Norvic Philatelics - GB New Stamps and Special Postmarks

Battle of Britain 75th Anniversary - 16 July 2015

The Battle of Britain during WorldWar II, was the German air force's attempt to gain air superiority over the RAF from July to September 1940. Their ultimate failure was one of the turning points of World War Two and prevented Germany from invading Britain.  It was a key turning point of the Second World War.

This miniature sheet commemorates the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.   The six stamps feature photographic imagery from this period, showing some of the many aspects of the battle and the people involved, including pilots, ground crew, observers and Operations Room staff.

The Battle of Britain itself lasted for over 3 months and 15 September became known as Battle of Britain Day as this was the day that the Luftwaffe launched its largest and most concentrated attack against London.  Around 1,500 aircraft took part in the air battles which lasted until dusk that day and proved to be the climax of the Battle of Britain.  The miniature sheet border features an image of Prime Minister Winston Churchill at a coastal defence position near Hartlepool on 31 July 1940, alongside his famous quotation about ‘the few’.

Read more about the Battle on the Royal Air Force website.

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The Miniature Sheet

 Battle of Britain 75 miniature sheet of stamps.

The stamps in detail

1st class
- Pilots Scramble! - RAF fighter pilots rush to their Hurricanes after receiving the ‘scramble’ call to engage enemy aircraft.
- Supermarine Spitfires of 610 Squadron, based at Biggin Hill, patrol the skies in close formation.
- Armourer Fred Roberts re-arms a Supermarine Spitfire while the pilot, Sergeant Bernard Jennings, talks to his mechanic.

£1.33
- Spotters: Recruits of the Auxiliary Territorial Service receive their first lesson in identifying enemy aircraft.
- The Operations Room at Bentley Priory, the headquarters of Fighter Command, was part of a complex air defence system.
- Fighter Pilots of 32 Squadron relax between flying missions at RAF Hawkinge in Kent.

Technical details:Battle of Britain Official first day cover.

The stamps were designed by Supple Studio and the sheet by 'The Team'.  The sheet is printed by International Security Printers in lithography.  The 41 x 30 mm stamps are in sheets of 179 x 74mm.  

As is common these days, no information about the phosphor (or perforation) has been provided, but there are two phosphor bands, and the perforation is 14.5 x 14.  

Acknowledgements:  Pilots and Hurricanes photo © William Vandivert/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images; Supermarine Spitfires photo © Imperial War Museum CH741; Armourer photo © Imperial War Museum CH1458; Auxiliary Territorial Service photo © Associated Press/Daily Mail/Rex Features; Operations Room photo © Imperial War Museum C0018701; Squadron 32 photo © Fox Photos/Getty Images; Winston Churchill photo © Imperial War Museum H 2628; Winston Churchill quotation reproduced with permission of Curtis Brown Ltd, London, on behalf of The Estate of Winston Churchill, copyright © Winston S Churchill.

Products issued (we will not be stocking these, but will be producing maximum cards): 

Miniature sheet -- First day cover -- Presentation pack

A Coin Cover will be issued on 15 September 2015, Battle of Britain Day, with a special Royal Mint 50p coin. 

Special Postmarks

Postmarks available for the day of issue are shown here.  These postmarks cannot be obtained after the date of issue.  The images shown here may not be to scale, more may yet be announced.

Official Bureau 1st day postmark for Battle of Britain stamps showing a Spitfire. Official London NW9 1st day postmark for Battle of Britain stamps showing a Hurricane.
 Non-pictorial Battle of Britain postmark London NW9 Hendon.
 Postmark showing three aircraft.
 Battle of Britain postmark.

Ref FD1519TH Philatelic Bureau Official Postmark showing plan view of Spitfire.

Ref FD1519PL London NW9 Official Postmark (Hendon, location of RAF Museum)

Ref FD1519NP
London NW9 Official non-pictorial Postmark

Ref M13503  Spitfire Road, Birmingham

Ref L13500 Battle of Britain 75 Biggin Hill Westerham
Three postmarks for Battle of Britain anniversary stamps.
Postmark showing WW2 fighter aircraft.
 Postmark with V75 symbol.

Ref L13515 The Battle of Britain 75th Anniversary, London SW1 showing Winston Churchill

Ref L13516 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain, Biggin Hill, Westerham showing flying helmet.

 Ref L13517 Britain at War 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain, Biggin Hill, Westerham Ref L13514 The Battle of Britain
75th Anniversary Folkestone.
In use 10 July 2015 - 9 July 2016

Ref L13398 Sir Winston Churchill 1874-1965 V75 London SW1  In use 10 May- 31 December 2015 

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This page created 26 June 2015

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