Postal orders of the United Kingdom facts for kids
A postal order is a special kind of payment document that lets you send money safely through the mail. It's like a cheque but usually for smaller amounts. The United Kingdom was the first country to create postal orders. They started on January 1, 1881.
The idea came from John Skirrow Wright, who was the head of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce. He wanted to help people who didn't have bank accounts. These people often found it hard to buy things by mail. Richer people could use bank accounts and cheques, but many others couldn't.
John Skirrow Wright shared his idea, explaining exactly how postal orders would work. At first, bankers in London didn't like the idea. They thought it might hurt their businesses. But they soon realized that postal orders would be used by people who weren't their customers anyway. So, the next year, the idea was accepted, and the postal order system began just as John Skirrow Wright had planned.
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Where Postal Orders Were Used
When postal orders first started in 1881, Ireland was part of the United Kingdom. But in 1922, most of Ireland became independent as the Irish Free State. After that, Ireland started issuing its own postal orders.
Since 1922, British postal orders have been used in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales. In the late 1800s, postal orders became popular in many parts of the British Empire. Over time, their use slowly decreased in many of these countries, which later became part of the British Commonwealth. However, some countries still use postal orders today.
Postal Orders as Money
During World War I and World War II, the British government made postal orders work like regular cash. This was done to save paper and labor during wartime. It meant people could use postal orders to pay for things just like they would with coins or banknotes.
Why Fewer People Used Postal Orders
After 1945, people started using postal orders less often. They used to be very popular for things like buying lottery tickets, playing in football pools, or placing bets on horse racing.
Some postal orders were even printed directly from football pools machines. These have special numbers and letters on them. Collectors of postal orders sometimes look for these unique items.
Special Promotional Postal Orders
Some companies have created special postal orders for their promotions. They did this with permission from Royal Mail, which runs the postal service. Companies like Reader's Digest and Cinzano have used these.
These special postal orders are a unique type for collectors. Most of them could be used anywhere in Great Britain. However, there was one exception: the Fife Council postal orders. These were only used in Fife, Scotland, to pay for shopping at certain stores. The Fife Council postal orders were used from 1996 until March 31, 2001.
In late 2002, Royal Mail started offering gift postal orders, which are still available. Later, they also introduced postal orders that could be used at Argos stores, but these have since been stopped.
Postal Orders in Stories
Postal orders have even appeared in famous stories! The 1946 play The Winslow Boy by Terence Rattigan is about a schoolboy. He tries to prove he didn't steal a five-shilling postal order. This play was based on a real-life event involving George Archer-Shee.
The poet W. H. Auden also mentioned postal orders in the first lines of his 1936 poem, "Night Mail."
Becoming Popular Again
Postal orders are becoming more popular again, especially because of online auction websites like eBay. For sellers, getting paid by postal order is safer than by cheque. A postal order can't "bounce" (meaning there isn't enough money to cover it), and the seller doesn't have to wait for it to clear like with a cheque.
In April 2006, the postal order system was updated. Now, post offices can print postal orders for almost any amount, from 50p up to 250 pounds. Before, they only came in fixed amounts from 50p to 20 pounds. This means you can now buy a postal order for an exact amount like 66p or 99p. You no longer need to add stamps to make up odd amounts. This change made British postal orders similar to money orders used in other countries like the United States.
See also
- British Field Post Office postal orders
- Postal Order Society
- Postal orders of Ireland
- Postal orders of New Zealand
- Postal orders of Nigeria
- Promotional postal order
