[press release]
Royal Mail Issues Special Commemorative Sheet To Mark 150th Anniversary Of The Trades Union Congress
- Founded in 1868, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) is the world’s oldest national trade union organization
- The Commemorative Sheet features 10 existing 1st Class Wax Seal stamps alongside images of pivotal moments in the TUC’s history
- The sheets are a limited edition of 5,000 – each of them numbered
- The TUC’s first meeting took place from 2-6 June, 1868, in Manchester and was attended by 34 delegates
- The legal status of the TUC was recognised following the passing of the Trade Union Act (1871)
- Its original aims were to win a shorter working day, training and free education for all and representation in Parliament
- The TUC currently represents more than 5.5 million workers across the UK
- Today the TUC runs and manages a learning programme that supports 250,000 union members
- The stamp sheet is available now from www.royalmail.com/TUC150 priced at £15.95
Royal Mail today launched a Commemorative Sheet to mark the 150th anniversary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC). Founded in 1868, the TUC is the world’s oldest, national independent trade union organisation.
The first TUC meeting was held when the Manchester and Salford Trades Council convened the founding meeting in the Manchester Mechanics’ Institute. Its original aims were to win a shorter working day, training and free education for all, and – at a time when most working-class people were denied a voice – representation in Parliament.
The Commemorative Sheet features 10 existing 1st Class Seal stamps alongside images that depict pivotal moments in the TUC’s 150-year history. These key events include the 1888 strike by women from the Bryant & May match factory in London in protest at poor working conditions. Their demands were met three weeks later. The Equal Pay Campaign of 1968 saw female workers at Ford car plants in Dagenham strike to demand the lower ‘women’s rate’ of pay be abolished. It was, and their efforts went on to inspire similar protests around the country.
The sheet also includes an illustrated folder telling the story of the TUC, its forerunners and its evolution to the present day organisation that represents 5.5 million workers across the UK.
TUC General Secretary, Frances O’Grady said: “The commemorative sheet is a wonderful way to mark the TUC’s big anniversary, and we are honoured that working people have been recognised in this way. The pack is full of inspiring stories about people who made Britain better for working people over the last 150 years.
“It’s a reminder too that trade unionists have come from many different occupations and backgrounds. As the world of work changes, trade unions are needed more than ever to make sure every job is a good job and every working person gets the respect they deserve.”
The stamp sheet is on sale now priced at £15.95 and available at www.royalmail.com/TUC150
Left hand side — Top down:
- Tolpuddle Martyrs – in 1834 six Dorset Workers – all members of the Grand National Consolidated Trades Union (GNCTU) were sentenced to deportation to Australia after being guilty of ‘administering unlawful oaths’.
- London Match Women – in 1888 women from the Bryant & May match factory in east London went on strike in protest at the poor working conditions. Their demands were met three weeks later.
- Dock Workers’ Strike – the success of the London Dock Strike (1889), which involved 100,000 dockers, strengthened the union movement among dockers and many other workers.
- Order of Industrial Heroism – the Order of Industrial Heroism was instituted in 1923 by the Daily Herald (a TUC owned newspaper) to honour people who had saved colleagues’ lives.
- Paid Holidays for Workers – the TUC had long lobbied for workers’ paid holiday. In 1938, the Holidays with Pay Act recommended the gradual introduction of an annual week long holiday.
Right hand side — Top down
- Supporting the War Effort – during the Second World War, the TUC and affiliated unions raised money for 50 mobile canteens to serve British forces abroad or in isolated locations at home.
- Founding of the NHS – the TUC was described as ‘the Godfathers of the Beveridge Report’, which set out a social legislation programme that led to the founding of the NHS.
- Equal Pay Campaigning – in 1968, strikes by women sewing machinists at two Ford car plants led to the lower women’s rate’ of pay being abolished and inspired similar protests.
- Grunwick Industrial Dispute – Asian and black women workers at a film-processing laboratory began a two-year protest against managerial mistreatment in 1976 and received wide support.
- Health and Safety – to ensure that workers are protected in the workplace, the TUC and unions strive to provide high-calibre resources and training for trade union safety reps.
The original works were created by Royal Academicians: Norman Ackroyd CBE, RA; Tracey Emin CBE, RA; Grayson Perry CBE, RA; Fiona Rae RA; Barbara Rae CBE, RA and Yinka Shonibare MBE, RA.
As stipulated 250 years ago, the RA is still led by many of the greatest artists and architects of the day. Known as Royal Academicians, they teach at the postgraduate Royal Academy Schools, determine the exhibitions programme and select artworks for the Summer Exhibition.
Leeds born Norman Ackroyd CBE is an artist and printmaker who has been a Royal Academician for 30 years. He was appointed Professor of Etching at the University of Arts in 1994 and elected Senior Fellow at the Royal College of Art in 2000. His work can be found in several British and American galleries including the Zillah Bell Gallery, the Tate, the British Museum and the National Gallery of Art, Washington. He has also appeared in several television programmes, the most recent being a feature in an episode of BBC’s Countryfile in 2017. His stamp is entitled St Kilda: The Great Sea Stacs.
Tracey Emin CBE is renowned for her autobiographical, confessional and often candid art, working with a variety of media including drawing, painting, sculpture, needlework, film and photography. Born in Croydon in 1963, she studied fashion at the Medway College of Design and later printing at Maidstone Art College before obtaining a Master of Arts in painting at the Royal College of Art in London. She became a Royal Academician in 2007 and in December 2011 she was appointed Professor of Drawing at the Royal Academy, being one of the first two female RA Professors along with Fiona Rae. She has exhibited and given lectures extensively throughout the world and is a Turner Prize nominee. Her stamp is entitled Saying Goodbye.
