On 8 September 2022 Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms died peacefully at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. She will be sorely missed on both sides of the Atlantic and across the free world.

  

Everyone knew that this day would come but still her sudden passing at the age of 96 was a shock to the British nation, and particularly heart-breaking for the millions of Britons who had spent their entire lives in the second Elizabethan Age. For many in the United Kingdom and the UK Overseas Territories, a world without the Queen is simply unimaginable. Such was her constant presence in the hearts and minds of the British people since she ascended to the throne in 1952, when Winston Churchill was prime minister.

 

Until the age of 10, when her uncle Edward VIII abdicated and her father George VI reluctantly acceded to the throne, Princess Elizabeth had not expected to become Queen. However, she accepted her role and dedicated herself to a life of service. On her 21st birthday she was with her parents and younger sister on a tour of South Africa from where she made perhaps her most famous broadcast, welcoming the opportunity “to speak to all the peoples of the British Commonwealth and Empire, wherever they live, whatever race they come from, and whatever language they speak.” It is from this speech that the quotation that appears on the souvenir sheet has been taken. “I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.” This was a profound personal commitment that defined her whole life.

 

Queen Elizabeth II was the last monarch to have known the British Empire and for most, the only monarch they had ever known. At the time of her coronation in 1953 she ruled over seven independent countries, which grew to 32 nations during her 70-year reign. Over the course of those 70 years, 15 British premierships and 14 U.S. presidencies, the Queen has been a unifying force and a titan on the world stage. She will be revered as one of the greatest leaders of the modern era, and her life of selfless duty and service has left the world a better place. Her leadership over seven decades has also left the British Monarchy in great health.

 

As we move forward with our new King, we cherish the memory of a truly great leader who lived her life for the sake of her nation with a tremendous sense of dedication, public service, and sacrifice. The Queen will continue to inspire future generations. She will be remembered as a monarch who admirably led her nation through decades of tremendous change on many fronts, from the end of Empire in the 1950s and 1960s through to the Brexit era of the 2020s.

  

She will be remembered for her calm dignity, her sense of both humour and duty. She brought the monarchy into the public eye with her first televised coronation, her broadcasts over the years and finally her funeral. She was a female head of state and a working mother when for many the ideal was to still be a housewife. She was always traditional, yet open to change. Her approach made her a role model to many women.

 

In the words of King Charles III during his first address to the Nation and the Commonwealth 9 September 2022: “Queen Elizabeth's was a life well lived; a promise with destiny kept and she is mourned most deeply in her passing. That promise of lifelong service I renew to you all today.”

 

£3 Queen Elizabeth II during a reception for Members of the Scottish Parliament at the Palace of Holyrood house, Edinburgh 26 June 2009. Andrew Milligan/PA Photos/Alamy.

 

£3 The first Command Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II since her accession to the throne.

Keystone Press Agency/ZUMA Press/Alamy

 

£6 Souvenir Sheet of both stamps with quote

 

FDC Queen Elizabeth II meeting artists who performed at the Royal Variety Performance in Blackpool 8 December 2009. Leon Neal/PA Images/Alamy.

 

Design Bee Design

Printer Cartor

Process Stochastic lithography

Perforation 13 x 13 ¼ per 2cms

Stamp size 30.6 x 38mm

Sheet layout 10

Souvenir Sheet size 110 x 75mm

Release date 15 February, 2023

Production Coordination Creative Direction (Worldwide) Ltd

 

Ascension Island was discovered by the Portuguese seafarer João da Nova in 1501, and was initially named Conception, before being rediscovered two years later in 1503 on Ascension Day by Alphonse d’Albuquerque, who gave the island its lasting name. Being dry and barren it was of little use to the East Indies fleets and went unsettled.

 

It remained uninhabited until Emperor Napoleon I was incarcerated on St Helena in 1815 when a small British naval garrison was stationed on Ascension to deny it to the French. The island was designated HMS Ascension, a “Stone Sloop of War of the Smaller Class”.

 

By Napoleon’s death in 1821 Ascension had become a victualling station and sanatorium for West Africa Squadron ships engaged in the suppression of the slave trade around the West African coast. In 1823 the island was taken over by the Royal Marines and remained under the supervision of the British Board of Admiralty until 1922.

 

It ceased to be a military only island in 1899 when the Eastern Telegraph Company arrived and established a mid-Atlantic communications hub connecting the UK with South Africa by installing the first submarine communications cable from the island.

