Football Heroes

Today Royal Mail is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the establishing of the rules of Association Football with the release of a set of stamps entitled ‘Football Heroes’. The launch also coincides with the 150th anniversary year of the Football Association and the 140th anniversary year of the Scottish Football Association.

Football Heroes stamps.

The 11 1st Class stamps feature individual footballers from England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, all of whom were supremely gifted, talented players who stood out in their generation and beyond. The stamps have been illustrated by artist Andrew Kinsman, who took existing photography of all the players, then created a composite artwork, so when the 11 stamps are placed together, they form a traditional team shot.

The eleven players selected were chosen for their outstanding record on the pitch and representation of their home countries. All are in the National Football Museum’s Hall of Fame.

In goal was a man many consider to be the greatest ‘keeper to ever play for England, Gordon Banks, with the legendary English World Cup winning captain Bobby Moore, possibly the finest Welsh player of all time John Charles, and Scottish legend, Dave Mackay making up an impressive back three.

Gordon Banks.

Bobby Moore.

John Charles.

Dave Mackay.

English ‘Captain Marvel’, Bryan Robson takes his central midfield berth alongside Bobby Charlton, recognised as one of the greatest English footballers of all time and Kevin Keegan, twice named European Footballer of the Year.

Bryan Robson.

Bobby Charlton.

Kevin Keegan.

Leading the line in this adventurous formation sees the wide positions occupied by the graceful English winger, John Barnes and the Northern Irish genius, George Best. Both players supply a striking duo of England’s Jimmy Greaves, one of the most instinctively gifted footballers in the history of the game, and Denis Law, the Scottish Football Association’s outstanding player of the previous 50 years.

John Barnes.

George Best.

Jimmy Greaves.

Dennis Law.

Stamps are available online at www.royalmail.com/stamps, by phone on 08457 641 641, and in 9000 Post Offices across the UK.

Stamp Collage Art – Open Studio exhibition in May

Hi, I’m Rachel Marwick, and I will be taking part in Stroud Open Studios (Site 13) festival on 11th/12th and 18th/19th May this year. As a stamp collage artist I will be having my studio open to the public on both weekends from 10.30 – 6pm each day and will have original framed stamp collages, prints and cards for sale, but always welcome browsers too as there’s always something to talk about where stamps are concerned! For younger visitors I have also devised a small quiz which will get them searching in my pictures for some of the stamps I’ve used in creating the pictures.

I have been making stamp collages for more than ten years now and one of the questions I often get asked is, “Where do you get all the stamps from?” The answer is that my parents were stamp dealers from the 1950s until my father’s death in 2001 when my mother decided that she could not really continue with the business. Most of the stock had to be sold, but a certain amount I wanted to keep and then inspiration struck and I started to make pictures from the remainder of the stock!

I wondered if serious stamp collectors would be shocked, but I really do try not to use anything which I know to be valuable to a collector, instead using common stamps and postal material, such as backs of postcards and envelopes, postmarks etc. I love incorporating interesting details from stamps to create my pictures, and particularly love searching for people to populate my crowd scenes, such as the pictures of the Colosseum and Leaning Tower of Pisa. I also seem to have become a magnet for stamps as when people see what I do, they often offer me small collections or stamps they have been saving up for whatever reason!

As well as having my own studio open as part of the festival, where more than 90 artists are also opening their own studios, my work will be featured in a Taster Exhibition in Stroud Subscription rooms, and also in a joint exhibition at The Old Passage Inn, Arlingham as part of the Walking the Land Artists exhibition, which is called “Between the Woods and the Water”. The picture below will give you an idea of the use of both stamps and postmarks in my work!

It would be lovely to welcome you to my studio and if you do come along, please mention where you heard about it!

Rachel Marwick
The Lawn, 132 Bisley Road, Stroud, Glos. GL5 1HL
01453 757933
Directions to studio are in the Open Studios Brochure or phone me for further details.

Deal Lugger

Illness and Absence in the Victorian Post Office

Oliver Carter-Wakefield, a research student at Kings College London, gave a talk at The Royal Mail Archive recently on disease and occupational illness amongst Post Office staff during the latter half of the 19th Century. It may not sound like the most interesting of subjects but Oliver’s talk generated a great deal of comment from our audience, and you can now hear a recording of it on our podcast.

Oliver’s findings were discovered through his research at The Royal Mail Archive. Consumption, necrosis and mental derangement were just some of the conditions Victorian postal workers suffered.

Victorian postmen.

This and other previous talks we’ve presented are available to download for free from our website or from iTunes. Amongst the speakers you can hear are Tony Benn and the designer Brian Webb. Other podcasts cover topics including wartime, poster design, women’s suffrage and the production of stamps.

