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United Kingdom commemorative stamps 1980–1989 facts for kids

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The United Kingdom, known in philatelic circles as Great Britain, released many commemorative stamps (postage stamps issued to honour or commemorate a place, event or person) in the 1980s.

History

Postage stamps were first issued in the United Kingdom on 6 May 1840, with the introduction of the world's first adhesive postage stamp, known as the Penny Black. Until 1924, all British stamps depicted only the portrait of the reigning monarch, with the exception of the "high value" stamps (also known as the "Sea Horses" design) issued in 1913, which were twice the size of normal stamps with added pictorial design.

In 1924, the first "commemorative" stamp was issued for the British Empire Exhibition. There were then occasional issues over the next thirty years, when the frequency of new issues became more regular. From the mid-1960s, in most years, six to nine sets of commemorative stamps have been issued every year. PHQ cards, postcard-sized reproductions of commemorative stamps, have also been issued to accompany every new set of stamps since the mid-1970s.

British commemorative stamps issued between 1980 and 1989
Issue date Issue details Stamps in set Designer(s)
1980
16 January 1980 Centenary of Wild Bird Protection Act Four (10p, 11+12p, 13p, 15p) Michael Warren
12 March 1980 150th Anniversary of Liverpool & Manchester Railway Five (5 × 12p se-tenant) David Gentleman
9 April 1980 "London 1980" International Stamp Exhibition One (50p) Jeffery Matthews
7 May 1980 "London 1980" International Stamp Exhibition
(Miniature Sheet)
One (Minisheet 50p. Was sold for 75p, the premium being used for the exhibition) Jeffery Matthews
7 May 1980 London Landmarks Five (10+12p, 12p, 13+12p, 15p, 17+12p) Sir Hugh Casson
9 July 1980 Famous Authoresses Four (12p, 13+12p, 15p, 17+12p) Barbara Brown
4 August 1980 80th Birthday of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother One (12p) Jeffery Matthews
10 September 1980 British Conductors Four (12p, 13+12p, 15p, 17+12p) Peter Gauld
10 October 1980 Sport Centenaries Four (12p, 13+12p, 15p, 17+12p) Robert Goldsmith
19 November 1980 Christmas Five (10p, 12p, 13+12p, 15p, 17+12p) Jeffery Matthews
1981
6 February 1981 Folklore Four Fritz Wegner
25 March 1981 International Year of the Disabled Four John Gibbs
13 May 1981 Butterflies Four Gordon Beningfield
24 June 1981 50th Anniversary of the National Trust for Scotland Five M Fairclough
22 July 1981 Royal Wedding Two David Gentleman using photos taken by Lord Snowdon
12 August 1981 25th Anniversary of Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme Four P. Sharland
23 September 1981 Fishing Industry Four B. Sanders
18 November 1981 Christmas Five
1982
10 February 1982 Death Centenary of Charles Darwin Four David Gentleman
24 March 1982 Youth Organisations Four
28 April 1982 Europa – British Theatre Four
16 June 1982 Maritime Heritage Five Marjorie Saynor
23 July 1982 British Textiles Four
8 September 1982 Information Technology Two
13 October 1982 British Motor Cars Four
17 November 1982 Christmas Five
1983
26 January 1983 British River Fishes Four
9 March 1983 Commonwealth Day, Geographical Regions Four
25 May 1983 Europa – Engineering Achievements Three
6 July 1983 British Army Uniforms Five
24 August 1983 British Gardens Four
5 October 1983 British Fairs Four
16 November 1983 Christmas Five
1984
17 January 1984 500th Anniversary of College of Arms Four
6 March 1984 British Cattle Five
10 April 1984 Urban Renewal Four
15 May 1984 25th Anniversary of C.E.P.T. ('Europa') &
second elections to European Parliament
Four
5 June 1984 London Economic Summit Conference One
26 June 1984 Centenary of Greenwich Meridian Four
31 July 1984 Bicentenary of First Mail Coach Run,
Bath and Bristol to London
Five
25 September 1984 50th Anniversary of the British Council Four
20 November 1984 Christmas Five
1985
22 January 1985 Famous Trains Five
12 March 1985 Insects Five
14 May 1985 Europa, European Music Year, British Composers Four
18 June 1985 Safety at Sea Four
30 July 1985 350 years of Royal Mail Public Postal Service Four
3 September 1985 Arthurian Legends Four
8 October 1985 British Film Year Five (Sir Alfred Hitchcock, Sir Charlie Chaplin, Vivien Leigh, Peter Sellers and David Niven).
19 November 1985 Christmas Five
1986
14 January 1986 Industry Year Four
18 February 1986 Appearance of Halley's Comet Four
21 April 1986 60th Birthday of Queen Elizabeth II Four
20 May 1986 Europa, Nature Conservation-Endangered Species Four
17 June 1986 900th Anniversary of Domesday Book Four
15 July 1986 13th Commonwealth Games, Edinburgh &
World Hockey Cup for Men, London
Five
22 July 1986 Royal Wedding Two
19 August 1986 32nd Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Conference One
16 September 1986 History of the Royal Air Force Five
18 November 1986 Christmas – 13p, 18p, 22p, 31p & 34p values Five
2 December 1986 Christmas – 12p value One
1987
20 January 1987 Flower Photographs by Alfred Lammer Four
24 March 1987 300th Anniversary of "The Principia Mathematica"
by Sir Isaac Newton
Four
12 May 1987 Europa, British Architects in Europe Four
16 June 1987 Centenary of St. John Ambulance Brigade Four
21 July 1987 300th Anniversary of Order of the Thistle Four
8 September 1987 150th Anniversary of Queen Victoria's Accession Four
13 October 1987 Studio Pottery Four
17 November 1987 Christmas Five
1988
19 January 1988 Bicentenary of Linnean Society. Four
1 March 1988 400th Anniversary of Welsh Bible Four
22 March 1988 Sports Organisations Four
10 May 1988 Europa, Transport & Mail Services in 1930s Four
21 June 1988 Bicentenary of Australian Settlement (Joint issue with Australia Post) Four Greg Emery
19 July 1988 400th Anniversary of Spanish Armada Five
6 September 1988 Death Centenary of Edward Lear Four
27 September 1988 Death Centenary of Edward Lear, Miniature Sheet One (MS)
18 October 1988 New Issue of 'Castle' High Value Definitives Four
15 November 1988 Christmas Five
1989
17 January 1989 Centenary of Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Four
31 January 1989 Greetings Stamps Five
7 March 1989 Food and Farming Year Four
11 April 1989 Anniversaries Four
16 May 1989 Europa, Toys and games Four
4 July 1989 Industrial Archaeology Four Ronald Maddox
25 July 1989 Industrial Archaeology (Miniature Sheet) One (MS) Ronald Maddox
5 September 1989 150th Anniversary of Royal Microscopical Society Four
17 October 1989 Lord Mayor's Show, London Five
14 November 1989 Christmas Five David Gentleman

Other decades

See also

  • Stanley Gibbons
  • Stamp Collecting
  • List of people on stamps
  • Philately
  • Stamps
  • PHQ Cards
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United Kingdom commemorative stamps 1980–1989 Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.