Stamps on stamps to mark postal anniversary

Although Guernsey did not achieve postal independence until 1969, with the approval of King George VI, the island issued two of its first four stamps on 10 May 1948, to mark the third anniversary of the liberation of The Channel Islands. Two of the new stamps (56p and 87p) depict the original 1d and 21/2d stamps, in which the portrait of the King’s head is accompanied by an image of seaweed gathering, or ‘vraicing’.

A decade later, the first of Guernsey’s Queen Elizabeth II regional stamps was issued: a 3d stamp. The same design was repeated in a 4d stamp in 1966 and this is included on the new £4.38 stamp. The Queen’s portrait is off-centre to the right, with the Crown of William the Conqueror in the top left-hand corner and below it, a stylised Guernsey lily (Nerine Sarniensis).

The final stamp in the new set, with a value of £1.86, features a 21/2d regional stamp from 8 June 1964, which features the Queen in the centre and a Guernsey lily in the bottom left corner. 

‘We are excited to celebrate Guernsey’s regional stamps, which were first issued 75 years ago to celebrate the third anniversary of the liberation of The Channel Islands from German occupation during the war,’ said Bridget Yabsley, head of philatelic at Guernsey Post. ‘The regional stamps for Guernsey were invalidated for use in Guernsey and Jersey on 30 September 1969, just before Guernsey’s postal independence, although they remained valid for use across the United Kingdom until 30 September 1970.’

Issue date 19 July; www.guernseypost.com