure how well the service is performing.

But I doubt it will persuade many of us to pay twice as much for 1st class.

Five New Machin Priority Service Stamps - 28 February 1995

2026-06-25T15:03:31.745+01:00

In February 2009 Royal Mail issued the first self-adhesive definitive NVIs and high values stamps with new security features. This was the birth of the Machin Security Stamps which indirectly lead to the bulk of posts on this blog over the next decade.

Then in November two surprise additions to the series were added, the Recorded Signed For 1st class and 1st class Large to “satisfy an operational demand at Post Office counters”.

As we know these were self-adhesive, die cut, with security features, with slits through the stamp and with iridescent printing across the design. The slits were said to be designed to inhibit the removal of these Stamps for fraudulent sale and re-use.

But although this was described as an innovation it wasn't actually new – the concept originated in 1994, as shown in an internal Royal Mail document found by one of our contributors MM.

This document shows that Royal Mail were considering special stamps for Priority Servics with what would seem to be the very same security features.

“The stamps will be self-adhesive and die-cut, 25 to a sheet, with additional security features because of he stamp's premium.”

Design: a centrally-placed embossed Machin head (29.5 mm), with the service indicator at the bottom of the stamp which would be of similar colour and branding to the specific services. Unfortunately there are no pictures (in any case it is a black and white potocopy) and we don't know what colours they were planning. I suspect predominently dark blue iwith different inscriptions, per this leaflet.

(More on the new labelling and system below.)

The costs of the service, and therefore of the stamps, is shown as follows.

Recorded Delivery - 55p

Special Delivery - £2.70

Registered - £3.00

Registered Plus to £1500 - £3.30

Registered Plus to £2200 - £3.60

Note that these are supplementary stamps – in addiition to 1st class postage (or a choice of 2nd or 1st for Recorded Delivery) for the weight concerned.

The issue date was to be 28 February 1995 with stamp cards (PHQ cards), presentation packs, and “philatelic souvenir covers”, which is an odd way of saying First Day Covers.

The alternative postmark was Windsor (with the primary one obviously being Philatelic Bureau Edinburgh).

No printer was identified at this stage.

Click on the image to see it enlarged

So what happened? Why did this apparently good idea, suggested with the new 1993 branding, fail to be implemented?

Was it problems with Post Office counters, with users, with separation of the different classes in the mail stream?

Maybe someone decided that using an extra stamp for the priority service would be a problem, although it could reduce the number of stamps required. (Stamp dealers of course would have plenty of other value postage to use!)

One thing I do know – if these had been introduced in 1994 as planned, I would not have been as involved in Machin Security Stamps as I came to be in 2009/10 etc. At that time I had not retired, and my interest in Machins was far reduced from its previous peak, and my focus switched to the stamps and postal history of the countries of the Former Soviet Union.

On the other hand, I would have been able to put more focus onto the aforementioned, and Great Britain modern postal history and usages, and I might not have as many boxes to go through now.

More on Priority Services.

When introduced in 1961 Recorded Delivery used yellow labels which over the years varied to several different shades of orange. Registered Mail, of course, had used numbered blue 'R” labels for over a century, and Special Delivery was identified by a white on green label for many decades.

The June 1993 leaflet 'Now Even Better” illustrated the labels for the new services (shown above), which used dark blue in all cases, which I thought could lead to confusion compared with the previous system. Although the labels stuck on envelopes and packets had different text, further confusion was possible for users as the Registered and Special Delivery (SD) forms were both headed Guaranteed Delivery. In fact it really made no difference to processing as both Guaranteed Delivery services provided the same service, the only difference being that SD paid up to £24 compensation, and Registered paid up to £500.

Recorded retained an orange aspect, Registered had a light blue background to the number labels, and SD had an orange background to the number labels. Soon afterwards pre-paid postal stationery envelopes were introduced.

From the top, Registered Plus, indicated by the pale blue + at the foot, Registered, and Special Delivery which is lighter blue.

Here's an example from March 1994.

It's impossible to know, apart from by the postage paid, which service is being used (and not necessarily then!). In this case postage is £3.08 which is 38p first class postage for a 40-100 g first class letter plus £2.70 Special Delivery fee.

For the delivery postman it is clear that this is a priority item, but for tracking at any stage from the post office counter to delivery the barcode on the reverse has to be scanned. Did posties carry any barcode readers then?

By 1995 a further rebranding introduced the Silver Service for inland Special Delivery and from from 12th October 1998 they were all combined into a single rebranded service under the Special Delivery banner. (GB Philatelic Society)

This is an interesting and relatively short-lived period in British Postal History affecting more expensive mail than just ordinary letters. Material is not easy to find, but stamp dealers were always big users of premium services and their covers are more likely to be kept.

I've got more like the one above, but not many. This will be the subject of a post on the Modern Postal History blog some time.

Waterfalls - 2nd & 1st class stamps issued 23 June 2026

2026-06-22T11:20:47.346+01:00

Tomorrow, June 23rd, Royal Mail will issue a set of 10 stamps depicting Waterfalls across the United Kingdom. The set consists of 5 each of 2nd class and 1st class stamps.

Normally, under the heading "Reason and Inspiration" in the information pack provided to dealers there are a couple of paragraphs explaining why this subject and why now, but in this case it is just one short sentence:

A celebration of some of the UK's most enchanting and spectacular waterfalls from across the four nations of the UK.

So that describes what we see, and indeed it is true that we are attracted to waterfalls, the sound and sight of water gushing over a precipice or rocks as sometimes thousands of gallons a minute hurtle past us on the way to the sea, even though they pale into insignificance when compared to some of the giants of the world. Alongside is one that we found near Crossconnell in the Republic of Ireland, that was well worth the short walk. (And I can recommend The Rusty Nail in the village for a good meal and a good pint!)

Attractive stamps and if they are used some people will recognise places that they have visited, while others my be inspired to visit locations that they have never been to, even though they may live not far away. The key there is, "if they are used" - please report any non-philatelic usage you see!

The stamps

5 x 1st class, 5 x 2nd class stamps depicting waterfalls issued 23 June 2026.

Details

2nd class: Rogie Falls: Near Contin, Ross-shire, Scottish Highlands, Scotland. On the River Blackwater, famous for salmon leaping the falls.
Pollnagollum Cave: Enniskillen, Northern Ireland. Pollnagollum Cave Waterfall is a small waterfall within the Belmore Forest. Polnagollum Cave was a filming location for Game of Thrones.
Aysgarth Falls: Lower Wensleydale, North Yorkshire, England. A series of broad stepped waterfalls on the River Ure within the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
Pistyll Rhaeadr: Near Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant, Powys, Wales. Often cited as the tallest single-drop waterfall in Wales.
Becky Falls: Dartmoor National Park, Devon, England. A woodland waterfall trail with granite cascades.
1st class: Hardraw Force: Hardraw, near Hawes, North Yorkshire. England's highest single-drop waterfall on Hardraw Beck.
Rhaeadr y Graig Lwyd (Conwy Falls): Near Betws-y-Coed, Conwy, North Wales. A powerful waterfall on the River Conwy, just downstream of Fairy Glen.
Fairy Pools of Glen Brittle: Isle of Skye, Inner Hebrides, Scotland. Crystal-clear pools and cascades on the Allt Coir' a' Mhadaidh below the Cullin mountains.
High Force: Upper Teesdale, County Durham. One of England's most dramatic waterfalls, on the River Tees.
Ess‐na‐Larach (Eas na Larach): ~~Scottish Highlands. A lesser-known Highland waterfall; the name is Gaelic and may appear with slight spelling variations depending on map/source.~~ My thanks to KW for pointing out an error here, which is confirmed by Royal Mail's own map: Ess-na-Larach is in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

Technical details and acknowledgements

Studio Mean is responsible for the design of the 37 x 35 mm stamps which are printed in litho on gummed paper by Cartor Security Printers in sheets of 50, perforated 14½ x 14. The 2nd class have a single central phosphor band and the 1st class two bands.