Grayson Perry CBE is particularly renowned for his ceramic vases but also works with printmaking, drawing and tapestry. He is an astute commentator on contemporary society and culture and there are often autobiographical elements in his work with images of his female alter-ego, Claire. He was born in Essex and did an art foundation course at Braintree College of Further Education before graduating with a Batchelor of Arts Fine Art degree from Portsmouth in 1982. He has written several books as well as prize-winning TV documentaries and was awarded the Turner Prize in 2003. His work is held in the collections of the Tate, Arts Council, Victoria & Albert Museum among others. His stamp is entitled Summer Exhibition
Hong Kong-born artist Fiona Rae has developed a distinctive style of work over the past 25 years, which is full of restless energy, humour and complexity and which has set out to challenge and expand the modern conventions of painting. She studied Foundation at the Croydon College of Art before gaining a BA Honours in Fine Art at Goldsmiths College in 1987. She has been shortlisted for the Turner Prize, served as a Tate Artist Trustee and became the first female Professor of Painting at the Royal Academy of Schools in 2011. She has exhibited extensively in galleries and museums throughout the world and her work is held in prestigious public and private collections. Her stamp is entitled Queen of the Sky.
Barbara Rae CBE is a Scottish painter and printmaker who studied at the Edinburgh College of Art and has taught art at the Aberdeen College of Education as well as at the Glasgow School of Art. She has received numerous awards for her art, with a number of works being displayed in institutions such as the University of Edinburgh, University of Glasgow, British Museum and Whitworth Art Gallery. The Royal Academy of Arts’ magazine, RA, has described Rae’s works as “intense colour bursts that evoke dramatic landscapes but remain resolutely abstract… distilling the colour, light and forms of nature into dazzling visions”. Her stamp is entitled Inverleith Allotments and Edinburgh Castle.
Yinka Shonibare MBE is a British-Nigerian artist whose work explores cultural identity, issues of race and class through the media of painting, sculpture, photography and film. He studied Fine Art at the Byam School of Art (now Central Saint Martin’s College) as well as Goldsmiths College. A Turner Prize nominee, he was awarded a MBE in 2004. He has works displayed in prestigious institutions including the Royal Opera House, the Tate Collection, Victoria and Albert Museum, the National Museum of African Art and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC. His stamp is entitled Queuing at the RA.
commissioned in Brim, Victoria as an initiative of artist Guido van Helten, silo owner GrainCorp and local community organisation Brim Active Group. The 30-metre-tall artwork depicts three men and one woman, wearing hats to shield their faces from the midday sun, and was completed over a three week period. The success of the mural as a tourist attraction encouraged the Yarriambiack Shire to commission five additional GrainCorp silo murals, now known as the Wimmera-Mallee Silo Art Trail.
metre-wide silos in Thallon were painted as part of a co-initiative between the artists (Drapl and The Zookeeper), the Thallon Progress Association and GrainCorp. Entitled “Watering Hole” the mural depicts aspects of Thallon, including the spectacular sunsets, the picturesque Moonie River, a scarred tree acknowledging the community’s indigenous history and sheep to reference the wool industry.
commissioned by FORM agency on behalf of silo owners CBH Group to paint their three silos located in Ravensthorpe. Titled Six Stages in Banksia baxteri, the mural depicts local flora and fauna, with each side of the three silos showing a different stage in the flowering cycle of the banksia, an endemic species to the area.
created in New South Wales can be found in the Central West town of Weethalle. Inspired by Victoria’s silo trail, the Bland Shire Council called for applications from artists Australia-wide to undertake the project. Heesco Khosnaran was the successful artist selected by the council and community representatives; drawing inspiration for his murals from photographs representing the district’s main agricultural activities: shearing and wheat growing.
REGINA – Hours before the puck drops to start the 2018 Mastercard Memorial Cup Championship tournament, Canada Post lifted the veil on its newest stamp at City Hall, celebrating the storied history of one of the most cherished trophies in sport.
Donated in remembrance of Canadians who made the supreme sacrifice for their country during the First World War, the Cup was rededicated in 2010 to the memory of all members of the Canadian Armed Forces who’ve lost their lives in the line of duty.
“The CHL is very proud to be celebrating this special year in Regina,” says CHL President David Branch. “We thank Canada Post for commemorating this event and over the next 10 days, we’ll see some of the best junior players in the world compete for the ultimate prize in junior hockey.”
Four stamps marking the Royal Wedding will be issued on 19 May – the day of the wedding
Royal Mail today reveal images of the Special Stamps being issued to celebrate the wedding of Prince Henry of Wales to Ms Meghan Markle.
completed in 1863.
The Postal Service will be issuing the $2 Statue of Freedom, also offering a modern take on vintage patriotic stamp art for use on packages, large envelopes and other mailings. $2 Statue of Freedom will be sold in panes of 10 stamps.
On September 13, 2018, in Missoula, MT, the U.S. Postal Service® will issue the Honoring First Responders stamp (Forever® priced at the First-Class Mail® rate) in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive pane of 20 stamps (Item 478100). The stamp will go on sale nationwide September 13, 2018.
The digital illustration on this stamp is a symbolic scene that shows three first responders in profile, facing right, as they race into action. From left to right, the first figure is a firefighter carrying an axe. The second figure is an EMS worker, with the EMS Star of Life visible on her cap, upper arm and emergency bag. The third figure is a law-enforcement officer shining a flashlight toward unknown danger ahead. The dark background and signs of smoke in around the figures suggest the wide range of situations that demand the immediate attention of a first responder.
It measures 2.43″ x 1.43″. Here is the B&W pictorial postmark:
It measures 2.79″ x 1.55″.
