Inland Printed Papers: 1952 - 1956

1½d basic Inland Printed Papers rate: start of reign - 31st May 1956 

The 1½d basic Inland Printed Papers rate was introduced on 1st June 1951 during the reign of George VI. Initially the minimum rate paid for printed papers weighing up to 4oz but this was reduced to 2oz on 1st January 1956. 

Heavier printed papers were subject to higher postage rates as shown in the table at the foot of this post. 

The printed papers service was available for a wide range of printed matter such as price lists, statements, invoices and greetings cards. However the contents could not contain anything in the nature of a letter nor items of value such as cheques. Mail sent using the printed papers rate had to be unsealed to allow for inspection. 

This unsealed envelope was posted a few days before Christmas with a festive label affixed bottom left.

1½d Inland Printed Papers cover from Balham to Dumfries - 21st December 1953

Our next item is an insurance renewal notice which is franked by a meter stamp to indicate the payment of postage.

1½d Inland Printed Papers cover from Tunstall to Knypersley - 31st April 1956

Below is the unfolded notice with the address on the left and the renewal details filled in on the right. Additional type can be seen showing through from the other side. 

Unfolded notice

The notice didn't require the additional expense of an envelope. With just a few neat folds it was ready for posting with the bottom part of the notice tucked neatly into the upper part. This made it secure during transit but also unsealed for inspection.

Reverse of folded notice

Heavier items were subject to higher postage rates based on 2oz increments as shown in this table.

Date from:	Rate up to 2oz	Rate up to 4oz	Extra Steps above 4oz
1st June 1951	-	1½d	½d per 2oz or part
1st January 1956	1½d	2½d	1d per 2oz or part

The charge for each additional weight step was increased at the same time as the maximum weight for the 1½d rate was decreased.

The second revision to the rates was only in force for 6 months before the basic rate was increased from 1½d to 2d on 1st June 1956. 

Inland Letters: 1952 - 1957

2½d basic Inland Letter rate: start of reign - 30th September 1957 

The 2½d basic Inland Letter rate was first introduced on 1st May 1940 during the reign of George VI. This rate paid for letters weighing up to 2oz (just over 56 grams). 

Heavier letters were subject to an extra charge for each additional 2oz or part thereof (see table at foot of post). However many letters posted in this period were eligible for the basic rate including the pictorial letter card below. At 12 grams it fell well under the weight threshold.

It is franked by a 2½d 'Wilding' definitive stamp first issued on 5th December 1952. Along with the 1½d value this was the first British postage stamp to feature a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. The postmark advertises the 4d 'All-up' Letter Rate to Europe.  

2½d Inland Letter from Blackpool to Hull - 25th June 1954

The Post Office sold a range of postal stationery items including those which pre-paid the basic Inland Letter rate. Stocks of stationery featuring a portrait of George VI continued to be sold in the early years of the Queen's reign of which this letter card is an example.

2½d Inland Letter from Ripon to Bradford - 10th May 1955

Another popular form of postal stationery was the pre-paid envelope. This example is impressed with an embossed stamp featuring the head of Elizabeth II.

2½d Inland Letter from Hereford to Bridgnorth - 1st August 1956

Our final letter has a Post Office cachet indicating that delivery had been delayed. The letter was incorrectly posted in a special post box meant for mail being sent to a 'London' address. An easy mistake to make especially as this letter was going to Sutton which is only 10 miles or so from Central London!

2½d Inland Letter from London to Sutton - 15th March 1954

As mentioned the basic rate paid for letters weighing up to 2oz. This table shows the charge for each additional 2oz or part thereof. 

Date from:	Rate up to 2oz	Rate up to 4oz	Extra Steps above 4oz
1st May 1940	2½d	3d	½d per 2oz or part
1st May 1952	2½d	3d	1d per 2oz or part
1st January 1956	2½d	4d	1½d per 2oz or part

We see that whilst the basic rate did not change from 1st May 1940 to 30th September 1957, charges for extra weight steps were revised twice during this period.

Blog Introduction

Welcome and thank you for visiting the 'QEII British Postal History 1952 - 1971' blog!

This blog focuses on postal covers mailed in the early years of Queen Elizabeth II's reign, from her accession to the throne in 1952 up to the introduction of decimalised currency in 1971. 

Covers from this period are a great resource for exploring aspects of both postal and social history. So by way of introduction here's an outline of the type of material and topics that will feature in future posts.

Material

The primary focus will be on material that falls into one of three categories or class of mail:

• Printed Papers
• Postcards
• Letters

This includes Inland mail as well as items sent using surface or airmail services to Overseas destinations. Supplementary services including registration and express delivery will also feature.

