The postal history of St. Helena extends back well before 1815 but it wasn’t until 1815 that the first Post Office was established on the Island shortly after which the first handstruck stamp was introduced. The first adhesive stamp, a 6d blue imperforate stamp portraying Queen Victoria, was issued on 1 January 1856.
Today, postage stamps and other philatelic supplies are a big industry for St Helena and, if you are interested in this, you will certainly want to visit the Post Office in Jamestown noting that in addition to items from St Helena you can also get items from Ascension Island and Tristan Da Cunha here. The St Helena Post Office provides support for the Ascension Island Post Office some 1,125 kms away.
St Helena issues many sets of commemorative stamps each year, with the majority being sold to collectors. A special Stamp Advisory Committee meets regularly to ensure that stamps incorporate designs of an historical, geographical, economic, constitutional or thematic nature which is of interest to the stamp collector as opposed to the average punter on the street wanting to post a letter.
While I was en-route to St Helena on board the RMS St Helena, former British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher died. Notwithstanding that she was the Prime Minister responsible for the temporary removal of the Saints right of abode in the UK and denial of British citizenship she was, and remains, much respected on St Helena for her swift dispatch of Argentine forces from the Falkland Islands in 1982. Since my visit a commemorative set of stamps has been issued in Mrs Thatcher’s honour.
Mail to and from the Island is carried by the RMS St Helena. If posting a letter or post card on St Helena do consult the shipping schedule posted outside the Post Office – you don’t want to miss the boat – it will be a while till she returns.
This blog entry is one of a group (loop) of entries on my trip to St Helena. I suggest you continue with my next entry – Orange Tree Oriental Restaurant: “Booking not required!” – or to start the loop at the beginning go to my St Helena Introduction entry.
The Rambling Wombat 