Rogie Falls, photograph © Simon Hird, featured with kind permission of Forestry and Land Scotland; Pollnagollum Cave, photograph © Ken Stone, featured with kind permission of Cuilcagh Lakelands Geopark. Aysgarth Falls, photograph © Robin Weaver/Alamy Stock Photo, featured with kind permission of Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority; Pistyll Rhaeadr, photograph © Alan Williams/naturepl.com, featured with kind permission of Phillip Facey and January Elwood; Becky Falls, photograph © John Coombes/Alamy Stock Photo, featured with kind permission of Becky Falls Ancient Woodland Park; Hardraw Force, photograph © Stuart Hodgson, The Hiking Photographer, featured with kind permission of Hardraw Force Heritage Centre; Conwy Falls, photograph © Simon Stapley/Alamy Stock Photo, featured with kind permission of Conwy Falls Forest Park; Fairy Pools of Glen Brittle, photograph © George Maciver/Alamy Stock Photo, featured with kind permission of the MacLeod Estate; High Force, photograph © steven gillis hd9 imaging/Alamy Stock Photo, featured with kind permission of Raby Estates; Ess-na-Larach, photograph © Forest Service, Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs.

Locations, from the FDC filler card:

Locations of waterfalls shown on the stamps.

Products available

Set of 10 stamps, first day cover, presentation pack, stamp cards, framed set of mint stamps.

Coming up

News about the next stamp issue, Moths, should appear here around 2 July.

Slogan postmarks for June 2026 - and other interesting postal markings.

2026-06-16T17:36:39.894+01:00

There should be some new slogans in June. but we can start off with the British Heart Foundation standard slogan from Edinburgh Mail Centre on 01-06-2026, thanks to JH.

British Heart Foundation Edinburgh Mail Centre 01-06-2026

This will be interrupted in the next few days as Royal Mail honour our Armed Forces.

Armed Forces Week should start on 19 June for deliveries on 20th - 23rd.

Armed Forces Day should start on 23rd June for deliveries on 24th - 26th June.

The British Heart Foundation should follow again after that.

So let's hope some of us receive stamped mail with some of these usages.

Armed Forces Week 22nd - 28th June 2026. LT has sent a good example from Sheffield 20/06/2026, and JM a similar one from North West Midlands 22/06/2026

Armed Forces Week North West Midlands 22/06/2026

Armed Forces Week Sheffield Mail Centre 20/06/2026

I actually received one of these from Nottingham dated 23rd but it isn't as good as these!

Armed Forces Day 27 June 2026

Again, thanks to LT for one from Sheffield dated 26/06/2026 - a very clean example! And JM has sent a one at the other extreme. so much so that I can't work out where it is from!

Armed Forces Day Sheffield Mail Centre 26/06/2026

Armed Forces Day, ? Mail Centre 24?-06-2026

British Heart Foundation standard slogan was then reused; here's an example from Manchester Mail Centre 29/06/2026.

British Heart Foundation Manchester Mail Centre 29/06/2026

OTHER POSTMARKS AND POSTAL MARKINGS

This year marks the 50th birthday of the Postal Mechanisation Study Circle. I'm not a member of this (but I am a member of several specialist societies), but I exchange information with their Jeremy Meal.

"The Circle's liaison contact at Royal Mail has been able to produce a further development of our 25th (and before that, as an ordinary slogan die cancel, a 15th) Anniversary slogan for our current 50th Anniversary celebrations; kindly produced towards the end of May at Bristol MC on an IMP.

50th Anniversary of Postal Mechanisation Study Circle

Jeremy writes:

Please find attached a scan of the slogan itself (above) plus the whole envelope with the commemorative text description in the style of the previous series of PMSC covers, but not numbered 301 as we stopped production at 300 in the series.

I now have permission, on a first come first served basis, to make spares available (while stocks last!) to slogan collectors more widely but only on a one per person basis on application to me at the address on the cover at a price of £4 (UK), £7 (International) to cover production costs and mailing out.

Please make your cheque payable to the Postal Mechanisation Study Circle (written in full NOT abbreviated PMSC) and NOT made out to Jeremy but please remember to tell him your address so it can be posted back out to you!! Just to repeat, Jeremy's address is on the illustration of the cover here on this blog entry, please don't write to us at Norphil!

Jeremy has also sent a copy of the 'proof' showing how the slogan was set up. This also shows us that there might be space at the left of the place and date portion for something else.

Thanks to JF for these three branch postmarks. Firstly one that simply reads MARK 09 JUN 2026. Now if you didn't know there was a village with the simple name of MARK you might think that there was something missing! I actually went through it last year, when we were in Somerset. The origin of the name is believed to mean A boundary of property from the Old English mærc.

Mark, Somerset, Morse-style counter datestamp.

Mark Post Office & Village Stores from Google Streetview.

Staying in Somerset, the name of Windwhistle is a historic, rural hamlet and high ridge in South Somerset near Cricket St Thomas, best known for the 17th-century Windwhistle Inn, said to be the only pub with that name in the country - and now even that seems to be closed.

But the post office is in the Bournville area of Weston-Super-Mare (who knew that there was another one, where they don't make chocolate?!), and is apparently named after another Windwhistle inn (Facebook link) which opened in 1954, was replaced in 1963, and later demolished for more modern housing. (We visited a Windwhistle west of Christchurch in New Zealand; that one is a gorge rather than a ridge, used for white water sports.)

Windwhistle self-inking datestamp 30 DE 24

Windwhistle post office from Google Streetview 2024

Fore Street post office in Taunton, Somerset, is located in T G Jones, ex W H Smith, so it may not be in this location for much longer. JF obtained s copy of the self-inking datestamp dated 12 MY 26.

Fore Street Post Office self-inking datestamp 12 MY 26

Fore Stret Taunton from Google Streetview

There are many semi-anonymous postmarks in this blog, and MANOR STORES joins them as another one. This seems to actually be LOCKING post office, Somerset, which is located in a Spar Shop and which is quite difficult to see on the limited Google Streetview images.

Self-inking datestamp for Locking post office inscribed Manor Stores.

This Google Streetview snap from 2024 shows the Post Office sign quite clearly but only if there are no cars parked in front of the sign! In 2017 the logo on the building was higher, but the introduction of the Spar put a stop to that!

Locking (Somerset) post office, aka Manor Stores.

It can't have escaped your notice that this year marks the 250th Anniversary of the United States of America. They have a number of different nationwide slogans. RW has sent this example from Wichita KS, of the 'Freedom 250' slogan.

USPS Freedom 250 slogan Wichita KS, June 2026.

Remember, slogan postmarks appearing in June will be added to this post, so check here before you spend time scanning and emailing.

A reminder of what these monthly listings are for.

For each month I record the different slogans in use, plus the default slogan that is used when there is nothing else.

For each of these I try to record only one of each of the basic two types, plus any that are reversed on square envelopes, which normally only gives three or four.

Occasionally a slogan appears with different line spacing in the same format.

I do not record multiple versions of the same as any of these unless I later get a much better example of one that I showed purely for the record, but which is otherwise not very clear.

The only exception to this, which doesn't seem to happen much these days, is when a slogan is used well out of time.

I mention this only to avoid readers unnecessarily duplicating what has already been provided.

Oops - sorry I forgot to tell you we were taking a break!

2026-06-15T11:02:13.626+01:00

I'm back now from nearly four weeks in Ireland (via Holyhead, Wales, this time) which accounts for the silence here - sorry I forgot to announce it.

If you emailed you would have got an 'out of office' reply and if you posted a comment on the blog it would have been moderated as soon as we had good enough mobile data or wifi.

As soon as I have dealt with household administration and sorted out our next holiday arrangements (I had a call to pay the balance while I was in Co. Donegal!) I'll be back here with news of the next stamp issues (moths and military aircraft), news of postmark slogans, and a few pictures of things from Ireland.

Blog view figures

I don't really look at the detail very often, I just notice, from time to time, the figure ticking over. But I did just look at some peaks and there was clearly something amiss on a couple of occasions, so we shouldn't read too much into the figures.

This is for the MONTH of January 2025

But this was for a single day - can't be genuine visitors!

More Castles, set and miniature sheet - 21 May 2026

2026-05-14T00:05:00.000+01:00

The latest Royal Mail celebration of the United Kingdom's Castles introduces some that we haven't seen before, except perhaps on the Castles series of Smilers Sheets.

Information supplied:

Across the extent of the British Isles, our landscape is studded with castles, great and small. Some survive as houses or visitor attractions, others as ruins, earthworks or just shadows traced in the lines and names of streets in 21st-century cities and towns. Today, castles are objects of curiosity, but for centuries these buildings were great monuments at the heart of political, social and economic life.