The Last Straw: a brief look at complaints

Whilst I was working on some uncatalogued documents, I came across a file regarding the gumming of postage stamps. Not necessarily the most engaging of topics, you might think, but what attracted my interest was a number of letters to the General Post Office (GPO) dating from the 1950s to the 1970s. These were written by customers complaining about the poor quality of the gum used to affix stamps to mail. Some were very entertaining, and got me thinking about the nature of complaint. It’s a commonly-held belief that modern life in Britain isn’t a patch on “the good old days”, but as these letters show, the people of the past often held the same view.

In the early 1970s, the Post Office decided to switch the adhesive used on stamps from gum Arabic to Polyvinyl alcohol, or PVA. However, this didn’t go down well with the public, as it appeared that the glue was not the best quality, and often came loose from the paper. In 1973, complaints ranged from the light-hearted (“do you think you may spare a lick more glue on 3p stamps?”) to the exasperated (“it is not a habit of mine to write and complain – but this is the last straw!”). A confused postal sorter asked “is it the gum or the lack of spit?” One customer was enraged by the GPO’s reply stating that as 7,000 million stamps were produced per year, some defective ones were bound to “slip through”, and huffily replied that as he had experienced this problem constantly for the past 8 weeks, it seemed rather to be the general standard. It wasn’t just the gum that was causing annoyance; the perforations came in for criticism too: “until now I had been disturbed by the feeling that lavatorial jokes based on the line ‘nothing tears along the dotted edge’ were founded in myth”.

I found it interesting to see how complaints can be timeless; one dissatisfied customer lamented that “the Britain of the past seems to have gone, everything is inferior, most of the employees have no time for doing a proper job for having strikes”. Going back further in time, to the First World War, I discovered a letter from a union of discharged soldiers complaining that men were being refused postal employment in favour of women, who the writer believed were being hired because their wages were cheaper. You can well imagine someone making a similar complaint today.

One of the best things about working at the BPMA is that you can get the chance to see little snippets of human life such as these, as well as the records of policy and administration we hold. It’s a great way of seeing how society has progressed, or, in some cases, has remained exactly the same.

- Robin Sampson, Archives/Records Assistant

Archive material used:

POST 52/1052 - “Complaints about PVA Gum on stamps”

POST 47/64 - “Complaint that Men have been Refused Employment at the Home Depot in Favour of Women”

This blog was researched at the Royal Mail Archive, located at BPMA’s headquarters in Clerkenwell, London. There are millions of stories to uncover at the Royal Mail Archive, see our website for Archive opening hours and visitor information.

Visit to the Postal Museum Store

Photography student Stuart Matthews has written this guest blog for us…

On Saturday 6th April I ventured to Loughton, Essex to visit The British Postal Museum Store for the Pillar Box Perfection open day. Currently studying photography at the University of Bedfordshire, I’m now in my final year working on my final major project. The visit was in aid of my university project ‘POST’ a project which looks at pillar boxes and how my generation rarely write any more.

“Pillar box alley” at The British Postal Museum Store.

We live in an age now where we are constantly tuned into our digital social lives by texting, instant messaging and emailing. In my generation the everyday analogue process of posting a letter is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Postboxes lie dormant, statues and monuments of a bygone era. Fond of analogue tradition I decided I wanted to get myself and as many people involved as possible mailing postcards in the form of photographs.

The premise is simple:

1. Take a photograph of a pillar box (Has to be taken landscape)
2. Get the photo printed at the 6×4 (Postcard size)
3. Once printed, write directly on the back of the photograph (Write whatever comes to mind, your thoughts on pillar boxes, maybe the digital age, something personal? A quote, or song lyrics? Maybe describe the location of the photo?)
4. Then stick on a stamp, add my address and send it to me in the post:
   166 Vandyke Road
   Leighton Buzzard
   Bedfordshire
   LU7 3HS

Postcard showing a Queen Elizabeth II wall box.

By getting people to photograph postboxes I hope to create a large topology to showcase the results, which will I hopefully display in a gallery space. For the time being I’ve set up a blog site where I’ve regularly up load all the entries sent to me. Which you can visit here: www.thegreatpostproject.wordpress.com.

As I love a challenge, I am hoping that my project will make people take notice of postboxes again and in the grander scheme get younger people involved in writing letters and postcards. Although it may be wishful thinking, only time will tell.

Postcard showing the message “What’s the Rush!!”.

The open day at The British Postal Museum Store was a great way to learn more about the history of the pillar box. Discovering the different types whilst being able to identify them I found it to be a rewarding experience. It really has helped me, by giving me a historical outlook which I can now apply to the project.

The staff were tremendously helpful giving talks throughout the day, and answering all my questions. A big thank you to those who work and are involved in The British Postal Museum & Archive you generosity hasn’t been unnoticed.

Their generosity also allowed me to visit London this week to participant in my very own From Pillar to Post: GPO London walking tour as I was unable to go last month! (It was only natural that I dropped in to say Hello at the Royal Mail Archives)

If you are reading this and feel intrigued by my project feel free to visit the POST blog site and get involved, and last but not least please do visit the The British Postal Museum Store when you can, it is worth it!

