[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Legacy of the Vikings in Britain Celebrated with a Set of Eight Special Stamps from Royal Mail

• Issue date: 20 February 2024
• The stamps also mark the 40th anniversary of the JORVIK Viking Centre opening in York
• Featuring striking images, the stamps showcase Viking artefacts and locations of significance from around the UK
• The stamps and a range of collectible products are available to pre-order now at www.royalmail.com/vikingbritain and by telephone on 03457 641641

Royal Mail has revealed images of eight new stamps that celebrate the history, impact and legacy of Vikings in Britain and mark 40 years since the JORVIK Viking Centre opened in York.

Featuring striking images, the stamps showcase Viking artefacts and locations of significance from around the UK, and include:

• an iron, silver and copper sword
• a silver penny minted in York
• Silver penannular brooch, Penrith, Cumbria
• Lindisfarne Priory in Northumberland
• Norse settlement remains in Jarlshof, Shetland
• an antler comb and case from Coppergate, York
• Gilded bronze brooch, Pitney, Somerset
• a Hogback gravestone from Govan Old, Glasgow

The Coppergate Dig that began in May 1976, led directly to the creation on the excavation site of the JORVIK Viking Centre, to showcase the finds and recreate the urban landscape of Viking Age York – including its sounds and smells – all based on detailed research.

When it opened, the Centre made a global impact. It showed that the Viking world was based on more than violence, and told a complex story of settlement, manufacture and trade.

Opening in 1984, JORVIK welcomed 900,000 people during its first year of operation. Over the intervening decades, and after three updates, the Centre has entertained and interacted with over 20 million visitors, including many children.

In addition to the team at the JORVIK Viking Centre, Royal Mail also worked closely with Dr Gareth Williams, curator at the British Museum and Thomas Williams, author of Viking Britain and Viking London, and previously also a curator at the British Museum.

Viking Britain:
The Vikings were seaborne adventurers of Scandinavian origin whose activities in the British Isles from the end of the 8th century onwards changed the languages, economy, society and political geography of these islands forever.

Early raids targeted Christian monasteries and coastal communities but, by the mid-9th century, these incursions had evolved into large-scale invasions that tore up the traditional patchwork of small independent kingdoms.

The waves of migration, settlement and conquest that followed transformed Britain; by the early 11th century, kings and earls of Danish and Norwegian heritage ruled the whole of England and large parts of Scotland and dominated the Irish Sea. And while ultimately the sounding horns of the Viking Age fell silent, the echoes still remain.

David Gold, Director of External Affairs and Policy said: “If anyone was to ask ‘what did the Vikings ever do for us?’ the answer is that they transformed Britain and left an enduring influence on the languages, economy, society and political geography of the UK forever. Their impact was enormous and cannot be overlooked. We hope these stamps will inspire people to explore this fascinating period in Britain’s history further.”

David Jennings, Chief Executive of York Archaeology, the charity that operates JORVIK Viking Centre, commented: “The finds at Coppergate fundamentally changed our understanding of how the Vikings lived in England, and JORVIK Viking Centre put York’s Norse heritage on the international map. After over 40 years, and with over 20 million visitors passing through our doors, it is a real honour to be featured on these stamps and be part of this unique celebration of Viking culture.”

The stamps, and a range of collectible products, are available to pre-order now at www.royalmail.com/vikingbritain and by telephone on 03457 641 641. A Presentation Pack including all eight stamps in the set is priced at £13.80. The stamps go on general sale on 20 February.

Philatelic Products:

Stamp Set: £12.90
Presentation Pack: £13.80
First Day Cover [below]: £16.15
Stamp Souvenir: £16.15
First Day Envelope: £0.30
Postcards: £3.60
Framed Stamps: £34.99
Medal Cover [right]— Replica Viking Coin from York: £19.99
Full Sheet 60 x 1st Class Stamps: £75.00
Half Sheet 30 x 1st Class Stamps: £37.50
Full Sheet 60 x £1.00 Stamps: £60.00
Half Sheet 30 x £1.00 Stamps: £30.00
Full Sheet 60 x £2.00 Stamps: £120.00
Half Sheet 30 x £2.00 Stamps: £60.00
Full Sheet 60 x £2.20 Stamps: £132.00
Half Sheet 30 x £2.20 Stamps: £66.00

Technical details:

Acknowledgements: Iron, silver and copper sword, Silver penny, Silver penannular brooch and Gilded bronze brooch © The Trustees of the British Museum; Lindisfarne Priory © AJM681/Alamy Stock Photo. Featured with kind permission of English Heritage; Norse settlement remains © Chris Griffiths/Getty Images; Antler comb and case © York Archaeological Trust for Excavation and Research Limited; Hogback gravestone © Alan McAteer. Featured with kind permission of Govan Old; Vintage paper texture © Javarman/Alamy Stock Photo; ‘Time of Viking Invasions’ map, from History of England by George Macaulay Trevelyan. Longmans, Green and Co. Ltd, London, 1926 © The Print Collector/Alamy Stock Photo; Antique map of Shetland and Orkney Islands © ilbusca/Getty Images

[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
New Stamps Celebrate a National Obsession:
Royal Mail Reveal Stamps Dedicated to Weather Forecasting

Issue Date: 1 February 2024

• Eight stamps mark the 170th anniversary of the Met Office and depict the history, science and future of Weather Forecasting
• The subjects covered include the Terra Nova Expedition to Antarctica, establishment of the iconic Shipping Forecast in 1924, and Barbara Edwards, the first British female TV weather presenter
• The stamps and a range of collectible products are available to order now at www.royalmail.com/weatherforecasting and by telephone on 03457 641641

It’s a national obsession the British are known for around the world – our fascination with the weather – and today, Royal Mail reveal images that pay tribute to the perennial conversation starter. A set of eight Special Stamps celebrate the 170th anniversary of the Met Office and the history, science and future of Weather Forecasting.