This stamp set features photography of eight castles, from all four nations of the UK, dating from the Norman period onwards. The Miniature Sheet of four stamps celebrates four ‘Royal’ castles. These designs feature newly commissioned artworks by the British artist, Rob Ball.

Castles Stamps details

The Castles. Scotland: Uruquhart and Stirling; England: Warwick and Bamburgh; Wales: Raglan and Pembroke; Northern Ireland: Dunluce and Dundrum.

Technical details

Designed by Stand Up the 50 x 30 mm gummed stamps have been printed by Cartor Security Printers by lithography in four sheets of 60 (30 se-tenant pairs), perforated 14.

Dunluce Castle, photograph© Adam Burton/Alamy Stock Photo, featured with kind permission of the Historic Environment Division, Department for Communities, Northern Ireland and Randal McDonnell, Earl of Antrim;
Dundrum Castle, photograph© scenicireland.com/Christopher Hill Photographic/Alamy Stock Photo, featured with kind permission of the Historic Environment Division, Department for Communities, Northern Ireland;
Raglan Castle, photograph© Maciej Olszewski/Alamy Stock Photo, featured with kind permission of Cadw;
Pembroke Castle, photograph© Sebastian Wasek/Alamy Stock Photo, featured with kind permission of Pembroke Castle/Pembroke Castle Trust;
Urquhart Castle, photograph by Karol Kozlowski© robertharding/Alamy Stock Photo, featured with kind permission of Historic Environment Scotland;
Stirling Castle, photograph © John Carroll Photography/Alamy Stock Photo, featured with kind pennission of Historic Environment Scotland;
Warwick Castle, photograph by John Lamb/Getty Images, featured with kind permission of Merlin Entertainments;
Bamburgh Castle, photograph© SuxxesPhoto/Alamy Stock Photo, featured with kind permission of Mr Francis Watson-Annstrong

Miniature Sheet

Miniature Sheet of four 1st class stamps showing Royal Castles - Caernarfon, WIndsor, Balmoreal and Dover.

Technical details

Designed by Stand Up the 192 x 74 mm sheet printed by Cartor Security Printers by lithography contains four 60 x 30 mm gummed stamps using newly commissioned artwork by Rob Bell.

Collectors Sheet

A collectors sheet contains all 8 stamps from the set with accompanying labels which could of themselves have been the stamp designs. In fact the views of Raglan and Stirling used for the stamps are probably not as attractive as the labels. The collectors sheet is self-adhesive.

Self-adhesive Castles Collectors Sheet of 8 stamps and relevant labels.

Products available

Set of 8 stamps, miniature sheet, presentation pack, first day covers (2), stamp cards, press sheet of 10 miniature sheets, and framed set, miniature sheet, and collectors sheet (£39.99 each).

First day cover filler card

Click on any image to see a larger version.

Celebrating Britain Collector Sheet: Morecambe and Wise 14 May 2026

2026-05-14T00:00:00.000+01:00

Royal Mail's second 'Celebrating Britain' Collector Sheet has been announced as celebrating the comedy double act Morecambe and Wise, and will be made available on 14 May 2026. The first, issued in November 2025, celebrated author Jane Austen.

Information provided

Morecambe & Wise—Eric Morecambe OBE (1926–1984) and Ernie Wise OBE (1925–1999)—were Britain’s most iconic comedy double act, celebrated for their work in variety, radio, film and especially television. They met in 1939 while working for impresario Jack Hylton and soon toured together in Youth Takes a Bow, forming a close friendship. Encouraged by Eric’s mother, they debuted as a double act in 1941, later adopting the name Morecambe & Wise.

After years perfecting their act on the variety circuit, they launched their first BBC series, Running Wild, in 1954. Their breakthrough came in the 1960s with ATV’s The Morecambe & Wise Show/Two of a Kind, followed by three feature films. In 1968 they moved to the BBC, where, alongside writer Eddie Braben, they created nine hugely popular series and legendary Christmas Specials, peaking at a record 28 million viewers in 1977. Stars such as The Beatles, Glenda Jackson and André Previn queued to appear.

Awarded OBEs and the Freedom of the City of London, they returned to ITV in 1977 for further series before Eric’s death in 1984. Ernie passed away in 1999. Their legacy endures through documentaries, rediscovered footage, stage tributes, statues, and centenary celebrations planned for 2025–2026, ensuring future generations continue to enjoy their timeless comedy.

Morecambe and Wise Collectors Sheet

The sheet contains 10 x 1st class Union Flag stamps and is priced at £19.20.

No technical details were provided but we expect that this will be self-adhesive and printed by Cartor Security Printers.

Last chance to buy - Royal Mail stamp issues going off sale soon.

2026-05-08T11:34:30.051+01:00

We have been advised by Royal Mail that the following will be removed from sale on the dates shown.

The very popular Warhammer stamps come off sale at the end of this month: 31st May 2026.

Following this a further four stamp issues will come off sale on the 31st July 2026.

• Weather Forecasting
• Viking Britain Standard
• The Age of the Dinosaurs
• 100 Years of Commemorative Stamps

Slogan postmarks for May 2026 - and other interesting postal markings.

2026-04-29T17:06:21.288+01:00

Wait, you say, it's still April! True, but the first May slogans will be in use very early, in fact the British Heart Foundation default slogan will have three phases by my calculation.

As it is currently in use the standard BHF slogan will start the month. But with local elections long-planned for Scotland and Wales we can expect slogans encouraging the early sending of Postal Votes for the Scottish Parliament and Senned. No slogans are planned for the on-off-on_again English local authority elections but that doesn't mean that residents of England will miss out.

IMP and iLSM explained.

IMP stands for Integrated Mail Processors and iLSM for Intelligent Letter Sorting Machines. (You can see a brief video - and discussion about - the iLSM here.)

Although the iLSMs are 'intelligent', it is the IMPs which have the facility to determine (more or less) whether a particular slogan is applied, based on the destination address. If a letter from Yorkshire is going to Wales it should get the Post Early slogan for the Senned elections. If the letter is going to Scotland it should get the slogan for the elections to the Scottish Parliament. Anywhere else and it should get the standard (in this case) BHF slogan.

However, all Scotland's mail centres are, ironically, equipped with iLSMs which means that if the Post Early slogan is invoked it is applied to ALL mail, including that to Wales, England, Northern Ireland, and internationally.

Wales' mail centres only have IMPs so they should apply the 'appropriate' slogans.

2024 General Election voting publicity images

UPDATE 7 May. JM has sent these black & white images from a third party showing the Manchester and S W Wales (Swansea) both dated 05/05/2026:

Post Early to Vote Early S W Wales and Manchester Mail Centres 05/05/2026

UPDATE 12 May. Thanks again to JM for a Manchester pair of slogans on IMP 134 (on last line of the block) showing the switching and the selection of the Post early to Vote Early slogan for the Welsh, Swansea SA2, address after using the default BHF slogan for the English, Stockport SK7, address in the same batch within 6 seconds of each other (20.44.10 and 20.44.16).

Two slogans from Manchester Mail Centre six seconds apart; one to a Welsh address and one sent locally so using the Post Early and BHF slogans 05/05/20026.

After the elections are over we will probably see a Mental Health Awareness Week slogan, but the BHF may fall in between, and afterwards. (But who knows what will happen in Sheffield?)

Last year's Mental Health slogan.

UPDATE 12 May: Thanks to LT for the first report of the Mental Health slogan this year, from North & West Yorkshire.

Mental Health Awareness Week slogan North & West Yorkshire mail centre 11/05/2026

I'll be out of the country from mid-May to mid-June so I shan't be able to add any images but do keep sending them.

While I was away this arrived from Cornwall Mail Centre, the British Heart Foundation default dated 18 May.

British Heart Foundation Cornwall 18/05/2026

OTHER POSTMARKS AND POSTAL MARKINGS

SS has sent us another copy of a branch datestamp, the Wokingham (Surrey) SID dates 28 AP 2026

Wokingham Y self-inking-datestamp 28 April 2026

UPDATE 12 May. JW has sent a couple of images this month. The first is of the counter datestamp of Boswell Drive, Edinburgh. This is unusual as it is about the same size as others but doesn't have the Morse code border. This was used on 15 April 2026.

Boswell Drive Post Office rubber datestamp 25 APR 2026

The second item is a fragment of a package sent with a 1st class stamp on. I don't know whether the endorsement '2nd class Large Letter' was added before it was sent, but it was referred to Revenue Protection - presumably because it was too large for a basic letter.