Great Britons

Royal Mail is today issuing a set of ten 1st Class stamps celebrating some of Britain’s greatest individuals and their achievements. Entitled ‘Great Britons’, the stamp issue celebrates individuals across sport, journalism, music, politics and the arts whose anniversaries of birth or outstanding achievement fall in 2013.

The set of Great Britons stamps, issued 16 April 2013.

World renowned actress Vivien Leigh, famous for her leading roles in Gone with the Wind and A Streetcar Named Desire, takes centre stage alongside actor Peter Cushing, who is perhaps best known for his roles as Baron Frankenstein and Doctor Van Helsing in horror films produced by Hammer Film Productions.

Vivien Leigh, 1913-1967 – Stage and film actress.

Peter Cushing, 1913-1994 – Film and television actor.

From the world of sport, Scottish footballer and manager William ‘Bill’ Shankly features. Regarded as one of football’s most successful and respected managers, Shankly was manager of Liverpool from 1959 to 1974, leading them to triumph as First Division champions in 1964, 1966 and 1973, FA Cup winners in 1965 and 1974 and UEFA Cup winners in 1974.

Bill Shankly, 1913-1981 – Football player and manager.

Notable figures from the world of politics are also featured with the first and only Welsh Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, and John Archer, the first mayor of African-Caribbean descent, to head a London Metropolitan Borough Council in the collection.

David Lloyd George, 1863-1945 – Prif Weinidog Prime Minister.

John Archer, 1863-1932 – Politician and civil rights campaigner.

One of the UK’s best loved classical composers Benjamin Britten is included in the ten, with celebrated portrait and fashion photographer Norman Parkinson bolstering the arts contingent.

Benjamin Britten, 1913-1976 – Composer and pianist.

Norman Parkinson, 1913-1990 – Portrait and fashion photographer.

Richard Dimbleby, the well known journalist, broadcaster and father of David and Jonathan Dimbleby, is included within the set of 1st Class stamps, as well as celebrated cookery writer Elizabeth David, who was credited with introducing post-war Britain to ‘exotic’ Mediterranean cooking, featuring ingredients such as avocado, pasta, olive oil and red peppers.

Richard Dimbleby, 1913-1965 – Journalist and broadcaster.

Elizabeth David, 1913-1992 – Writer on food and drink.

Completing the ten is eminent archaeologist and anthropologist, Mary Leakey, who was credited with forcing scientists to re-think their long held views on human evolution thanks to her significant discoveries.

Mary Leakey, 1913-1996 – Archaeologist and anthropologist.

Writer and journalist Nigel Fountain has written the accompanying presentation pack, which provides an overview of the lives of the Great Britons featured on the stamps.

The Great Britons stamps and stamp products are available at most Post Office branches, online at www.royalmail.com/stamps and from Royal Mail Tallents House (tel. 08457 641 641), 21 South Gyle Crescent, Edinburgh, EH12 9PB.

A trainee teacher shares his experience of being on placement with us

Hello, I’m Tommy, a postgraduate student at London South Bank University where I’m training to be a primary school teacher.

As part of this course, I recently spent a week on placement at the British Postal Museum and Archive. I worked closely with Sally, the Schools Learning Officer to learn how the BPMA use their archive and resources to deliver engaging and stimulating school sessions.

Pupils select definitive stamps

One of the sessions I observed was “Stamp Champs” in a year 3 class at Claremont Primary School in Cricklewood, North London.

This was a fun session, where pupils were given the chance to dress up as postal workers from the past as they learnt about the history of the postal service.

The pupils also had the chance to investigate stamps from around the world by playing an interactive game using stamps from sixteen different countries.

Perhaps the most exciting part of the session was when the pupils were given the opportunity to begin their own stamp collection. Firstly, they learnt how to remove a used stamp that was attached to an envelope and they kept this as the first stamp in their collection.

Students soak definitive stamps to detach them from envelopes.

The pupils then chose another five stamps each from around the world that Sally had brought along for them.

The classroom was buzzing as each pupil rifled through the numerous stamps to find which ones they wanted for their collection. Each pupil had their own reason for the stamps they chose – be it that it was from the country of their birth, a commemorative stamp from an event they recognised or even just a striking design – there was no doubt that they had all been gripped by “stamp fever” and were proud of the birth of their stamp collection.

Pupils showcase their final selection of stamps.

As we left, the pupils thanked us and told us how much they enjoyed the session, with one boy saying that we were welcome to come back anytime!

“Stamp Champs” really was a fantastic session to observe and take part in, and I would have no hesitation in booking it for a class when I graduate later this year and begin teaching.

The school visits were a highlight of my time at BPMA, however, the opportunity to search the archives has also been fascinating. I was given an interesting, detailed tour of the archive and used my new found knowledge to develop ideas for a session about the role of the postal service during World War Two.

My time at BPMA has been thoroughly enjoyable and I have learnt a lot about  what the museum collection can offer for schools. Thank you to everyone at BPMA for having me!

We’re taking bookings for the summer term now. Find out how to book a free school workshop for your class.