1½d Inland printed papers cover - 21st December 1953

Topics

The posts will cover a broad range of topics but to help navigation they will be categorised as follows: 

General Information - posts which provide contextual or additional information, for example a guide to pre-decimal currency.

Postal Rates - covering Inland and Overseas civilian postage rates for printed papers, postcard, letter and supplementary services.

Themes - exploring themes with a postal or social focus such as meter mail or the 1966 Football World Cup.

£sd - a quick guide to pre-decimal currency

British currency at the time of Elizabeth II's accession to the throne was pounds, shillings and pence. This was abbreviated to £sd. In this monetary system 12 pence = 1 shilling and 20 shillings (or 240 pence) = 1 pound. 

The three characters forming the £sd abbreviation were commonly used to express the unit of currency. The pound was denoted with a '£', the shilling with an 's' or '/' and the penny (or pence if plural) by a 'd'. 

In most cases the face value of pre-decimal postage stamps issued between 1952 and 1971 was expressed in numerical form with the relevant abbreviation for the unit. 

L-R: One Penny (1d), One Shilling (1/-) and One Pound (£1) postage stamps

The smallest unit of currency to appear on stamps from this period was the halfpenny. It was demonetised in 1969 prior to decimalisation in 1971.

L-R: Halfpenny (½d), Two Pence Halfpenny (2½D) postage stamps

Values comprising multiple units were expressed in descending order from left to right e.g. pounds followed by shillings followed by pence. 

One Shilling and Nine Pence (1/9)

The written expression of pre-decimal values sometimes varied as seen in the one shilling stamps below. The left-hand stamp uses a '/' followed by a dash sign. This dash or '-' sign equated to zero so the literal meaning was One Shilling and Zero Pence.

One Shilling values abbreviated to '1/-' or '1s'

Finally, here are two one shilling and six pence stamps with different abbreviations. However the currency units are still presented in the same order of shillings then pence.

One Shilling and Six Pence values abbreviated to '1/6' or '1s6d'

In this blog I will generally use the 's' abbreviation for shillings and 'd' for pence. So seven pence would appear as 7d, one shilling as 1s and two shilling and six pence as 2s 6d. Aside from use on parcels and some high value airmail items, the pound is infrequently found. That said the '£' symbol will be used if required!

References: £sd - Wikipedia accessed December 2020

1966 Football World Cup

The eighth football World Cup took place in England from 11th - 30th July 1966. It featured some of the game's all time greatest player's including Gordon Banks, Bobby Moore, Bobby Charlton, Franz Beckenbauer and Eusébio.

A set of three postage stamps to commemorate the event was issued by the Post Office on 1st June 1966.

1966 World Cup Football Championship stamps

The three values each paid common postage rates including;

    4d - Inland letter rate

    6d - Foreign surface / 6d European 'all-up' letter rate

    1s 3d - Zone B airmail letter rate 

This cover shows another postage rate paid by the 6d value.

6d Zone B printed papers airmail cover to the USA - 4th June 1966

For footballing interest the postcard below scores a 'hat-trick' with the stamps, message and picture side all relevant to the tournament. 

8d Zone B airmail postcard to the USA - 29th July 1966

The message on the card reads, "July 28th, 1966. Best wishes from London. We are having a great time! England - Germany Final on Sat. See you soon. VW ok but not much guts! Derek". (VW is short for Volkswagen the makers of Derek's apparently lethargic car!)

              

Featured on the picture side are the mascot World Cup Willie and the Jules Rimet trophy which was awarded to the winning team.  The photograph of a football match in progress is probably from the England v Brazil international friendly played at Wembley in 1963.

The World Cup final between England and West Germany took place on Saturday, 30th July. Nearly 97,000 spectators attended the match which was played at Wembley.

With the score level at 2-2 after 90 minutes the match went to extra time. With a further 11 minutes of the game played Geoff Hurst scored a controversial goal to put England ahead. To this day there is debate as to whether or not the ball crossed the goal line. 

Then, in the last minute of extra time and with the German players streaming forward in search of an equaliser, Geoff Hurst was played in to score his third goal of the match. Describing these final moments the BBC commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme delivered the memorable lines, "...some people are on the pitch, they think it's all over. It is now!" The final score was 4-2.

1966 remains the only time that either the English men's or women's football team have won the World Cup. We finish this post with the stamp that was issued on 18th August 1966 to commemorate the winning team.

1966 World Cup Winners stamp

References: 

1966 World Cup - Wikipedia accessed December 2020

Stanley Gibbons, 2017, Great Britain Concise Stamp Catalogue, 32nd ed. Ringwood.