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This page - Royal Events : Philatelic Events
Headlines - British mines nationalized.... Worst recorded floods in England.... School leaving age raised to 15 in GB.... Indo-Pakistani War.... British withdraw from Palestine
February : May - the King and Queen and the 2 Princesses go on tour to South Africa. Stamps are issued to commemorate the visit by Basutoland, Bechuanaland, Swaziland, Southern Rhodesia, South Africa and South West Africa, (overprinted stamps of South Africa). 21 April - Newfoundland issues stamp to celebrate Princess Elizabeth's 21st birthday. 10 July - Buckingham Palace announces the engagement of Princess Elizabeth to Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten R.N. (later the Duke of Edinburgh). 15 August - India and Pakistan become self-governing Dominions - George is no longer Emperor of India. 20 November - Marriage of Princess Elizabeth to Philip, Duke of Edinburgh at Westminster Abbey.
Definitives : Commemoratives : Booklets : Airmail : Other : Postmarks 6 January - change of postage rates for parcels 29 December - another change of postage rates for parcels 20 December - definitive issue of 11d 28 July - after initial discussions, the Postmaster general announced that there would be two, (turned out to be 4) values, 2½d and 3d, to commemorate the Olympic Games in 1948. The Council of Industrial Design (COID) responded to a request for suitable artists by supplying a list of 10 (8 August). Detailed instructions were supplied to the artists. 40 guineas were paid to artists who submitted designs, with 160 guineas going to any selected design. [Details of this process and instructions given in the British Philatelic Bulletin, February, March, April, 1989]. 22 October - closing date for submissions of designs for Olympic Games stamps. 30 October - the Scottish Fine Arts Commission, and the COID on the following day, review the submitted designs for the Olympic Games stamps. 4 November - six final designs for the Olympic Games set selected for submission to the King - Harrisons requested to produce bromides and essays. 12 December - 1/- (series 6D) booklet issued
Airmail - 9 January - start of London / Dublin service. 3d air fee. 14 January - Scottish Airways Ltd carry out an emergency mail flight from Kirkwall to North Ronaldshay, Orkneys. 17 January - Airmail postage rates reduced to all countries except Australasia. 1 February - BEA begin regular flights for first class mail from Glasgow, Renfrew and Benbecula. 17 February - Liverpool / Belfast airmail fee reduced from 3d to 2d. 20 February - temporary cachets first used by BEA on the Penzance to Scilly Isles 'Air Letter' service, (previously Great Western and Southern Airlines - see also 1 June). 20 February - new cachets in use by BEA Scottish Division 'Air Letter' service, (previously Scottish Airways). 16 March - emergency mail flight carried out to Inchmurrin in the frozen Loch Lomond. 31 March - The Empire Air Mail Service which began 29 June 1937 was intended to last for 15 years. The Service was halted by the war and was formally ended on this date. 1 April - Channel Island Airways service to and from the Channel Islands is taken over by BEA. 8 April - Liverpool / Dublin airmail fee reduced from 3d to 2d. 15 April - First London - Prestwick - Gander - Montreal flights for BOAC. 19 May - first daily flight by British European Airways to / from London - Geneva. Souvenir covers flown both ways, (see below).
20 May - first Alderney / Southampton direct airmail service. 21 May - first flight by KLM for Dublin / Manchester / Amsterdam service. 28 May - non-stop flight by British South American Airways (BSAA) from London to Bermuda. Refuelling over the Azores. 1 June - Permanent cachets used by BEA on Penzance-Scilly Isles Air Letter service. 1 June - extension of the '6d Air Letter' service from UK to the Azores, and Central and South America, (except French West Indies and French Guiana). Service provided by BSAA. Air letters to Chile back-stamped in Santiago 6 June.
5 June - start of weekly service by BSAA : London to Jamaica via Azores, Bermuda and Nassau. 7 June - first flight for AOA New York to Oslo via Prestwick.
1 December - first all-Australian service to England by Qantas left Sydney. Lockheed Constellation aircraft, commanded by K G Jackson. 6 December - first regular through airmail service by Qantas Empire Airways Ltd. London to Sydney, via Cairo, Karachi, Calcutta, Singapore and Darwin. Souvenir covers.
Other - During 1947, the Council of Industrial Design (COID), set up its Stamps Advisory Committee. 3 to 8 March - National Stamp Exhibition held at Central Hall, London. Labels issued. See also 20-27 November. 7 July - late fee letters allowed on TPO's after suspension of service during the war. 17 July - Postmaster General announces that controls were more of a nuisance than they were worth and would be discontinued. The Union of Post Office Workers had also complained about their members in Post Offices being pestered by philatelists for control blocks. 9 to 12 September - 29th Philatelic Congress Of Great Britain, Birmingham. Special postmark issued, see below. 23 October to 5 November - British Philatelic Exhibition held at Imperial Institute, South Kensington. Labels issued. See also 20-27 November. Royal Wedding - covers and postmarks, but no special stamps.
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