Norvic Philatelics - GB New Stamps and Special Postmarks

British gallantry medal, The Victoria Cross, instituted in 1856

150th Anniversary of the Victoria Cross - 21 September 2006

Royal Mail commemorates 150th Anniversary of the Victoria Cross medal with a set of 6 stamps, a miniature sheet and a prestige book.

The Victoria Cross is the highest decoration that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Although it was instituted by Royal Warrant in 1856 but was made retrospective to the Autumn of 1854 to cover the period of the Crimean War.

Click on the stamp images for a larger image (and then back to this page).

1st class stamp showing Agansing Rai VC issued to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the institution of the Victoria Cross, the UK's highest award for gallantry, 21 September 2006. 1st class stamp showing Jack Cornwell VC issued to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the institution of the Victoria Cross, the UK's highest award for gallantry, 21 September 2006.
64p stamp showing Midshipman Charles Lucas VC issued to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the institution of the Victoria Cross, the UK's highest award for gallantry, 21 September 2006. 64p stamp showing Captain Noel Chavasse VC* issued to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the institution of the Victoria Cross, the UK's highest award for gallantry, 21 September 2006.
72p stamp showing Captain Albert Ball VC, DSO, MC issued to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the institution of the Victoria Cross, the UK's highest award for gallantry, 21 September 2006. 72p stamp showing Captain Charles Upham VC* issued to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the institution of the Victoria Cross, the UK's highest award for gallantry, 21 September 2006.
miniature sheet of 7 stamps issued to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the institution of the Victoria Cross, the UK's highest award for gallantry, 21 September 2006.

The recipients of the Victoria Cross shown on the stamps are:
1st class - Agansing Rai, a Gurkha who was awarded the VC in an action against the elite Japanese 33rd Division in Burma in 1944;
1st class - Boy Seaman First Class, Jack Cornwell ('The Boy VC') who was mortally wounded at his post at the Battle of Jutland;
64p - Midshipman Charles Lucas who won the very first VC for hurling a live shell over the side of his ship, during the Crimean War;
64p - Captain Noel Chavasse, a Royal Army Medical Corps Doctor who won two VCs and lost his life tending the wounded under fire on the Western Front in 1917;
72p - Captain Albert Ball of the Royal Flying Corps, an aviator who claimed 44 kills before his untimely death in 1917;
72p - Captain Charles Upham, a New Zealander who was awarded his first VC fighting German paratroopers in Crete and his second in the North African desert before being captured and eventually confined to Colditz.

The Miniature sheet (190 x 67mm) also includes the 20p Victoria Cross stamp from the 1990 Gallantry series.


Prestige Book

The prestige book panes are shown below.

Click on the stamp images for a larger version, and then Back to this page.
cover of Victoria Cross prestige stamp book Pane 1 of Victoria Cross prestige stamp book. Pane 1 - Agansing Rai, Charles Lucas and Albert Ball stamps in a se-tenant strip of 3; the background shows William Bishop (1917, Albert Jacka (1915), John Leak (1916), Alfred Hook (1879), William Hall (1857), and Theodore Hardy (1918)
Pane 2 of Victoria Cross prestige stamp book. Pane 2 - Jack Cornwell, Noel Chevasse and Charles Upham stamps in a se-tenant strip of 3; the background shows Guy Gibson (1943), Frederick Topham (1945), Arthur Cutler (1941), Stanley Hollis (1944), Premindra Singh Bagar (1941), and Richard Stannard (1940).
Pane 3 of Victoria Cross prestige stamp book. Pane 3 - four 50p and four First Class PIP Machin stamps* surrounding a VC label. The background features Sergeant Alfred Knight, the only Post Office Rifleman to have been awarded the medal, who captured a machine gun nest single handed and then took command of his platoon and others when all the officers were killed or wounded, on 20 September 1917 at Ypres on the Western Front, during the First World War.
*This pane is a publicity mock-up; for a scan of the actual pane see the FDC illustration below.
Pane 4 of Victoria Cross prestige stamp book. Pane 4 - Block of 4 x 20p 1990 Gallantry stamps, the background of the pane featuring Private Johnson Beharry, at the time of writing, the most recent recipient of the VC. Despite being seriously wounded on the second occasion, Pte Beharry saved the lives of the soldiers in his Warrior armoured vehicle twice when it was ambushed on patrol in Iraq.


Technical details:
The stamps, and Miniature Sheet are all printed in lithography. In the Prestige Book the VC and Gallantry stamps (panes 1-3) are litho, and the definitive pane gravure. All printing is by by Joh Enschede Stamps.
The VC stamps are 41x30mm, the miniature sheet 190x67mm, and the design is by Atelier Works, with PSB text by author Bernard Cornwell

All images except FDCs are copyright Royal Mail 2006


Norvic Exclusive First Day Covers

We have produced exclusive FDCs for this issue for the set and the miniature sheet - shown below,
and in sets of 4 prestige book panes - see above.

Norvic FDC with set of 6 stamps with postmark L10190 or F10210 Price - £8.95
Note: this this illustration has the postmark added digitally.
Norvic official limited edition first day cover for Victoria Cross stamp set.-->

Norvic FDC with miniature sheet with postmark L10186 or L10195 Price - £9.25
Note: this illustration has the postmark added digitally.
Norvic official limited edition first day cover for Victoria Cross stamps miniature sheet.

Prestige book on a set of 4 Norvic FDCs honouring Lt Col Derick Seagrim VC and his brother Maj Hugh Seagrim DSO MBE GC from Norfolk.
The stamp panes are cancelled as follows:
Pane 1 - L10181 Duxford; Pane 2 - L10198 Hyde Park, London; Pane 3 - F10210 Forces PO; Pane 4 - L10191 Victoria Cross Society
Price - £18.50 (Note the postmarks have been added digitally to scans of the actual panes.)
Set of 4 Norvic fdcs for Victoria Cross Presitge stamp book.

