THE SPECIAL STAMP PROGRAMME
The first Special Stamps were issued in 1924 to celebrate the British Empire Exhibition. For many years Special Stamps were issued only for outstanding national and international events and on royal and postal occasions. In the early 1960s, the scope of the Special Stamp programme gradually widened untilin 1964 the then Postmaster General set out certain criteria for issuing Special Stamps. Most of these are still in effect today in compiling the annual programme of issues from the hundreds of requests and suggestions received by Royal Mail and the anniversaries and themes researched.

They are now:

• To commemorate important anniversaries;
• To celebrate events of national and international significance;
• To reflect the British contribution to world affairs, especially to the Commonwealth and Europe, in a variety of fields of activity, including the arts and the sciences;
• To reflect the many and varied aspects of the British way of life;
• To extend public patronage to the arts by encouraging the development of minuscule art.