 

In 1922, Royal Letters Patent made Ascension a dependency of Saint Helena, with control being officially handed over to the Eastern Telegraph Company from the Admiralty on 20 October 1922. The island was managed by the head of the Eastern Telegraph Company on the island until 1964 when the British Government appointed an Administrator to represent the Governor of Saint Helena in Ascension.

 

This special set of stamps celebrates the Centenary of Civilian rule.

 

50p HMS Zenobia: Zenobia: Together with her sister ship Peruvian, Zenobia had been part of the flotilla under Rear Admiral George Cockburn that had taken Napoleon into his final exile at St Helena. Cockburn was concerned that the French might use Ascension Island, uninhabited at the time, to stage a rescue mission. He therefore dispatched Zenobia and Peruvian to claim and garrison the island.

 

55p Robert Francis Peel: The great grandson of Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel served in both the Second Boer War and the First World War before becoming a Member of Parliament. In 1920 he resigned his seat to become Governor and Commander-in-Chief of St Helena, thereby becoming the first Governor of Ascension Island in 1922. He continued to serve as Governor until his death in 1924.

 

65p King George V: Reigning from 1910 to 1936 George V was King at the time of the change to Civilian Rule.

 

£1.60 Ascension Islands Flag: The island’s flag, adopted on 11 May 2013, is shown flying over the Island.

Commodore Clapp, Commander of the Amphibious Task Group went further, saying “without Ascension Island there would have been no Operation Corporate”.

 

Recognising the importance of Ascension and the impact on the overall operation if it were to be attacked (however unlikely) the British forces took prudent steps to defend it. Local air defence was initially provided by 3 Sidewinder armed Harrier GR.3’s (represented on the £3 value) until the arrival of three of the much more suitable 29(F) Squadron Phantom FGR.2’s from the 24th of May.

 

The main roles of Ascension were logistics support and as a base for RAF operations.

 

It should be remembered that the Task Force had sailed at short notice from various parts of the world. Ascension provided the base for the transshipping of large quantities of stores and personnel. At one stage, there were over eighty ships at anchor off the island. Early in May, a single Sea King from 202 Squadron and Chinook (represented on the 50p value) from 18 Squadron covered air transport, particularly stores movement and replenishment for shipping.

 

Although RAF Wideawake had a long 10,000-foot runway and extensive facilities, the demands placed on it exceeded its capacity and therefore that capacity had to be augmented. A 4-mile long pipeline was built to Wideawake Airfield and an additional 180,000-gallon bulk fuel facility installed at the airfield by the Royal Engineers. By the end of operations, Ascension had transferred just under six million gallons of aviation fuel from US tankers.

 

Space on the airfield became a critical factor. The apron would hold only twenty-four big jets and, on one occasion, there were twenty-six helicopters on the dispersal. The majority of movements were made up largely of Hercules bringing in sixteen million pounds of stores and six thousand personnel and the helicopters distributing these to ships at anchor. Helicopter movements outnumbered fixed wing by five to one. Incredibly, for most of the conflict there were just two Pan Am air traffic controllers. At the time Wideawake Airfield was being run by Pan Am under contract to the USAF and the contract allowed for a maximum of 285 aircraft movements per year. On the 18th of April, Wideawake became the busiest airport in the world with over 500 aircraft movements in a single day! During the campaign, it handled 2,500 fixed-wing and 10,600 helicopter flights.

 

Operation Black Buck, the bombing of Stanley Airfield by Vulcan aircraft (shown above Ascension on the FDC) was a feat of consummate airmanship second to none and resulted, at the time, in the longest successful combat flight in history. However, these raids would not have been possible without the refuelling capability of the Victor tankers (represented on the 20p value) and many other RAF aircraft provided an invaluable part of the overall air campaign. Air refuelling proved itself to be a formidable force extender throughout Operation Corporate. Many have commented that the Victors were the unsung heroes of operations from Wideawake.

 

When she acceded to the throne she was just 25 years of age and enjoying a short break from royal duties with her husband of five years, Prince Philip. They were standing in for George VI, who was too ill to travel, on a long-planned international tour. Relaxing at the now famous Treetops Hotel, a game viewing lodge in Kenya, The Princess had spent the day filming elephants before retiring to her cabin high up in the trees.