Just a reminder, a 2nd class Large Letter costs £1.55 but a basic (small) Letter costs £1.80. So there is no real loss in using an older 1st class stamp for the 2nd class Large service. (We forecast that this would happen and that Revenue Protection would probably be involved.) This receives the Birmingham datestamp and a boxed

Revenue Protected

Treat as 2nd Class

handstamp.

Revenue Protected Treat as 2nd Class applied at Birmingham Mail Centre May 2026(?).

Remember, slogan postmarks appearing in May will be added to this post (although some won't be added until mid-June), so check here before you spend time scanning and emailing.

A reminder of what these monthly listings are for.

For each month I record the different slogans in use, plus the default slogan that is used when there is nothing else.

For each of these I try to record only one of each of the basic two types, plus any that are reversed on square envelopes, which normally only gives three or four.

Occasionally a slogan appears with different line spacing in the same format.

I do not record multiple versions of the same as any of these unless I later get a much better example of one that I showed purely for the record, but which is otherwise not very clear.

The only exception to this, which doesn't seem to happen much these days, is when a slogan is used well out of time.

I mention this only to avoid readers unnecessarily duplicating what has already been provided.

Centenary of the Birth of Queen Elizabeth II, set, MS, PSB etc - 21 April 2026

2026-04-14T11:53:00.041+01:00

Queen Elizabeth II was born on 21 April 1926 and so this year marks the centenary of her birth. Royal Mail is marking the anniversary with a set of 8 stamp and a miniature sheet, plus a lot more merchandise.

For a younger person's view on this and other stamps marking the centenary, see 13-year-old Xanthe's Stamp Magazine.

The stamps feature a selection of carefully curated photographs taken throughout her lifetime with the miniature sheet of four stamps reflecting her lifelong love of animals.

The eight 1st class stamps are produced as a set of four se-tenant vertical pairs featuring black and white, and colour photographs spanning the decades of her life. Each stamp has a portrait superimposed on a background image, some of which we may have seen before on stamps.

Details of the photographs were not provided in a form suitable for including here as text, but they can be seen on the FDC filler card here (click to enlarge).

UPDATE: My thanks to RB who has managed to process the data on the filler to reveal these details. We can't guarantee that it's 100% correct, but here goes:

Listed as portrait first then background. 

Black & white stamps:  Princess Elizabeth at the age of six, July 1932; Members of the Royal Family with their dogs at Royal Windsor Lodge, June 1936.
Princess Elizabeth at Windsor Castle, May 1944; Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret giving their first Children's Hour radio broadcast from Windsor Castle during the Second World War, October 1940.
Queen Elizabeth II in November 1955; Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip after the Coronation, June 1953.
Queen Elizabeth II during the Royal Tour of India, 1961; Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles riding horses in the park of Windsor Castle.

Colour stamps: Queen Elizabeth II during Trooping the Colour 1976; Queen Elizabeth II during Trooping the Colour 1971.
Queen Elizabeth II in the White Drawing Room, Windsor Castle, November 1987; Queen Elizabeth II visiting Treherbert, Wales, April 1989.
Queen Elizabeth II in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace, October 2001; Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in the Gold State Coach during Golden Jubilee celebrations, June 2002.
Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle, 2022; Queen Elizabeth II and members of the Royal Family arriving at The Eden Project, Cornwall, during the G7 Summit, June 2021.

Miniature Sheet: Princess Elizabeth with her pet dog, London 1936; Queen Elizabeth II at Balmoral Castle with one of her corgis, September 1952; Queen Elizabeth II with a horse at Sandringham, 1964;
Queen Elizabeth II at the Royal Windsor Horse Show, May 1997.

Part of FDC filler card showing details of photos on the stamps, etc. Click to enlarge.

Miniature Sheet

Technical details

The 50 x 30 mm stamps, designed by Baxter & Bailey are printed in lithography in sheets of 60 by Cartor Security Printers, perf 14. The stamps in the 115 x 89 mm miniature sheet are 35 x 35 mm (corrected) and perf 14.5. All stamps have phosphor bands are on PVA-gummed paper.

Prestige stamp book

This 24 page publication, tells the story of the life of Queen Elizabeth II accompanied with beautiful photography throughout the decades. As Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II presided over a time of incredible change, acting as a constant source of comfort and stability to the nation. 100 years since the monarch was born, the Prestige Stamp Book pays tribute to Elizabeth II that reflects on her remarkable life and a record-breaking reign.

Prestige book cover and panes 1, 3, 4, 5.

Prestige stamp book pane 2 with two each 50p & £1 definitives coded M26L MPIL

Collector Sheet

The collectors Sheet contains all 8 stamps from the stamp set and accompanying labels featuring carefully curated photography matching the time period of the paired stamp. The stamps and labels sit on a background of the official “100” logo. The Collector Sheet is self-adhesive and lithography, making the stamps in the Collector Sheet different from those printed in the set.

Queen Elizabeth II Centenary Collector Sheet.

Products available

Set of stamps, miniature sheet, first day covers (2), presentation pack, prestige stamp book, fdc of PSB definitive pane, collector sheet, stamp cards (13), press sheet of 16 miniature sheets, £5 coin covers (3 - gold, silver, and cupronickel), framed products (set, MS, collector sheet).

All available from Royal Mail's website and some available from a Post Office branch quite near you if you are lucky.

Slogan postmarks for April 2026 - and other interesting postal markings.

2026-04-13T11:42:00.004+01:00

It's now 13th April and there is no news yet on new slogans, although it has been suggested that there might be one for the local elections, such as the 'Post Early' for postal voters from July 2024.

So please if you find anything new do get in touch. Meanwhile we will start off with the continuation of the British Heart Foundation standard slogan from Cornwall Mail Centre on 07/04/2026.

British Heart Foundation Cornwall Mail Centre 07/04/2026

UPDATE 17 April. Sheffield is having trouble again. Thanks to LT for this example of the (February) National Apprenticeship Week slogan used on 16 April. The BHF slogan was used there on 14th.

National Apprenticeship Week slogan used wrongly at Sheffield Mail Centre 16/04/2026

Update 29 April. No more slogans have appeared in April, but I'm told that there will be Local election slogans in some places use in early May.

I'm going to prepare a May slogan postmark post NOW, so that you can be prepared to get your own or be on the lookout.

OTHER POSTMARKS AND POSTAL MARKINGS

Just over two years ago we showed the self-inking datestamp (with wavy edges) from Holmbush in the outskirts of St Austell in Cornwall. Now JH has sent the newer 'Morse' type of SID that is in use now, used on 2 April 2026.

Holmbush Post Office 'Morse' type SID 02 APR 2026.

Update 30 April. RS has sent this Morse code handstamp from Richmond, Surrey used in February.

Richmond Post Office 'Morse' type SID 03 FEB 2026. (This is the Surrey Richmond.)

I also have this one from Drylaw (Shopping Centre), Edinburgh but I regret to say that I cannot find who sent it, so apologies to the reader who supplied it. It should be 29 March but the reversed 5 has been mis-read as a 2, and it reads 59 MAR 2026.

Drylaw Post Office 'Morse' type SID 59 MAR 2026.

Update 29 April. SS in Canada has sent another gem from one of his suppliers. I wonder even if the Post Office Customer Service could tell without a lot of effort, just where this was posted even with the postcode in the handstamp? STATION ROAD BR2 is actually 45 Station Approach, Hayes, Bromley, BR2 7EB. This is the Google Streetview image from 2021. The branch is now a Morrisons Daily but the Streetview car passed by at 9.35pm so the 2025 image is very grainy!

Post Office at 45 Station Approach, Hayes, Bromley, BR2 7EB now a Morrisons Daily

Fortunately it was sent by a tracked service and Royal Mail's Track and Trace webpage usually provides details of where barcoded letters were posted.

Station Road BR2 post office, SID 9 April 2026

SS also sent this image. In this case the branch staff did not cancel the stamps but fortunately the Exeter Mail Centre used their large rubber handstamp on it. The Tracking webpage shows it was posted at Barton Road PO, TQ2 8HN.

Remember, slogan postmarks appearing in April will be added to this post, so check here before you spend time scanning and emailing.

A reminder of what these monthly listings are for.

For each month I record the different slogans in use, plus the default slogan that is used when there is nothing else.

For each of these I try to record only one of each of the basic two types, plus any that are reversed on square envelopes, which normally only gives three or four.