Also available -
Set of 6 stamps mint or VFU - price - £4.25
Miniature sheet - price - £4.50
Presentation Pack - Price - £4.95
Prestige Book - price £9.50
Set of 7 stamp cards - price - £3.00

Royal Mail Victoria Cross first day cover.
.


Special first day of issue postmarks

Bureau First Day of Issue postmark for Victoria Cross stamp set 21 September 2006. Cuffley First Day of Issue postmark for Victoria Cross stamp set 21 September 2006. Cuffley ordinary First Day of Issue postmark for Victoria Cross stamp set 21 September 2006. First Day of Issue Stampex Victoria Cross postmark. Postmark showing Victoria Cross. Postmark showing Queen Victoria.
Ref FD633
Philatelic Bureau Official First Day postmark.
"Who would true valour see, Let him come hither..." [John Bunyan]
Ref FD634
Official Cuffley First Day postmark. "I only did my Job" [William Leefe Robinson VC].
Ref FD634N
Cuffley non-pictorial FD postmark
Ref L10179
Stampex Official FD postmark London N1

Ref L10185
Lambeth Road, London SE1
Ref M10206
Victoria Road, Birmingham
Postmark showing Victoria Cross & Captain Fenton John Aylmer. Postmark showing Victoria Cross & laurel wreath. Postmark showing Victoria Cross & ribbon. Postmark showing Victoria Cross & laurel wreath. Postmark showing Victoria Cross. Postmark showing Victoria Cross.
Ref L10180
Captain Fenton John Aylmer, Aylmer Road, London N2.
Ref L10181
For Valour, Duxford, Cambridgeshire.
Ref L10187
Chelsea London SW3
Ref L10184
Hyde Park, London W2
Ref L10186
The Bravest of the Brave, Portsmouth
Ref F10210
1856-2006 For Valour, BFPS 2934
Postmark showing Victoria Cross & bell. Postmark showing Victoria Cross. Postmark showing Victoria Cross. Postmark showing Victoria Cross. Postmark showing Victoria Cross & ribbon. Postmark showing WW1 RAF biplane.
Ref L10182
The Victoria Cross, Zeebrugge Raid, Dover.
Ref L10192
The Victoria Cross Society, Crowborough, East Sussex
Ref L10191
GBFDC Association Victoria Square, London SW1
Ref L10190
Whitehall, London SW1
Ref L10195
Hyde Park, London W2
Ref L10194
Warrior Square, London E12
Postmark showing Trent College badge. Postmark showing Field Gun. Postmark showing Victoria Cross. Postmark showing Bletchley Park Station X Veteran's Badge. Postmark showing Naval Gun?. Postmark showing Yorkshire Rose as 'medal'.
Ref N10208 Wording changed to: 'First Day Cover Albert Ball VC' from 'To Commemorate Albert Ball VC', Trent College, Nottingham. Ref L10198
Hyde Park, London SW1
Ref L10199
The First Awards Hyde Park, London SW1
Ref L10197
Bletchley Park Veteran
Ref L10200
Hyde Park London W2
Ref N10209
Malet Lambert School, Hull, East Yorkshire
postmark showing initials VC. postmark showing Naval crest. postmark showing RAFLET Stamp Club badge. postmark showing Victoria X.
Ref L10196
VC Mereworth, Maidstone
Ref F10212 - The 150th Anniversary of the Victoria Cross, BFPS 2916 Ref L10188 - We Salute Victoria Cross Winners - RAFLET Stamp Club, Victoria Street, London SW1 Ref L10183 Victoria Cross Recipients of VC "For Valour" Thornton Heath, Croydon

Postmark Explanations:
N10209 Malet Lambert School was attended by 2nd Lt John Harrison V.C.M.C. East Yorkshire Regiment, awarded the Victoria Cross for "conspicuous bravery and self-sacrifice in an attack" Killed in action 3rd May 1917, Scholar of this school 1901 - 1909.
N10208 Trent College. Captain Albert Ball VC DSO MC (on the 72p stamp) was a student at the College from 1909-1913. He enlisted into the Sherwood Foresters in 1914 before transferring to the Royal Flying Corps in 1916.
L10196 Mereworth. Charles Lucas (64p stamp) is buried here.
L10181 Duxford and L10185 Lambeth Road - Locations of the Imperial War Museum.


This page updated 11 September 2006

If you would like to be contacted when this page is updated please email us.

2 0 0 5
2006 stamp issues
Visit our online shop!
January
10
Animal Tales Joint issue with USA
Paddington Bear Smilers
February
7
British Journey - England
23 Bicentenary of Isambard Kingdom Brunel
March
1
Welsh Assembly MS
7 Fun Fruit 'n' Veg Smilers
21 Ice Age Animals
28 New definitives and country stamps
April
18
80th Birthday of HM The Queen
May
25
Smilers Sheet for Washington 2006 Stamp Expo
June
6
World Cup (Soccer) & Smilers Sheet
20 Modern Architecture
July
4
Generic Smilers Sheet - pictorial definitives
18 150th ann National Portrait Gallery
August
1 & 15
New PIP definitives for new postage rate structure
31 Miniature sheet: Year of the Three Kings 1936
September
12
New PIP definitives
21 Victoria Cross
October
3
Sounds of Britain (Europa)
17 Smilers Booklet and Generic sheet
November
7
Christmas
9 Lest We Forget
14 Belgica 2006 Smilers Sheet
30 St Andrew's Day

HOME
Site Map


Norvic Philatelics, PO Box 119, Dereham, NR20 3YN, GB. Phone: 08450 090939