 

As a fellow guest at Treetops later wrote in the visitors' log book. "For the first time in the history of the world, a young girl climbed into a tree one day a Princess and …… climbed down from the tree next day a Queen."

 

At the time, however, Elizabeth had no knowledge of the event that was to change her life. It fell to her husband, Prince Philip, to break the dreadful news of the death of her beloved father later in the day. The Queen immediately returned to the UK.

 

In 1952 The Queen assumed the role of Head of the Commonwealth from her late father, the first to hold the title. The Commonwealth was then an association of just 8 members. Today there are 53. Her Majesty has always attached considerable importance to this role and at the time of her accession said: “The Commonwealth bears no resemblance to the empires of the past. It is an entirely new conception built on the highest qualities of the spirit of man: friendship, loyalty, and the desire for freedom and peace. To that new conception of an equal partnership of nations and races I shall give myself heart and soul every day of my life.” Indeed, her reign commenced with her longest ever Commonwealth tour, lasting from November 1953 to May 1954.

 

Since ascending to the throne, Her Majesty has gone on to reign longer than any other British Monarch in history, a title she has held since 2015. The previous record-holder, Queen Victoria – who died at age 81, had been monarch for nearly 64 years.

 

The Platinum Jubilee will be Elizabeth II's first Jubilee without her husband, Prince Philip, by her side. The Royal couple were married in November 1947 and had been inseparable for 73 years. The Duke of Edinburgh died on April 9, 2021.

 

The seven decades of her reign have seen extraordinary social and technological progress and The Queen has become a much respected and beloved figure around the world.

 

In her Platinum Jubilee message Her Majesty marked the anniversary by renewing the pledge that she gave in 1947, “that my life will always be devoted to your service”.

 

This unprecedented anniversary is celebrated on a special stamp series released by the Bahamas and the Overseas Territories of Ascension Island, the British Antarctic Territory, Falkland Islands, South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands and Tristan da Cunha.

£1.60 The Queen drove from Buckingham Palace to Westminster in the Irish State Coach to perform the first State Opening of Parliament since her accession to the throne. TopFoto / PA Images

£2 Queen Elizabeth II arriving by carriage during day one of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse, June 2019. Doug Peters / Alamy

S/S A Royal Command portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, taken by Baron, on the small staircase in the Grand entrance at Buckingham Palace. Her Majesty is in a yellow tulle evening gown decorated with sprays of mimosa and gold palette embroidery. She is wearing the blue Ribbon and Star of the Garter. The tiara was a wedding gift from Queen Mary. PA Images / Alamy

Bee Design

Photography Ellen Cuylaerts

Printer Cartor

Process Stochastic lithography

Perforation 13 ¼ x 13 ½ per 2cms

Stamp size 42 x 28mm

Souvenir Sheet size 96.5 x 87mm

Sheet layout 10

Release date 31 January, 2022

Production Coordination Creative Direction (Worldwide) Ltd

ST012349    Galapagos Sharks     Mint Set
ST012350    Galapagos Sharks     Mint S/S
ST012351    Galapagos Sharks     CTO Set
ST012352    Galapagos Sharks     CTO S/S
ST012353    Galapagos Sharks      FDC
ST012354    Galapagos Sharks      FDC S/S

● supporting compliance and enforcement.

Design Andrew Robinson

Printer Cartor

Process Stochastic lithography

Perforation 13 ¼ x 13 ½ per 2cms

Stamp size 42 x 28mm

Souvenir Sheet size 110 x 80mm

Sheet layout 10

Release date 9 November, 2021

Production Coordination Creative Direction (Worldwide) Ltd

 

 

95th Birthday of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II - April 2021

The Ascension Island Post Office takes great pleasure in releasing a set of six stamps in celebration of The Queen’s 95th birthday.

The stamps will be released on Her Majesty’s actual birthday, 21 April. Each of the stamps depict key aspects of Her Majesty’s life, from a young Princess, to her Coronation and Marriage as well as managing to enjoy some Leisure time and Pageantry, out and about fulfilling her Royal Duties. 

 

 

On her twenty-first birthday, 21 April 1947, Princess Elizabeth was with her parents and younger sister, Princess Margaret, on a tour of South Africa. In a speech broadcast on the radio from Cape Town, the Princess dedicated her life to the service of the Commonwealth. The theme of the stamp issue, “Devoted to your service”, is taken from that speech: “I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.”