Occasionally a slogan appears with different line spacing in the same format.

I do not record multiple versions of the same as any of these unless I later get a much better example of one that I showed purely for the record, but which is otherwise not very clear.

The only exception to this, which doesn't seem to happen much these days, is when a slogan is used well out of time.

I mention this only to avoid readers unnecessarily duplicating what has already been provided.

2026-04-09T11:38:00.001+01:00

Norfolk & Norwich Philatelic Society

STAMP FAIR

Saturday 11 April 2026
10 am to 3.30pm

Middle School Hall - Hewett Academy
Gate 1, Cecil Road (off Hall Road or Ipswich Road)
NORWICH NR1 2PL

I shall be there with a lot of bargains, especially foreign catalogues, postal history, postcards, and Norfolk material. If you're in the area do drop in and say hello.

After everything is put away again next week I shall get back to sending out orders, especially for the Visible Change business sheets and booklets.

King Charles III definitives - new printings 2026

2026-03-31T12:33:00.002+01:00

Printings of the King Charles definitives with 2023-2025 source codes are recorded in this post.

This post is for M26L stamps and non-PSB stamps issued in 2026 with M25L codes are also included.

As with Post and Go & SSKs, I have decided to have one post which will list all the news for the year, and then start another for next year.

Reprinted 2026 counter sheets

2nd class green -
1st class deep purple -

1p blue
2p deep green
5p dull violet-blue
10p turquoise-green
20p bright green
50p slate
£1 grey-brown
£2 new blue
£3.60 purple heather - printed 13 January 2026
£3.80 Aqua green - printed 14 January 2026
£4.60 Sapphire blue - printed 15 January 2026
£5 emerald

Reprinted booklets and business sheets with new Relay UK telephone number

2nd class MEIL from booklet of 8 - M25L philatelic release 20 March 2026
- M26L reported by JH as found soon after M25L released.
They have the same barcode date (120126)**
1st class MFIL from booklet of 4 - M26L philatelic release 20 March 2026
1st class MEIL from booklet of 8
1st Large MFIL from booklet of 4 - M26L philatelic release 20 March 2026

2nd class MBIL business sheet - M26L philatelic release 20 March 2026
1st class MBIL business sheet - M25L philatelic release 20 March 2026
2nd Large MBIL business sheet
1st Large MBIL business sheet - M26L philatelic release 20 March 2026

From Prestige Stamp Books - all self-adhesive, with source code MPIL

2nd class -
1st class -

1p -
2p -
5p -
10p -
20p -
50p - 21.4.2026 - Queen Elizabeth Centenary [M26L]
£1 - 21.4.2026 - Queen Elizabeth Centenary [M26L]

Other values

** 2nd MEIL M26L reported 21 April. As they have the same barcode date it suggests that only the iridescent ink cylinder was changed.

Possible problems with accessing all features of this blog.

2026-03-24T15:49:00.003+00:00

My default browser is Firefox, but recent changes in the way Firefox displays this blog - but not the others - have restricted my ability to use it here, and may restrict your ability to see everything.

Comments

Comments are moderated by email, that is, I am notified by email and may allow comments, delete them or mark them as spam.

On the desktop version of the blog I can see them, but I cannot respond. This is what I see - and what you may see if you use Firefox and want to comment.

I am able to respond if I use the web version on my iPad.

Search

On the desktop version, the strip above the title strip, which should be a light brown colour, is white and there is no content. Which means I cannot use the search box, and cannot sign-in if I need to.

New Posts

I normally click on the New Post link in the same strip at top right, but that doesn't appear. I am composing this explanation using the Safari browser. However, in Safari I cannot add new images. There's an icon in the editing page to add an image, but when I click on that a blank window pops-up with no option to drag-and-drop, to select and existing image, or link to another web source image.

UPDATE: As you can see above I have managed to add an image. Fortunately as the user control panel is the same for all the blogs associated with this email address, I can go to the Modern Postal History (MHP) blog as if I am editing that, and then select this blog to do the editing or composing.

Whilst readers should only be affected by the first two of these, the restrictions on composing a new post or editing an existing one are fundamental to what is a very visual blog. If ti were a narrative things would be different, but you want to see pictures.

Trying to find the solution to this will not be easy (the italicised explanation above is a workaround which I would prefer not to have to use). I don't think I've done anything in the design or text coding (the html mark-up language which lies behind all websites) to change anything. It is possible that the fault lies in the way we have framed the URL.

The MHP blog started out as https://machins-on-cover.blogspot.com

This one started out as https://norvic-philatelics.blogspot.com (I think - it might have been norphil.blogspot.com), but to bring everything apparently under one roof, so to speak, the internet routing has been changed so that our shop and blog are accessed through the norphil.co.uk domain. This does not need to be a secure site because no personal information is gathered.

The shop(.norphil.co.uk) is hosted by a commercial platform which is secure, and the blog(.norphil.co.uk) routes to blogger, a Google-owned commercial secure website.

Whether this is the cause of the problem I don't know. I can still access all features of the Modern Postal History (MPH) blog, which is registered to the same email address.

If I have not resolved this by the time I should be writing about the next stamp issue, I shall so so through the control panel of the MPH blog until the situation is restored.

If you are experiencing any difficulties in viewing or commenting on this blog, please let me know in the comments and let me know by email what browser and OS you are using.

Thank you and sorry for any inconvenience.

UPDATE 15 APRIL: The situation appears to have settled back into its old state as I can now comment and reply to comments. The 'Can't open this page' message at the top of this page no long appears.

Lord of the Rings Retro Special Offer.

2026-03-14T17:59:00.001+00:00

The 2004 set of 10 Royal Mail stamps marked the 50th anniversary of the publication of the first books in the Lord of the Rings series. The stamps depicted drawings illustrating locations in the books. All the illustrations are by the author except for the map which is by his son Christopher.

At the time we were producing first day covers for every stamp issue: the numbers varied according to our perceived popularity of the subject.

We think these were some of the best we produced. There are two sets of designs. One pair is in pencil/charcoal by Mates Laurentiu, and the other pair by Lori Snowden is in pastel shades similar to the stamps.

In each case one cover has stamps depicting 'evil' and one has the 'good' stamps. The 'good' covers have postmark E8927 (Ringwould), and the Literary Legend Sarehole Mill postmark (M8967) is on the 'evil' covers. All the covers have individual descriptive inserts.

We have found a few of these remaining in stock, and to clear them here is a very special offer. Originally they were £15.50 for a pair or £29.50 for the set of four.

For readers of this blog the prices are less than half price: £7.50 for either the pastel pair or the charcoal pair, or £15 for a set of 4. (Pairs will have the same serial number; where possible sets of 4 will have the same number.) E-mail to the usual address, for a pair or set of 4.

Ideal as a gift for Ring fans.

Visible Change 1st Large Business Sheet is not the same as previously reported

2026-03-14T13:11:00.012+00:00

Today at last I received a copy of the King Charles III 1st class Large Business Sheet which is due to have its philatelic distribution on 20 March. (There is no first day of issue for business sheets.)

I should have realised, from the Royal Mail trade publicity about this and the booklets, that we might be in for a surprise and so we are.

The clue is in the words 'visible change' because this has the new Relay UK phone number for Deaf, hearing or speech impaired users, rather than the textphone number. Consequently this is a quite different printing to the one previously reported. The other was printed in 2024 and coded M24L, the new one in 2026 and coded M26L.

King Charles III 1st class Large Business Sheet coded M24, the printing is much less clear than on the M26L. This image has been digitally enhanced and the M24L can just about be seen.

King Charles III 1st class Large Business Sheet coded M24L printed in 2024 and found in November 2025.

The new printing is much clearer - M26L MBIL.

King Charles III 1st class Large Business Sheet coded M26L with first day of philatelic availability 26 March 2026.

M26L examples for sale -
I asked for expressions of interest for the 1st Large business sheet stamp when it arrived. Now that we have yet another new one, I feel it best to ask again.

So please email and tell me how many of the M26L you would like; they will be only a little over cost plus postage.

Also as we have a definite first day of (philatelic) availability of this one, please email if you would like a single M26L on first day cover with appropriate postmark (Windsor permanent will probably be used if any are wanted.)

As for the M24L version, it is likely to be very scarce with most examples I suspect being sold through Royal Mail's website to business customers. I know that many post office branches are still holding the Machin version and won't have ordered any more. They won't get an automatic distribution of even the M26L version but it seems more than likely that Royal Mail will want this distributed when needed as it has current information on it.

