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Unlike the rush to get the first King George VI postage
stamps issued by the time of the Coronation, the Post Office took their time
over the production of postal stationery. The first King George VI postcard was
a 1½d reply paid card issued in March 1940,
followed in April by a 1d postcard. (For details of the 3 year development of
the stamp used on postal stationery see, 'The Evolution of British Stamped
Postcards and Letter Cards' by H Dagnall).
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Post Office foreign postcards, (without the reply-paid
section) were discontinued in 1939. Choice of card type, ('thin' or 'stout' /
cream or white) was
standardised in 1940 alongside postal charge reforms. The quality of the card and the printing
often deteriorated during the war. Production of postcards was limited due to
wartime economies and rationing of cards did not end until June 1946.
When postage rates increased on 1 May 1940, the Royal Mint
had still not prepared the new dies and
McCorquodale had to print cards uprated with an
additional 1d stamp. The first 2d postcard was not issued until July 1940.
Single postcards then cost 2¼d, or 2s6d for a packet of 14,
this was increased due to Purchase Tax in February 1941 to 2s0d for a packet of 11.
In 1951 the colours of the imprinted stamps
were changed to meet
Universal Colour Scheme regulations set by the UPU.
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Packets or parcels of postcards could be bought |
All postcards were size140 x 89 mm. Printed by
McCorquodale & Co Ltd by typography.
| Cost of pre-stamped postcards |
| Before 1 May 1940 |
|
From 1 May 1940 to 30 April 1952 |
| Inland - 1d stamp imprint |
Foreign - 1½d
stamp imprint |
2d stamp imprint |
Post Office
price per... |
Thin |
Stout |
Reply
(thin) |
Card |
Reply |
Card |
Reply |
| 1 |
1¼d |
1¼d |
2¼d |
1¾d |
3¼d |
2¼d |
4½d |
| 2 |
2¼d |
2½d |
4½d |
3¼d |
6½d |
4½d |
9d |
| 3 |
3½d |
3¾d |
6¾d |
5d |
9¾d |
6¾d |
1s1½d |
| 4 |
4½d |
5d |
8¾d |
6½d |
1s1d |
8¾d |
1s5½d |
| 5 |
5½d |
6d |
11d |
8d |
1s4d |
11d |
1s10d |
| 6 |
6¾d |
7¼d |
1s1¼d |
9¾d |
1s7¼d |
1s1¼d |
2s2½d |
| 7 |
7¾d |
8½d |
1s3½d |
11¼d |
1s10½d |
1s3½d |
2s7d |
| 8 |
8¾d |
9¾d |
1s5½d |
1s1d |
2s1¾d |
1s5½d |
2s11d |
| 9 |
10d |
11d |
1s7¾d |
1s2½d |
2s5d |
1s7¾d |
3s3½d |
| 10 |
11d |
1s0d
packet |
1s10d |
1s4d
packet |
2s8d
packet |
1s10d |
3s8d |
| 11 |
1s0d
packet |
- |
2s0d
packet |
- |
- |
2s0d
packet from Feb 1941 |
4s0d
packet |
| Parcels: |
£1
for 220 |
10s0d
for 100 |
£1
for 110 |
£1 12s
for 240 |
£1 12s
for 120 |
£2
for 220 |
£2
for 110 |
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INLAND POSTCARDS -
140 x 89mm. |
| Date |
Stamp Value |
Heading |
Stamp |
|
April 1940
Cream card |
1d
|
 |
Carmine |
May 1940
White card |
| June 1940 |
1d x 2 |
 |
July 1940
Cream card |
2d |
Orange |
1942
Buff card |
3 May 1951
Buff card |
2d |
Brown |
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STAMPED TO ORDER POSTCARDS |
| Date |
Value |
Example |
Stamp |
|
1940 |
|
|
Green embossed |
|
1951 |
|
Orange |
| 1941 |
1d |
 |
Carmine |
| 1944 |
|
Carmine embossed |
| 1951 |
|
Blue |
|
1951 |
1d + ½d |
National Blood Transfusion
Service |
|
|
1952 |
1½d |
|
Green |
| 1941 |
2d |
|
Orange - George V head |
| 1944 |
|
Orange |
| 1952 |
|
Brown embossed |
| 1956 |
|
Brown |
| 1950 |
2½d |
|
Blue |
| 1951 |
|
Carmine |
|
PRISONER OF WAR POSTCARDS (Far East) |
| 27 March 1944 |
3d |
See below |
| April 1945 |
1½d |
|
FOREIGN REPLY PAID POSTCARDS -
140 x 89mm. |
1940
Cream card |
1½d+1½d
|
Front of card
Inside reply card |
Brown |
|
July 1940
Cream card |
2d+2d |
Orange |
|
June 1951
Buff card |
2d+2d |
Brown |
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Specimens were issued for all inland Post Office postcards.
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Prisoner of War Air Mail Postcard (Far East).
[Air
letter sheets for sending to POWs in Europe were issued on 21 July
1941.]
Announced in the Post Office Circular, 22 March, 1944 :
An air mail service is now available for special postcards
addressed to prisoners of war and interned civilians in Japan and Japanese
occupied territories. The cards will be conveyed by air as far as British air
services are available and will be forwarded thence by the normal route for
surface correspondence. The air mail service is expected to give some
acceleration over the ordinary service but the total time for transmission will
still be lengthy.
A special stamped air mail postcard has been produced and
the new air mail service will be limited to the conveyance of these cards...
The postcard, as printed, is in the form for writing to a
prisoner of war whose camp address is known. It may. however, be used for
writing to all persons in the Far East who are entitled to receive
correspondence by the prisoner of war post....
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Issued 27 March 1944.
Printed in blue with violet 3d stamp.
(Post Office price was also 3d). |
Issued 2 April 1945 with
reduced rate. Printed in blue with brown 1½d stamp. |
Back of cards the same for
both values |
The cards were produced by
McCorquodale & Co Ltd. 140mm x 83mm.
Front details - PRISONER OF WAR POST / SERVICE DES
PRISONNIERS DE GUERRE / Message in Japanese - Panel: BY AIR MAIL
PAR AVION - Address panel: FROM:- / Name / Address - Central Line - 3d
imprint - To:- / Service No. & Rank / Name / BRITISH PRISONER OF
WAR / Camp (including No., if any) / Country. There is a slight
difference in the layout of the address where the 1½d card
has BRITISH PRISONER OF WAR re-positioned.
Back details - NOTE. The particulars inserted on the address
side and the message in the space below, must be TYPED or written clearly in
BLOCK LETTERS. MESSAGES MUST NOT BE LONGER THAN 25 WORDS.
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