This special issue is a collaboration between 11 postal administrations which sees the three Crown Dependencies, Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man, join The Bahamas and seven UK Overseas Territories, Ascension Island, British Antarctic Territory, British Virgin Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands, and Tristan da Cunha to mark the birthday of the world’s longest reigning monarch.

Stamps

• 15p Princess. HRH Princess Elizabeth of York, later Queen Elizabeth II, circa 1932. (Photo by Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images).

• 20p Coronation. Queen Elizabeth II leaving Buckingham Palace for her coronation at Westminster Abbey, London 2nd June 1953. (Photo by Monty Fresco/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images).

• 35p Marriage. The Queen and Prince Phillip enjoy the scenery at Balmoral in Scotland. (Photo by © Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis via Getty Images).

• 65p Leisure. Queen Elizabeth II in the gardens of Balmoral Castle with her pet dogs in 1952. (Photo by © Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis via Getty Images).

• £1 Pageantry. The Queen and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh travel down The Mall in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach after attending the State Opening of Parliament on May 27, 2015 in London. (Photo by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images). 

• £1.60 Royal Duty. The Queen visits Watergate House to mark the centenary of GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters), the UK's Intelligence, Security and Cyber Agency on February 14, 2019 in London. GCHQ was formed in 1919, under the original name of the GC&CS (Government Code and Cypher School). Watergate House was the Agency's first home and a former top-secret location. (Photo by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images). 

• The FDC features two images of Her Majesty; a contemporary picture of the Queen who is fondly known throughout the world and a beautiful portrait, circa 1929, of the young Princess Elizabeth before it was realised that she would be acceding to the throne. (Photos via Getty Images).

 

Technical details:

Designer Bee Design

Printer Cartor Security Printing

Process Lithography

Perforation 13 ¼ x 13 ¼ per 2cms

Stamp size 36 x 36mm

Sheet Layout 10

Release date 21 April, 2021

Production Coordination Creative Direction (Worldwide) Ltd

 

STAMP ITEM NUMBERS

 

Island Treasures - December 2020

2020 has been a remarkable year and with so many restrictions on travel it has been an opportunity for everyone to reflect on their local environment and to discover and celebrate their local gems and treasures. On Ascension we have chosen just twelve of our treasures to share with the world. Some of them will be familiar, but they are our treasures that we never tire of seeing.

 

 

15p Bonetta Cemetery: In the lava flows behind Comfortless Cove lies the Bonetta Cemetery, named for the Ship that landed in 1838, its crew ravaged by fever. More than a dozen men were buried here from this and other plague ships.

20p Land Crab: The land crab is Ascension Island’s largest native land animal and only lives on four small, South Atlantic islands, of which Ascension is by far the largest. Despite being true crabs and thus originating from the ocean, land crabs are adapted to live in very dry climates and considerable distances from the sea. Though all land crabs on Ascension are from the same species they can vary from yellow-orange through to a deep purple.

Despite adaptations for living on land, the land crabs of Ascension are still required to return to the ocean in order to breed. Despite resilience and adaptations to living on land, Ascension Island land crabs populations are still under threat.

Today, land crabs on Ascension Island are protected by law, any harvesting, injury or intentional killing being entirely illegal. However, a number of crabs are still unintentionally killed each year, particularly around breeding periods, as crabs cross roads and are accidentally hit by vehicles. The Ascension Island Government Conservation Department continues to raise awareness and monitor populations so that these marvels of nature and adaptation remain part of Ascension Island, as they have for thousands of years.

25p The Red Lion, Green Mountain: Green Mountain is the oldest and highest part of Ascension Island. A steep, winding road, with some very sharp hairpin bends, goes as far as the Red Lion. Records suggest that the Red Lion was completed in 1863 and was used as a mountain barracks for non-commissioned officers stationed there in support of the mountain farm. It continued to house farm workers until the 1990s, at which point the mountain farm was permanently closed. It has since been renovated and the ground floor of the building serves as a display area, with the first-floor housing a lecture theatre and classroom facility.

30p Deadman’s Beach: Situated in Georgetown, Deadman’s Beach is one of the picturesque and breathtakingly beautiful beaches on Ascension. Its stunning beauty is clearly seen during the sunlight hours and more especially at Sundown. Popular with the Islanders, Deadman’s is very good for fishing and is a great place to catch some of the Island’s Lobster Crayfish, Grouper and Moray eel.