All copies of the M24L 1st Large have now been sold or reserved, as have most of the other new business sheet stamps. The first batch of orders was posted today. Others, mainly for people who also want booklet stamps, should be posted week commencing 13 April.

I will contact my correspondent of this and ask if he would like to dispose of any. Please email if you would like any of these (how many). No obligation of course as I don't know what price I shall have to charge. But the M24L version should be included in the Gibbons Concise Catalogue as the primary stamp with the subsequent versions in the usual table.

UPDATE - I've been asked about the other two values of Business Sheets - 1st class and 2nd class. I had not planned to get these as I didn't have the imagination to realise that the Visible Change would be for M26L stamps as I expect these two values to be also.
Updated update: I've been told that the 1st class business sheet VC is 2025 2nd class VC is 2026. I think that still makes them both new.

1st class M25L MBIL Business Sheet

2nd class M26L MBIL Business Sheet

So if you wish to have these, please also say so, although if I cannot sell sufficient at a 'close to face' price, I will have to charge more to cover the ones that I have to sell for postage.
And the FDC would be for three stamps!

UPDATE 24 March: I've been told that the 1st Large booklet did not arrive at Tallents House until Friday 20th, so distribution by Royal Mail will be delayed.

There's never a dull moment, is there? I'll be posting images of the new booklet stamps in a separate post when I have them all.

Lord of The Rings - again but different - 20 March 2026

2026-03-13T10:19:00.001+00:00

The 2004 Royal Mail issue related to the Lord of the Rings marked the 50th anniversary of the publication of the first books in the series. Consequently they focussed on the books and showed the author's drawings illustrating locations in the books. This set, incidentally, was one of many consisting of 10 x 1st class.

2004 set of 10 x 1st class Lord of the Rings stamps.

Now, it's 25 years since The Fellowshop of the Ring hit a screen near you bringing New Zealand director Peter Jackson to our notice - not his first film, but the series which has featured most on stamps, notably those of New Zealand.

Selection of New Zealand Lord of the Rings stamps depicting Frodo, Gandalf, Aragon and Legolas.

New Zealand Post has issued several sets of LOTR stamps. How will Royal Mail's stamps compare? Time will tell, and they will be revealed around 11 March.

As you have probably predicted, Royal Mail have made this another blockbuster issue, aiming to sell much more merchandise to fan collectors than stamp collectors. For this reason there is the usual wide range of products available, starting with...

The set of 8 x 1st class stamps

[Royal Mail] This set of 8 mint stamps showing montages from the film trilogy are perfect for film fans.

Each stamp celebrates iconic characters from the 3 films. British Actors from the epic featured are Orlando Bloom as Legolas, Ian McKellan as Gandalf, Dominic Monaghan as Merry, Billy Boyd as Pippin and Christopher Lee as Saruman.

This stunning imagery also has a secret UV layer revealed using a UV light, Elvish writing in a circle appears on each stamp. Fans will recognise this as the writing on the One Ring.

Set of 8 1st class stamps illustrated with montages from the Lord of the Rings films./The lower illustration shows the Elvish writing revealed if you have a UV lamp.

The characters: The Hobbits, Gandalf, Arwen, Gimli, Saruman, Aragon, Legolas, and Frodo & Gollum.

The miniature sheet

Lord of the Rings miniature sheet of four x 1st class stamps issued 20 March 2026 depicting The Shire at Hobbiton, Rivendell, The Gates of Argonath and Mount Doom.

Technical details and acknowledgements

The 50 x 30 mm stamps were designed by True North, veterans of Royal Mail stamp design - Harry Potter, Women's Rugby, Blackadder, Visions of the Universe etc. They were printed in litho by Cartor Security Printers in sheets of 60 (30 se-tenant pairs), perforated 14½ x 14. The 192 x 74 mm self-adhesive* miniature sheet contains 60 x 30 mm stamps, perforated 14½. (*Not gummed as stated on Royal Mail's web shop).

© New Line Productions, Inc. All rights reserved. THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY and all names of the characters, items, events, and places therein are TM of Middle- earth Enterprises, LLC under license to New Line Productions, Inc. (s26).

Prestige Stamp Book (£25.32) (Thank you JohnH for the correction to my typo.)

"The Prestige Stamp book brings together all the stamps from the Lord of the Rings issue plus a unique pane of definitive stamps available only in this book.

"Inside readers will find expertly written pieces on some of the battles between good and evil, like Arwen vs the Black Riders, Gandalf vs the Balrog and Frodo vs Gollum. Whilst many people are aware of the lead character Frodo, many fans acknowledge that the saga is made up of a host of heroes and this stamp book celebrates the feats and battles won and lost throughout the three films.

"A real journey through Middle Earth, this stamp book is a wonderful addition to any Lord of the Rings Fan’s collection."

The Limited Edition (2001) PSB with gold cover in gold-coloured presentation box (£49.99)

Fan Sheets (£8 each)

Two gummed Fan Sheets containing three of the relevant stamps - Frodo and Sam, and Gandalf. Limited editions of 5,000.

Gandalf's picture looks familiar, doesn't it? Scroll up to the New Zealand stamps!

Collector Sheet (£14.80)

The landscape-oriented Collector Sheet as usual features all 8 stamps, with additional imagery on the attached labels. As usual the sheet is self-adhesive.

Lord of the Rings self-adhesive Collector Sheet of 8 stamps issued 20 March 2026.

Products Available from Royal Mail

Set of 8 stamps, miniature sheet, first day covers (2), presentation pack, stamp cards (13), press sheet of 10 miniature sheets (edition of 200), framed products.

(Incidentally, in each of NZ Post's LOTR issues they had six gummed stamps, the same six stamps in individual miniature sheets, the same six stamps in a single self-adhesive miniature sheet, and a self-adhesive folded booklet containing four of the lowest value, two of one other, and one each of the rest. There are also official maximum cards which had a stamp stuck to the picture side and postmarked, and also printed in black & white on the address side; the cards are thus prepaid for posting to anywhere in the world.)

1st class up 10p, 2nd class up 4p in half-yearly rates changes on 7 April 2026, new stamps 26 March.

2026-03-07T12:00:00.009+00:00

Royal Mail has announces new tariffs effective from 7 April 2026, new stamps on 26 March 2026.

"From 7 April 2026 the price of Second Class stamps will increase by 4p to 91p and the price of First Class stamps will be £1.80, an increase of 10p.

"The new price of a Second Class stamp remains 65p below the European average price of £1.56 and a First Class stamp is 13p below the European average of £1.93. Under the Universal Service in France, Germany and Spain customers only have the option of paying for a three-day service. France charges £1.92 for a Second Class stamp, 12p more than a First Class, next day, service in the UK.

"The stamp price rises reflect the continued rise in cost of delivery for every letter as letter volumes decline and the number of addresses increases. The average household now receives only four letters per week, down from 14 at their peak over 20 years ago, while the number of addresses has risen by four million.

"Richard Travers, Managing Director of Letters at Royal Mail said: “We always consider price changes very carefully, balancing affordability with the rising cost of delivering mail. On average, UK adults now spend just £6.50 each year on stamps and there are 70% fewer letters sent than 20 years ago. In the meantime, the number of addresses we deliver to has increased by four million to 32 million addresses across the UK.”

(Press release)

New tariff analysis

(New prices in bold, reduced in red, unchanged in italics.)

	1^st		2^nd
Letter	1.80	1.70	0.91	0.87
Large Letter – 100g	3.30	3.15	1.55	1.55
- 250g	3.60	3.60	1.90	2.00
- 500g	3.60	3.60	2.40	2.40
- 750g	3.60	3.60	2.70	2.70
Small Parcel 2kg	5.45	5.09	4.25	3.99
Medium Parcel 2kg	8.05	7.45	6.95	6.49
- 10kg	10.05	9.35	8.75	8.19
- 20kg	15.45	14.25	13.15	12.25

Signed For prices for 1st class Letters rise by 20p, and Large Letters by 10-25p; 2nd class letter is up by 14p, Large Letters by 10p. Parcels show rises across the board.

Tracked 24/48 prices show small rises with basic Large Letter (up to 1lg) prices increased by 10p to £3.95 (24) and by 35p to £3.30 (48). Parcels show 5-7% rises.

