[updated press release, posted December 29th]
ROYAL MAIL REVEALS ITS SPECIAL STAMP PROGRAMME FOR 2015

• The British sense of humour is celebrated with the Comedy Greats issue. The set features iconic comedians who have provided some of the nation’s most memorable laugh-out-loud moments in television, film and theatre history, including one of the nation’s best loved comedy duos, The Two Ronnies
• Prominent key British inventions, such as the world wide web, will be marked with the Inventive Britain issue
• 2015 will see the second issue in the five-year series of stamps commemorating the First World War. Featured in the set is an image of the football used by the London Irish Rifles during the Battle of Loos in 1915
• Bridges celebrates the engineering of ten of these iconic structures from across the UK
• 175th Anniversary of the Penny Black  is to be marked with a miniature sheet of stamps
• 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta will be commemorated with a set in June
• The bicentenary of The Battle of Waterloo and the 75th anniversary of The Battle of Britain will also be commemorated
• The sport of Rugby Union features in 2015, with England hosting the eighth tournament, the Rugby World Cup set of stamps launch in September

Royal Mail’s 2015 Special Stamp programme is set to showcase the Best of British from great inventions to some of our most cherished Comedy Greats.

The British sense of humour is celebrated with the Comedy Greats issue on 1 April. This set of stamps features iconic comedians who have provided some of the nation’s most memorable laugh-out-loud moments in television, film and theatre history, including one of the nation’s best loved comedy duos, The Two Ronnies.

May 2015 will see the second issue in the five-year series of stamps commemorating the First World War. Included in the set is an image of the actual ball used by Rifleman Frank Edwards who led his fellow troops into what became known as the Battle of Loos, by kicking a football into play on the battlefield ahead of their initial attack.

Royal Mail will also honour prominent key British inventions with the Inventive Britain issue in February. Included in the set is a stamp to mark the invention of the World Wide Web by Tim Berners-Lee. [The design is below.]

Bridges in March will see 10 stamps celebrate the engineering genius of these structures from across the UK.

May marks the 175th anniversary of the Penny Black, the world’s first ever postage stamp.

The 2015 calendar continues the military theme with Special Stamps marking the bicentenary of The Battle of Waterloo in June and 75 years since the start of The Battle of Britain in July.

The 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta will be marked by the release of a set of stamps in June, while a series of national events across the country will commemorate this historic document.

Rugby Union features in September with a set of stamps launching as England hosts the eighth Rugby World Cup.

In what is set to be a notable year of stamp issues, other sets include Bees and Christmas, which will take a religious theme.

2015 Special Stamp Programme

February                      Inventive Britain
March                          Bridges
April                             Comedy Greats
May                              Penny Black
May                              First World War: 1915
June                             Magna Carta
June                             The Battle of Waterloo
July                              The Battle of Britain
August                          Bees
September                   Rugby World Cup
November                    Christmas

About Royal Mail Special Stamp Programme
For almost 50 years Royal Mail’s Special Stamp programme has commemorated and celebrated events and anniversaries pertinent to UK heritage and life.

Royal Mail receives many hundreds of requests for subjects for its stamps every year, from the public, collectors and organisations. In addition it researches to find the major anniversaries and events for any one year.

Royal Mail collates all the subjects and then carries out careful and extensive research to arrive at the final list of stamp subjects.

Her Majesty the Queen approves all UK stamp designs before they are printed.

Today, there are an estimated 2.5 million stamp collectors and gifters in the UK and millions worldwide.

The stamps and stamp products are available at 8000 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.