After more than a year since our last stamp issue in February 2022, the CILP has produced seven new stamp issues for 2023 and early 2024. Images of our new stamps will be published after their respective issue dates.
Stamp print runs have been reduced by half for issues this year, as production costs have increased beyond which the CILP can operate as a self-financing organisation. Collector's are advised to obtain their stamps as soon as issued to avoid disappointment.
King
Charles III Coronation (6 May 2023)
The
first scheduled CILP stamp release for 2023 is for HM King Charles III’s
Coronation Day on 6 May. This features a photo portrait of the new king seated
in uniform. The stamp measures 39 x 42 mm and 200 have been printed on 20 sheets.
Unlike
many other countries, the United Kingdom (UK) does not have a long tradition of
formally celebrating its armed forces with a special day. However, as a
consequence of the Iraq and Afghanistan actions, it is now firmly an official
commemoration in many communities in the UK.
To
mark this year’s Armed Forces Day on 24 June, the CILP is releasing a stamp
featuring a drawing of a British soldier advancing uphill. This is taken from a WWII pamphlet circulated on
Canvey Island c1943 to raise funds for the war effort.
National
Health Service 75th Anniversary (6 July 2023)
Using stocks of our previously issued 70th NHS Anniversary stamp from 2018 (CP034), we are issuing a limited run of only 34 hand overprinted stamps to mark the NHS 75th Anniversary. It is likely these stamps will only be used for local Island mail due to their limited number.
Aviators
Series: No.1 (27 September 2023)
Initial issue of an open stamp series featuring famous international
aviators. The first stamp is dedicated to Geoffrey R. de Havilland and a DH 108
“Swallow” tail-less jet, which broke up in the air over the Thames Estuary near
Canvey Island, killing the famous test pilot on 27 September 1946.
The stamp shows a period photo of the aircraft and an inset
portrait of the pilot Geoffrey Raoul de Havilland OBE, the son of the famous
aircraft designer and manufacturer.
Aviation History Series: No.1 (1
November 2023)
Initial issue of an open stamp series concentrating on aircraft
and local aviation history that occurred on, over, and around Canvey Island and
the Thames Estuary.
This stamp shows the British United Air Ferries Bristol
Superfreighter “Valiant” from 1966, operating from Southend Airport, twelve
miles from Canvey Island. These aircraft were a common sight flying over Canvey Island to Europe prior to the Channel Tunnel and Ro-Ro ship car ferries.
Aviation
History Series: No.2 (1 December 2023)
The second
stamp in the series also features an aircraft from the British Air Ferries fleet
c1972. A total of 21 aircraft were converted to Carvair configuration by Air
Traders (Engineering) Ltd.
The four engine ATL-98 Carvair transported motorists to Europe until it became uneconomic due to their limited payload. This aircraft is named “Fat Albert” and once operated from Southend Airport. Often seen flying over Canvey Island until 1979. An ATL-98 Carvair (registration G-ASDC) featured in the 1964 James Bond movie “Goldfinger.”
Aviators
Series: No.2 (5
January 2024)
The famous
pre-WWII aviator and long-distance record setter Amy Johnson CBE is the subject
of the second stamp in this series. The stamp shows an Oxford Airspeed AS.10
and an inset portrait of Amy in leather flying helmet.
Johnson was
ferrying the aircraft to an airfield in Kent in January 1941. Due to extremely
poor weather, she flew off course and failed to reach her destination. The
exact reason for her crash is unknown but it is assumed she was forced to bail-out
over the Thames Estuary when her aircraft ran out of fuel. Her body was never recovered.
Collect
CILP Stamps
Obtain new and past issues via our agent Alpha Philatelics on Ebid UK.
CILP Postmaster