Special Delivery up to 100g rise 7.5% from £9.25 to £9.95, up to 500g from 6.8% from £10.25 to £10.85. The 9 a.m. option increases are lower this year from £49.95 to £53.95 for the basic 100g weight!

International rates. The basic worldwide letter and postcard rate rises by 20p again from £3.40 to £3.60 (5.8%) airmail and from £3.30 to £3.50 for Economy (surface).

The price for airmail Large Letters up to 100g increases by 30p to all zones (so from £3.50 to £3.80 for Europe, £4.30 to £4.60 worldwide); other weight bands rise by around 6%.

International premium services

The price for 100g International Tracked to Europe increases from £9.75 to £9.95. Outside Europe the rises vary from 10% in Zones 1 & 2 to only 5% for Zone 3 (USA – possibly compensating for both reduced volume, and the administration fee for processing US Tariffs).

I haven't had time to do a comprehensive comparison, especially of rates which are less used like Tracked Small Parcels, but one that stands out is the World Zone 1. Whilst Zone 2 rates stay the same at all weights, Zone 3 (USA) increases by about 6% (with a note that this is subject to change!), Zone 1 (which is the whole world except the USA, Europe and Oceania) shows some increases by a massive 25% (which means for 250g from £16.00 to £19.90), and for 2kg 16% from £31.70 to £36.90.

There are smaller rises for the now 'Documents only' International Tracked and Signed where the compensation has been reduced from £50 to £20 to match the standard airmail.

New Stamps from 26 March 2026 (updated in blue)

There will be three new stamps, for the 100g letter rates, costing a nice round £12 for the set (DS2400).

DS2400A £3.60 Purple Heather for letter rates - Printed 13/01/26
DS2400B £3.80 Aqua Green for Large letter to Europe - Printed 14/01/26
DS2400C £4.60 Sapphire Blue for Large letter to the rest of the world - Printed 15/01/26

Pre-issue publicity images of airmail stamps to be issued 27 March 2026.

The stamps are printed in press sheets of 8 panes; I have Col 1 Row 4 of the £3.60, Col 2 Row 2 of the £3.80 and of the £4.60. The coding is, as it should be, MAIL M26L.

Royal Mail customers with a regular order for definitive stamp sets will receive this set as part of their ongoing subscription. There will also be an official first day cover and single-stamp presentation pack.

Other charges

The cost of a PO Box will be increased by 12% to £416.40. Twelve months' redirection, which was 100x the 2nd class rate at £87 is increased to £95.

Context for older stamps

I've been looking at some older Post and Go sets. A Collector's set of Poppies bought in only 2018 cost £8.18. The postage value at the new rates will be almost two-and-a-half times that at £19.50!

Slogan postmarks for March 2026 - and other interesting postal markings

2026-03-04T17:13:00.011+00:00

Doesn't time race away as we get older? I received the latest slogan postmark by email and was about to add them to the latest Slogan Postmark post - when I remembered that we are now in March!

I don't know whether the standard British Heart Foundation slogan started the month: as we have an example of a new slogan used on 3rd March it seems unlikely.

So thanks to LT for this example of the International Women's Day slogan for this year, used at North & West Yorkshire 03/03/2026.

International Women's Day
8 March 2026
#IWD2026
#GiveToGain

International Women's Day slogan North & West Yorkshire 03/03/2026

Update: Thanks to MM for the other format from Dorset & SW Hants

International Women's Day slogan Dorset & SW Hants 04-03-2026

Update 10 March: the first stamped letter I have received for some time was posted yesterday, so Royal Mail can get some things right! After IWD it seems that Mothering Sunday will be overlooked, despite the opportunity for many card sales and postings, and we have the standard British Heart Foundation slogan. From Cornwall Mail Centre.

British Heart Foundation from Cornwall Mail Centre 09/03/2026

Update 12 March. I received an email yesterday informing me that a Mother's Day slogan was being sent out to mail centres to run until Friday evening. Introduction at mail centres is likely to be not simultaneous, the IMPs especially may have been subject to delay. So while I was out this morning LT sent an example from Sheffield Mail Centre dated 11 March. Mother's Day is two weeks earlier this year than last (30th) when we had examples on 24th, so maybe someone forgot to check the calendar this year.

Remember
Mother's Day
15 March 2025

Remember Mother's Day 15 March 2026 Sheffield Mail Centre 11/03/2026

OTHER POSTMARKS AND POSTAL MARKINGS

Sometimes we find (or in this case get sent) an old marking which we have never seen before, nor seen reported. Not that that means it is totally new: after 30 years it's impossible to remember everything, so maybe it has. Doubtless someone from the British Postmark Society will remember it?

Delivered to Royal Mail Slough by Private Carrier on 13 Oct 1995

I don't know the circumstances in which this was used but the wording tells a story; there is no Postage Paid Indicator or Clause 9 Licence number.

It's a rectangular handstamp so this must have occurred with enough volume to demand it - and it either has changeable date wheels or the date is stamped in separately. Either way there must not only have been a volume but also frequency. The postage rate in 1995 was 19p for second class, so the 34p surcharge can't be explained easily.

UPDATE: PA writes "My immediate reaction was that it was C9 mail with no indicia, but was dubious about the date. I have now checked and that did not commence until 2004. Thus this pre-dates the competitors.

I think it is probably DX mail. They delivered mail between their members thus not infringing the monopoly. Initially they served solicitors and later other trades including travel agents and were based in Slough. I am now guessing somewhat, that they received mail addressed to non-members and thus were unable to deliver which was then handed to Royal Mail and surcharged.

The surcharge is correct postage 19p + handling charge 15p = 34p."

Post Office Branch. From SS our correspondent in Canada a Tracked & Signed item which took two months to get from Watford to Vancouver! It was worth the wait because the sender used a set of five greetings stamps which were very fine used at Leavesden Green Post Office north of Watford. (One of the James Bond, and all of the Harry Potter, film franchises were produced at Leavesden Studios.)

Leavesden Green self-inking datestamp 19 JA 26

Leavesden Green Post Office - Google Street View April 2018.

UPDATE 20 March. Thanks to MM I can show another Morse Code handstamp, this time from Whitmore Park Road post office in the northern outskirts of Coventry.

Whitmore Park Road Post Office handstamp 17 MAR 2026

Whitmore Park Road Post Office Google streetview August 2024.

The latest edition of the British Postmark Society Journal records Morse Code type rubber self-inking datestamps at
COUNTY OAK (Crawley),
DARLINGTON LANE (Stockton-on-Tees),
FELLSIDE (Newcastle-upon-Tyne),
HAYWAYDS HEARTH WEST SUSSEX (two examples), and
BHub Cintingency 93 (Banking Hub, a Earlestown, Newton-le-Willows).

UPDATE 27 March. A letter received this week was posted at MERCHANT CITY GLASGOW and although it received the BHF Slogan, one stamp was not covered:

Merchant City Glasgow self-inking datestamp 21 March 2026.

Sited on the corner of Wilson Street and Glassford Street (Glasgow G1) the branch is now in a Spar shop. A box is on the opposite side of Glassford Street, and behind the camera on this shot there is a Tardis-style blue Police Box.

Merchant City branch post office, Glasgow G1 (June 2024, Google street view)

Lockers update. Wednesday was a warm and sunny day so we went to the coast, and I spotted this locker in the garden of The Lobster in Sheringham. This one has the facility for pick-up and drop-off of Evri, Royal Mail, and UPS packets.

Multi-company Locker at The Lobster, Sheringham, Norfolk March 2026

Remember, slogan postmarks appearing in March will be added to this post, so check here before you spend time scanning and emailing.

A reminder of what these monthly listings are for.

For each month I record the different slogans in use, plus the default slogan that is used when there is nothing else.

For each of these I try to record only one of each of the basic two types, plus any that are reversed on square envelopes, which normally only gives three or four.

The only exception to this, which doesn't seem to happen much these days, is when a slogan is used well out of time.

I mention this only to avoid readers unnecessarily duplicating what has already been provided.

Rows of Roses - set of 10 and collector sheet - 26 February 2026

2026-02-20T00:00:00.206+00:00

This appears to be just another thematic issue from Royal Mail, but it hides a commemoration which isn't mentioned on the stamps or the FDC filler (although it is in the Presentation Pack). In a move to please many letter writers this set includes a strip of five each 2nd class and 1st class, and delighting collectors there is no miniature sheet - although there is another collector sheet which is at the same time attractive and bland!