Featuring beautiful composite images, the stamps showcase advances in weather forecasting over the last two centuries, including the Terra Nova Expedition to Antarctica, establishment of the iconic Shipping Forecast in 1924, forecasting’s critical role in military operations such as D-Day and Barbara Edwards, the first British female TV weather presenter.

The set of stamps illustrates the following developments in forecasting:

• Luke Howard, pioneer meteorologist, who classified clouds in 1803
• Storm barometer of Robert FitzRoy, who founded what is now the Met Office, in 1854
• Terra Nova Expedition, which studied extreme weather in 1910–12
• Marine buoys, which collect data for the Shipping Forecast, which was first broadcast via morse code in 1925 and first heard on the BBC in 1925.
• Weather observers during the Second World War, who were vital to the success of the D-Day invasion in 1944, among other military operations
• Radar and computers, which improved forecasting accuracy from the 1950s onwards
• Barbara Edwards, who became the first British female TV weather presenter in 1974
• Supercomputers and satellites, which help track the Earth’s weather today

David Gold, Director of External Affairs and Policy said: “The British love to talk about the weather. It is a national obsession. Whether we are fishermen heading out to sea, farmers planning the harvest, or staycationers worried about losing our tent to the winds, people of all ages want to know whether it will be sunny or wet, hot or cold. These stamps celebrate the people and the science behind the weather forecast.”

Professor Penny Endersby CBE, Chief Executive of the Met Office said: “The Met Office has a proud position in UK history. As an island nation we are often at the mercy of the weather and our role is to help people stay safe and thrive in every corner of the UK and beyond. As these beautiful stamps demonstrate, the Met Office has constantly evolved from our roots at the pioneering edge of weather forecasting through to technical innovations of the modern era.”

Claire Martin, niece of Barbara Edwards and former Canadian weather presenter, said: “I was always slightly in awe of my Aunty Barbara growing up. With her feet firmly planted in science, she proudly worked on-air, defiantly refusing to “dumb down” the weather information being delivered. She was a consummate professional and an unassuming trailblazer for women in the UK in the field of Broadcast Meteorology. She paved the way for me to follow a very similar career path in Canada! It is so thrilling, so rewarding to see her honoured with a Royal Mail stamp”.

Royal Mail worked closely with the Met Office on the stamp issue and their archive is the source of many of the images used for the collection. Royal Mail also worked with writer and historian Peter Moore. Moore is the author of several non-fiction books, including the critically acclaimed Sunday Times bestseller, The Weather Experiment (2015), which tells the story of how a pioneering group of thinkers – artists, scientists, adventurers and mathematicians – sought to invent a standardised way of predicting the weather.

Weather Forecasting:
Two centuries ago, people had little understanding of weather. They gleaned clues from nature when they could, but mostly they considered the skies to be a chaotic space beyond human control. Things began to change in the early 19th century. In 1803, Luke Howard, a London pharmacist, published a booklet outlining his system for naming clouds. Soon after, Naval Officer Francis Beaufort invented a wind scale. Theories about storms followed, and a new department of government, which would eventually be called the Met Office, was established in 1854. The figure appointed to lead it was a Royal Navy officer and surveyor named Robert FitzRoy. Within a decade, FitzRoy was using the electric telegraph to issue storm warnings and forecasts. A new era had begun.

While FitzRoy’s original forecasts were soon curtailed, they returned later in the Victorian era and became a familiar part of British life. By the 20th century, weather science had gone global, with observations playing an important part in the Terra Nova Expedition to Antarctica, and with the iconic Shipping Forecast being broadcast to mariners from 1924. During the Second World War, forecasting played a critical role, shaping plans for military operations such as D-Day. For all its importance, much of this wartime work was done with processes and charts that would have been familiar to an earlier generation of meteorologists, but once peace came, the Met Office underwent a technological revolution.

Throughout the later 20th century, weather reports were increasingly produced by powerful computers, which were fed global data from many sources, including radar and satellites. The forecasts were refined into television bulletins and presented by much-loved figures such as Barbara Edwards, Michael Fish and Ian McCaskill. The developments have continued into our times.

The stamps, and a range of collectible products, are available to order at www.royalmail.com/weatherforecasting and by telephone on 03457 641 641. A Presentation Pack (below) including all eight stamps in the set is priced at £13.30. The stamps go on general sale on 1 February.Official FDC with Exeter postmark:Also available with the Tallents House postmark and without the stamps, postmark or address.