When Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) was born no one could have supposed that he would rise to become Emperor of France and, due to his success in the Napoleonic Wars, become regarded as one of the greatest military commanders of all time.
published May 13th, 2013
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Following on from the issue commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the Accession of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 2012 and taking note of the excitement that surrounded the celebrations, the Ascension Island Post Office is now releasing a very special series of stamps to celebrate the next milestone in Her Majesty’s life which is the 60th Anniversary of the Coronation.
published January 30th, 2013
To commemorate the 70th Anniversary of Wideawake Airfield the Ascension Island Post Office is releasing a souvenir sheet featuring two classic aircraft, one from the 1940’s and one from the new millennium. Before work started on the airfield this area was home to Booby and Sooty (Wideawake) Tern colonies, hence the hill on the right side being called Booby Hill and the airfield called Wideawake.
published October 21st, 2012
This year the Ascension Island Post Office has released 4 Christmas stamps that illustrate scenes from A Christmas Carol, to mark the bicentenary of the birth of Charles Dickens, the greatest novelist of the Victorian period.
published October 13th, 2012
One hundred years ago on 10th April 1912 the RMS Titanic left Southampton, England on her maiden voyage bound for New York in the USA. Tragically the events of the next few days became one of the most fascinating and enduring stories of all time.
This was no ordinary passenger liner. Named Titanic because she was the largest passenger vessel in history she was considered by many to be ‘unsinkable’. She was the epitome of luxury and one of the marvels of the modern world. Her passengers ranged from some of the world’s wealthiest to the poorest including more than a thousand emigrants, travelling to the new world in the hope of better opportunities for themselves and their families.
published July 14th, 2012
To celebrate a remarkable 60 years of Queen Elizabeth II as Monarch of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the seas, are pleased to announce the issue of a new stamp issue from Ascension Island.
2012 will be the year we commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of the Accession of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Her Majesty became Head of the Commonwealth and Queen in 1952 and was crowned in Westminster Abbey on June 2nd 1953. During her 60 year reign she has become the most widely travelled Head of State in World history. During this time she has witnessed numerous wars and conflicts as well as landmark historical events from the landing of the first man on the moon up to the present day of the digital age. (read more)
published January 15th, 2012
In the UK Pantomime is a beloved festive tradition performed in towns and cities throughout the Country during the Christmas season. Dating back to the middle ages and taking on board the traditions of the Italian “Commedia dell’ Arte” and the British Music Hall, pantomime is an art form that has constantly adapted to entertain countless generations.
It is not entirely clear how the modern Christmas entertainment that we have today came to be called Pantomime at all, although it is possible to see how the format has developed over the past several hundred years. In the C17th theatres could not survive on plays alone and had to seek out other forms of profitable entertainment.
published October 20th, 2011
The three species of tropicbird all have tropical distributions. Two species are found in the tropical Atlantic and both breed on Ascension Island, with the majority of both species breeding on Boatswainbird Island. The most numerous is the Yellow-billed Tropicbird, or Boatswainbird (so called because its call is likened to that of a Bosun’s whistle) after which the island was named. About 500 pairs of Red-billed Tropicbirds breed on Ascension.
published August 6th, 2011
It was on the 16th November 2010 following a great deal of public speculation that an announcement was made by Clarence House confirming that Prince William, oldest son of Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales had become engaged to his long time girl friend Miss Catherine (Kate) Middleton.
William and Catherine were both 28 years old when the announcement was made and met whilst students at the University of St Andrews. Until the announcement, Catherine, a Fine Arts Graduate worked for her parents company whilst William graduated as a Helicopter Pilot in 2010. As Flight Lieutenant Wales he has joined RAF Search and Rescue which celebrates its 70th Anniversary in 2011 and will co-pilot Sea King helicopters as part of a four-man crew based at RAF Valley in Anglesey on the north-west coast of Wales.
published June 25th, 2011
The Peony is named after Paeon, a student of Asclepius, the Greek God of medicine and healing. When Asclepius became jealous of his pupil, Zeus saved him by turning him into the Peony flower.
Found in both the East and West, the first use of Peonies appears to have been for their medicinal value as long as 2,000 years ago, with all parts of the flower, bark and root supposedly having some medicinal property.
Although in the West we have ceased to consider the Peony of medical importance, it is still used extensively in the East and is said to be ideal for cooling and nourishing the blood.
published May 18th, 2011
On 1 April 1918, the Royal Navy Air Service (RNAS) merged with the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) to form the Royal Air Force (RAF) and with this merger, some 238 motor boats moved to the RAF Marine Craft Section to support their newly acquired flying boats and for limited Search and Rescue operations. At the time, there was little specialist equipment and certainly no central organisation to support aircrew lost at sea, with their rescue being very much reliant on passing naval or merchant ships.
Despite many discussions about Search and Rescue at sea taking place in the 1930’s, it was not until the Battle of Britain, where more than 200 aircrew were killed or went missing in the seas around Britain, that there was a more consolidated and combined effort between the Services to create an efficient and effective Air Sea Rescue Service.
In February 1941, the Directorate of Air Sea Rescue was formed. Their remit was not restricted to home waters but also included Malta, the Middle East (where their forays included searches in the desert) and at one point, Singapore.
published April 19th, 2011