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This page - Royal Events :
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Headlines - UK railways nationalised....
Burma independence from UK.... Gandhi murdered....
Ceylon independent within British Commonwealth, George VI becomes King
of Ceylon.... Berlin Airlift.... Electricity industry nationalised....
Marshall Plan for 16 countries.... World Health Organization
established.... Israel declared an independent state and
attacked.... Bread rationing ends.... UK National Health
Service Act.... Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.... Windrush immigrant ship arrives UK
Royal Events
26 April - Silver Wedding Day. A service of thanksgiving and re-dedication held
at St.Paul's Cathedral.
Ill health of George diagnosed as arteriosclerosis - a planned tour to Australia
and New Zealand has to be cancelled.
14 November - George's first grandchild, Prince Charles, is born. The Post
Office decline to issue special stamps.
Philatelic Events
Definitives
: Commemoratives :
Booklets :
Airmail :
Other :
Postmarks
1 July - change of postage
rates for overseas Foreign rate surface letters, overseas commercial
papers rate
[Background to these rate changes - In the House of Commons, the
Postmaster-general, Mr. Wilfred Paling, announced; "Details of the changes
are given below; but I should like to mention one, which I am sure will be
welcomed by the House, namely, that letters, letter packets and postcards for
European countries, excluding Germany, Poland and Iceland, will as from 1st July
be sent by air at the ordinary international rates of postage, whenever this
will result in earlier delivery.
The most important of the changes affecting the public which will come into
operation on 1st July, is the resumption of the pre-war arrangement whereby
first-class mail, i.e., letters, letter packets and postcards, for certain
European destinations, prepaid at the ordinary international rate of postage
were forwarded by air or surface route, whichever offered the earlier delivery.
As from 1st July, this system will again apply to letters, letter packets and
postcards for European countries with the exception of Germany, Poland and
Iceland; no air mail fee will be payable and no air mail label will be required.
Owing to the special nature and bulk of the traffic to Germany and Poland, these
countries, together with Iceland, are not for the present included in the
scheme, and correspondence for them will continue to be despatched by surface
route unless it is prepaid for air transmission, and has an air mail label
affixed. For the three countries concerned air postage rates, which are at
present 5d. for the first ounce and 3d. for each additional ounce, will be
altered to 4½d. and 3½d. respectively, the postcard rate remaining unchanged at
½d.
In order to bring the international postal rates charged in this country into
conformity with the provisions of the Postal Union Convention, certain other
modifications in rates and conditions will also take effect from 1st July. There
will be no change in the foreign letter rate of 3d. for the first ounce, but on
letters weighing more than one ounce, the rate for each ounce after the first,
at present 1½d., will be increased to 2d., and the minimum charge for commercial
papers will be increased from 2½d. to 3d. There will be no change in the postage
rate for printed papers, which remains at ½d. for every two ounces; but the
maximum weight, at present 5 lb. to Commonwealth and 4 lb. to other overseas
destinations, with the proviso that a printed volume for any destination sent
singly may weigh up to 6½ lb., will be increased to 6½ lb. for all overseas
destinations, the weight for an individual volume sent singly being raised to 11
lb." Hansard - HC Deb 23 June 1948 vol
452 cc135-6W
Definitives -
3 February - a Post Office note states that the lower values
of the definitive range would need to be changed in order to return to
UPU Universal colours.
The first change does not occur until the 4d is changed on 2 October 1950, and
other low values in 1951.
1 October - Hi-value
£1 brown 'arms' issued
Commemoratives -
1 March - King George approves four essays from six submitted
for the Olympic Games set. Further colour tests carried out after this.
Booklets -
November 1948 -
1/- (series 6E) booklet issued
Airmail -
16 February - BEA begin air mail service between Inverness
and Stornoway. Souvenir envelopes produced.
15 March - after discussions, agreed that
Olympic airletter will be
printed by letterpress at McCorquodale's and the stamp added by photogravure at
Harrison's.
19
March - BOAC first service to Japan
1 May - Postage rates to Central America, West Indies and some South American
countries is reduced from 1/3 to 1/- per ½oz - postcards from
7d to 6d - printed papers from 5d to 4d per ½oz.
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1 June - First public
helicopter mail service in the UK - carried out by British European
Airways (BEA). Twice daily service for a trial 3 month period.
Experimental flights had previously
been carried out from 27 January in the Somerset and Dorset region, on a
circuit from Yeovil. It was then decided, after a survey of mail delivery
times, that the service should start in East Anglia. Experimental flights
for this route were carried out between 24 and 29 May. The experimental
flights carried dummy mail and even had Post Office vans delivering and
collecting the 'mail'.
The helicopter used for the first flight was a Sikorsky S.51,
registration G-AKCU, piloted by Mr J G Theilman. The flight departed at 10 a.m.,
from Westwood Aerodrome, Peterborough. |
Picture from The Aero Field July 1948 |
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On the morning route the service travelled 170 miles dropping
off mail (no pick-ups), at King's Lynn, Wells, Sheringham, Cromer, Norwich,
Thetford, Diss, Harleston, arriving at Great Yarmouth (12.49 p.m. on the first
day). First flight mail was postmarked in Peterborough at 9 -AM 1 Jun 1948.