From Royal Mail's write up*

This set of special stamps celebrates the beauty and heritage of roses in the UK. Roses are among the world’s most beloved flowers, admired for their colour and fragrance. Roses also hold a symbolic place in British history—the Tudor Rose remains an enduring emblem of England. The UK is home to more than a dozen wild species, and cultivated varieties have flourished for over four millennia.

Featuring ten exquisite watercolour illustrations of different rose breeds, this collection honours both wild and garden roses in brand-new watercolour paintings created exclusively for Royal Mail by acclaimed botanical artist Marie Burke, creating a tribute to beauty, tradition, and horticultural artistry.

This issue marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of David Austin OBE (1926–2018), the pioneering British breeder whose creations transformed modern rose cultivation. (Yes that's the commemorative part!)

From the FDC insert, this provides a good historical and geographic background to the development of roses as garden favourites, with a small nod to David Austin at the end.

* Text edited to remove duplication and improve grammar.

The stamps

Set of ten stamps - five 1st class, five 2nd class - depicting rose flowers issued 26 February 2026

2nd class: Dog Rose (Rosa canina), Queen Elizabeth, Just Joey, Paul's Himalayan Musk, Etoile de Hollande.

1st class: Rosa Gallica Versicolor, Field Rose (Rosa arvensis), Charles de Mills, Peace, Constance Spry.

Technical Detail and acknowledgements

The 37 x 35 mm stamps were designed by Charlie Smith Design using original artwork by Marie Burke and printed in litho by Cartor Security Printers on ordinary gummed paper. They are perforated 14½ x 14 in sheets of 50.

BBC Somerset story on the artist - what this article makes clear, that the Royal Mail information doesn't, is that Constance Spry was the first English Rose bred by David Austin, in 1961.

Rosa ‘Just Joey’ featured with kind permission of Roger and Joey Pawsey; Rosa ‘Étoile de Hollande’ featured with kind permission of Verschuren Rozen, Verschuren Rosegrowers Heritage Foundation, Koninklijke Kwekerijen HA Verschuren & Zonen and Jac Verschuren-Pechtold BV; Rosa ‘Peace’ featured with kind permission of the House of Meilland; Rosa ‘Constance Spry’ featured with kind permission of David Austin®

(It is interesting that the permission of the breeders has apparently been required. Back in 2004 for the Bicentenary of the Royal Horticultural Association I photographed a number of cultivars (no roses) from our garden to illustrate our first day covers. It never occurred to me that I ought to ask permission from modern breeders to use my photographs of my flowers!)

Collector Sheet (£14)

Predictably as there is a collector sheet it is self-adhesive, although otherwise the size and print details are the same. Alongside the stamps there are photographs of the same roses, which shows at least how accurate the artist has been, against a background of probably the same roses.

But there is nothing else - just the caption at the top and the copyright notice at lower left - no explanation. It's just something to put on the wall - and for this purpose Royal Mail will sell you a framed sheet (or the framed set) for £40.

As I wrote here many years ago about most of the (now abandoned) Business Customised Sheets, they are just posters which happen to have stamps in them. I mean, just what is the point?

Set of ten self-adhesive stamps (five each 2nd class and 1st class) with attached photographic non-postal labels depicting rose flowers issued 26 February 2026

Products available from Royal Mail

Set of 10 stamps, first day cover, stamp cards, presentation pack, collector sheet.

Microprinting

I mentioned this earlier in the month but I don't intend to study the stamps specifically. However a friend has pointed out to me that the number on these stamps is '2606', ie the sixth issue of the year - except that it isn't. On the original plan sent to use it was due for issue a little later in the year, but the programme was altered before wider publication. We can consequently expect more out of sequence numbers.

The many trains arriving on 19 February at Platform 1 are from Hornby.

2026-02-12T00:00:00.022+00:00

2017 Meccano stamp
This set is all about Hornby Model Railways, perhaps hitching up to last year's Railway 200 celebration of the bicentenary of real railways.

Odd then, that the set marks the 125th anniversary of the company founded by Frank Hornby in 1901, "Hornby Hobbies", to sell his Meccano construction toy. According to Wikipedia until 1907 the company produced under the name of Mechanics made easy which is what Meccano was doing.

The first clockwork train was not produced until 1920. but I suppose trains on stamps have more appeal than construction models?

UPDATE on issue day 19 February. I've had three reports so far that post office branches have refused to sell what stamps they have until next week (27th). This is wrong, the issue date is today: we were originally told 27th but this was changed on 19 December. This was the RoyalMailStamps account on X today. The comment from 'M' indicates that this is a failure to update the Horizon system to allow them to be sold.

If only stamps were delivered to branches with enclosures like this!

Update: I understand that PO Branches were told this because the Horizon system wasn't updated in time. Why they processed a date change for the set and not the MS & presentation packs who knows.

Update 20th: I have been told that POL told RM that "it was impossible to change the date of sale once the original core data had been set up". Apparently stamps are sold as stamps but the other products, including the pack, are fixed at 27th. Fortunately enterprising post office staff have found a way to satisfy the customers. I asked in Dereham today and nobody had asked for them. Twenty years ago there were three dealers in the immediate area. Two have since died and the other gets what stamps he needs from Edinburgh.

From Royal Mail

The clockwork trains were followed by electric models and the iconic Hornby Dublo range in 1938.

These innovations transformed model railways into a cherished pastime, inspiring creativity and technical skills across generations.

Hornby’s story reflects Britain’s engineering heritage and evolving social trends—from childhood play to adult collecting and nostalgia. Despite wartime interruptions and industry challenges, Hornby adapted with new technologies, from realistic detailing to digital control systems, ensuring its continued relevance. Today, Hornby remains a leading name in model railways, celebrated for craftsmanship and authenticity.

This stamp issue honours a brand that has entertained millions, preserved the romance of rail travel, and become a cultural icon of British design and imagination.

The stamps

Set of 8 x 1st class stamps honouring the Hornby brand name issued 19 February 2026.

The set consists if eight 1st Class stamps
GNR No.1 Locomotive (1920) – The original clockwork classic that started it all.
BR 4MT Tank Locomotive (1954) – A post-war favourite from the Hornby Dublo era.
InterCity 125 High Speed Train (1977) – A symbol of speed and innovation.
Bournemouth Belle Pullman Cars (2009) – Luxury in miniature detail.
Princess Elizabeth, LMS (1937) – A majestic pre- war express engine.
AL1 Electric Locomotive (1963) – Capturing the modernisation of British Railways.
Merchant Navy Class (2000) – Heralding Hornby’s new era of authenticity.
‘Hush-Hush’ Experimental Locomotive (2021) – A tribute to engineering ambition.

The Miniature Sheet consists of four 1st class stamps

Miniature Sheet of 4 x 1st class stamps honouring the Hornby brand name issued 19 February 2026.

Hornby Book of Trains – A tribute to the early catalogues that inspired generations of young enthusiasts.
Hornby Dublo Electric Trains – Showcasing the revolutionary 1930s range that brought realism to miniature railways.
Tri-ang Railways Era – Capturing the bold advertising and colourful packaging of the 1960s and 70s.
Modern Classics – Featuring InterCity branding and contemporary designs that reflect Hornby’s evolution

Technical details and acknowledgements

The 41 x 30 mm gummed stamps were printed by Cartor Security Printers in litho in sheets of 60 in se-tenant pairs, perf 14½x14. The 192 x 74 mm miniature sheet contains stamps 60 x 30 mm perf 14½.

2017 Hornby Dublo stamp

Designed by The Chase. HORNBY®, Hornby Railways, Tri-ang Hornby, Tri-ang, Hornby Dublo and Minic are Registered Trade Marks of Hornby Hobbies Ltd, and are used under licence by Royal Mail Group Ltd; images © Hornby Hobbies Limited, except image of two boys on the Dublo stamp: detail from Hornby Dublo box label © M&N/Alamy Stock Photo.

Products available

Set of 8 stamps, miniature sheet, presentation pack, first day covers (2), press sheet of 10 miniature sheets, (Inter-City 125) medal cover, stamp set and miniature sheet in one frame.

So, with yet another branded stamp issue, will Hornby derail the hobby or just some collectors?

booster-t in the comments wanted to post a photo of his TT-gauge Triang - here it is!

TT-gauge Triang 35028 (Southern Region if my memory serves?)