March 2007

On 1 March 2007 Royal Mail release the new special stamps, World of Invention. The 20th Century saw thousands of new inventions, some of which changed the way we live our lives forever.

Air travel could arguably be one of the most important advances of the 20th Century. It has affected millions of people world wide on both a personal and commercial level. Nowadays we take it for granted that we can holiday abroad, but this may not have been possible without the advances in aviation.

Anniversary of Passenger Jets

In May 2002, to mark the anniversary of the first public passenger flight, Royal Mail released the 50th Anniversary of Passenger Jet Aviation. Airliners stamps, which are shown below.

Concorde, as shown in this first stamp, first ran commercially in 1976. Despite being one of the world's most iconic aircrafts, Concorde was withdrawn from service in 2003 following rising costs and changes in public attitude towards flying.

The first A340 aircraft was launched in 1987. The A340-600, a variant of the A340 model, was first launched in 1997 but was not introduced into service until 2002. It was designed as an early-generation replacement to the Boeing 747 model.

The first Trident 1 G-ARPA made its maiden flight in 1962 and entered into service in 1964. By 1965 there were 15 Tridents in BEA's fleet and this rose further to 21 by 1966. The Trident was taken out of service in the 1980s when BEA's successor, British Airways, replaced their fleet with the Boeing 737 and 757 models.

The VC10, a British airliner, was first flown in 1962. The Super VC10 soon followed with its first flight in 1964. It was designed to operate on long distance routes with a high subsonic speed. A handful of the aircrafts are still in service today as aerial refueling and transport aircraft with the RAF.

In 1952 the G-ALYP Comet became the world's first all-jet flight with fare-paying passengers, beginning scheduled service to Johannesburg. Early passengers included Queen Elizabeth II and The Queen Mother, making them the first members of the British Royal Family to fly by jet.

The Citizens' Tale

On 22 March 2007, Royal Mail release the Abolition of the Slave Trade special stamps to mark the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade.

Following the work of campaigners in the United Kingdom, the Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade was passed by Parliament on 25 march 1807. In addition to slavery there have been many other human right struggles, some of which were captured in The Citizens' Tale stamps issued back in July 1999. The four-stamp set illsutrated four different examples of human right campaigns.

We want you to contact us with your suggestions for future Stamps of the Month. But remember, your ideas must be based on a forthcoming stamp issue from Royal Mail.