The return flight left Great Yarmouth at 5.35 p.m. travelling
102 miles via Lowestoft, Beccles, Norwich, Dereham, arriving at Peterborough
(7.30 p.m. on the first day). Mail was picked up at the stages, but only dropped
at Peterborough. Postmarks for the first day are - Great Yarmouth 4.30 p.m.;
Lowestoft 4.30 p.m; Beccles 6 p.m.; Norwich 4.30 or 5.30 p.m.; Dereham 6 p.m.
Souvenir covers were issued by BEA. Covers addressed Poste
Restante were backstamped.
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10 June - First air mail by Air India International arrived from Bombay,
(leaving there on 8 June) via Cairo and Geneva. Return flight left London on 11 June,
(backstamped Bombay June 14).
14 June - BEA begin air mail service three times a week from Renfrew to Tiree,
Inner Hebrides.
1 July 1948 - air fee to Eire is ended. [Started 14 January 1946].
19 July - SAS flights start for Stockholm - Oslo - Copenhagen
- Glasgow - New York.
23 July - airmail service re-starts to Palestine.
29 July - Issue of air letter sheet for the Olympic Games.
(Also see postmarks below).
6 August - Royal Air Mail service between Balmoral and London while King in
residence. Balmoral / Dyce Airport by helicopter.
4 October - BEA begin air mail service three times a week from Glasgow to Barra,
Outer Hebrides.
27 November - regular BOAC service to Iwakuni, Japan (zone of the British
Commonwealth Occupation Force). A proving flight left London on 13 November to
Tokyo.
Other -
4 to 10 February - British Philatelic Exhibition held at Houldsworth Hall,
Manchester. Labels issued.
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<
25 to 28 May - 30th Philatelic Congress of Great Britain, Bournemouth. Special
postmark, cover and 4 colour labels issued.
August - Stamp Collecting magazine announced - 'There seems to be little
doubt but that the birth of an heir to the throne will be greeted with a special
issue of stamps at Home, if not in Britain Overseas also. From all reports the
general features have been decided upon in consultation with the King and Queen
and Princess Elizabeth herself and that they will include a portrait of the
Royal infant.' No stamps were issued.
15 to 21 September - Postage Stamp Exhibition held at Music Hall, Aberdeen.
Labels issued.
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Postmarks -
All entries, except *, are taken from Special Event Postmarks of the United Kingdom by
George R. Pearson. Published by the
British Postmark Society, 1991 who give kind
permission for reproduction.
| * 20 January to 14 May - 'British Industries
Fair May 3rd-14th 1948 London & Birmingham'. Block. |
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| * 1 to 30 March and 1 to 30 June (Belfast and
Londonderry) - 'Lend A Hand On The Land'. Block. |
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| * 5 to 30 April and 17 to 31 August - 'Blood
Donors Are Still Urgently Needed'. Block. |
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3 to 10 May - 'Brit. Industries Fair.
Birmingham (number)'. Single circle, steel handstamps numbered 1, 2 and 3. |
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| 3 to 10 May - 'Registered B.I.F. Birmingham'.
Rubber oval handstamp struck in violet. |
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| * 3 to 27 May - 'A Distinguished Career
Nursing'. Block. |
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| 18 to 20 May - 'Edinburgh CS'. Church of
Scotland Assembly. Skeleton handstamp. |
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25 to 28 May - '30th Philatelic Congress of
Great Britain Bournemouth'. Special design, steel handstamp. |
| 27 May known - 'Chelsea Flower Show SW3'.
Skeleton handstamp. |
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* 1 to 30 June - 'International Festival Music & Drama
-Edinburgh - 22nd Aug to 12th Sept'. Used in Scotland. Block. |
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8 to 10 June - 'Three Co Show Gloucester'. Three
Counties Show. Skeleton handstamp. |
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* 14 June to 9 July - Royal National Eisteddfod Of Wales
31 July - 7 Aug Bridgend . Glam'. Used in Wales. Block. |
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| 21 to 29 June - 'All England LTC Wimbledon
SW19'. Lawn Tennis Championships. Possibly two skeleton handstamps used. |
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23 to 25 June - 'Showyard Inverness'. Royal
Highland Show. Skeleton handstamp. |
| 6 to 8 July - 'Royal Show York'. Two skeleton
handstamps with codes 1 and 2 above date. |
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29 July to 14 August - 'Olympic Games Wembley Gt
Brit + (olympic rings)'. Two dies used at Wembley Head Office on ordinary
mail posted at the Games. Machine postmark. |
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| 29 July known - 'Wembley Middlesex'. Three
skeleton handstamps for mail that missed the machine postmark, (above). Also
known with inverted 'M' hence 'Widdlesex'. Skeleton handstamp. |
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| * 6 to 30 September - 'Save Your Waste
Paper For Salvage'. Block. |
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| 1 to 20 December - 'Post Early For Christmas'
with holly. Block. |
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| 1948 - 'Earl's Court Exhibition B.O. S.W.5.
Single circle steel handstamp. |
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| 1948 - 'London Earl's Court Exhibition B.O.
S.W.5 1 Parcel Post'. Rubber parcel handstamp struck in violet. |
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1948 - 'Registered Earl's Ct. Exhibition B.O. S.W.5'.
Rubber oval handstamp. More than one handstamp used, one has '1' below
'registered'. Struck in violet. |
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| 1948 - 'Olympia. West Kensington. W.14'.
Several handstamps used, with and without stop after Kensington. Single
circle steel handstamp. |
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| 1948 - 'Registered Olympia, B.O. W.14'. Several
handstamps used. |
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* Through the year - 'Post Early In The Day'. Few Offices. |
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