40p St Mary’s Church, Georgetown: The building was completed in 1861 and consecrated on 9th May, Ascension Day of that year. Since then it has undergone many careful renovations. Prior to being built services were held outside the old barracks in Georgetown and usually conducted by the senior officer of the garrison. Inside are plaques commemorating many who died on the island both at sea and from illness. The church holds historical records of island births, marriages and deaths. It retains contemporary social significance for the local community and those abroad being used for weekly worship, weddings, baptisms and funerals. The chaplain of the island was originally provided by the Royal Navy, then Royal Air Force and nowadays from the Anglican Church, Diocese of St Helena, Province of South Africa.

50p Green Sea Turtle: Due to its remoteness, Ascension Island makes for an undisturbed breeding ground for green sea turtles and is the second largest nesting site in the Atlantic Ocean. Generally migrating from Brazil, the green turtles are protected on Ascension under the Wildlife Protection Ordinance 2013. While we have to keep a respectful distance, stay quiet, and refrain from using flash photography it is possible to see the turtles coming ashore to lay their eggs. It is a truly amazing experience. 

60p Resplendent Angelfish: One of Ascension’s most beautiful endemics is the resplendent angelfish. This diminutive fish (only a few centimetres long) is coloured a vivid purple-blue with a golden stripe running along its back and has historically been highly valued in the aquarium trade, until it was protected by the 2013 Ascension Island Wildlife Protection Ordinance. The Ascension Island Government Conservation Department continues to investigate and study the marine environment in order to protect not only the endemic fish species, but all aspects of this unique ecosystem. 

65p Ascension Donkeys: Donkeys were brought to Ascension in 1815 primarily to move water from Green Mountain into Georgetown. Shortly after they became feral. To this day the numbers are not large but they can be found wandering beneath Two Boats all the way into Georgetown. Tourists love to stop along the roads to photograph and feed them apples and such.

£1 Ascension Lily: This beautiful lily originates from South America although it could equally have been imported from West Africa. It blooms twice a year on Ascension and its bulbous rootstock ensures its survival even in the absence of rain. It has become the national flower of the island. 

£1.30 Ascension Island Frigatebird: The Ascension Frigatebird is Ascension’s only endemic bird species. In the past, vast numbers of nesting pairs could be found on Ascension. However, with human colonisation and the subsequent introduction of rats and feral cats, the population declined significantly and was confined to breeding on the large offshore stack, Boatswain Bird Island, the only suitable alternative nesting site.

In 2001, a feral cat eradication programme was initiated on the Island, led by the RSPB, and the last known feral cat was removed in 2004. Seabird re-colonisation of the mainland was first recorded in May 2002 and numbers have increased steadily since. In December 2012 two pairs of Frigatebirds were discovered nesting on the mainland – a momentous occasion in the history of conservation work on the island.

£2.50 Boatswainbird Island: Boatswain Bird Island (BBI) Sanctuary is a barren, steep island rising to 104m, with a relatively flat top of nearly 3ha, located 300m north of Letterbox peninsula. Birds have nested on the cliffs and plateau for so long that the rock is permanently white from the layers of guano coating the island.

This island is an important nesting site for most of the seabird species on Ascension. The name boatswain bird is the alternate common name given to the red-billed tropicbird, one of the birds to nest on the island. Other nesting species include storm petrels, white-tailed tropicbirds, red-footed boobies, brown boobies, masked boobies, black noddies, common white terns and Ascension Frigatebirds.

BBI is also home to several invertebrates including endemic pseudoscorpions. The immediate waters surrounding BBI have high numbers of young sharks, which suggests that it is an important nursery habitat for Ascension's shark species. BBI is protected by the National Protected Areas Ordinance 2003.

£5 Wideawake Tern: The most numerous nesting seabird on Ascension is the Wideawake or sooty tern. Despite predation from cats and egg collecting (in the 1830s marines could collect as many as 120,000 eggs a week although this became illegal in the 1960s) and then the decision by the US Army to build the runway on their favourite nesting area numbers are still in excess of 250,000 nesting pairs. It can be an incredible sight to see thousands of the birds hovering above you.

 

Technical details:

Designs Bee Design

Printer Cartor Security Printing

Process Stochastic Lithography

Perforation 13 ¼ x 13 ½ per 2cms

Stamp size 42 x 28mm

Sheet Layout 10

Release date 22 December, 2020

Production Coordination Creative Direction (Worldwide)

 

STAMP ITEM NUMBERS