Bucks Mind Royal Mail Reminiscence Pack Perhaps one of the oldest postal systems still in The name Royal Mail is given to the service existence, the Royal Mail was originally when mail coaches become a familiar sight established in 1516. across the country. In that year, King Henry VIII established the “Master of the Posts” (later renamed to Postmaster General) and James I officially established the Royal Mail to ensure letters were delivered between London and Edinburgh to help maintain his control over both England and Scotland. His son, Charles I, then made the post service available to the general public in 1635. Now, the Royal Mail Group operates six days a week and delivers to 29 million addresses in the UK. The reigning monarch’s initials can be found on post boxes in much of the United Kingdom. Newer boxes have the initials ERII (Elizabeth Regina II), while older ones are inscribed with GVIR, GVR, and more, with some going as far back as to have VR on them (for Queen Victoria). Post boxes in Scotland, however, do not bear Elizabeth’s monogram as she is the first monarch of that name to reign north of the border (Queen Elizabeth I not being the monarch of a “United” Kingdom). Instead, Scottish post boxes have the Scottish crown, the words “post office”, or some combination of the two. Bucks Mind Royal Mail Reminiscence Pack FUN FACTS ABOUT POST 1. The Archangel Gabriel, bringer of messages, is patron saint of postal workers and the Post Office. 2. On 13 June 1920, sending children by Parcel Post was officially forbidden in the USA. 3. Before that, several children had been posted to save rail fares but it was ruled that children are not “bees and bugs”, the only postable livestock. 4. According to the Universal Postal Union, 363,663 million items were sent by letter post in 2011... 5. ...and that works out at an average of one letter a week for every single person on Earth. 6. In 2001, the German Post office began training courses to teach dog psychology to postmen. 7. Figures showed that 3,000 postmen a year are bitten by dogs in Germany, leaving 2,255 pairs of torn trousers and £8million of medical bills. 8. The postcode for 10 Downing Street is SW1A 2AA. Buckingham Palace is SW1A 1AA and 11 Downing Street is SW1A 2AB. Bucks Mind Royal Mail Reminiscence Pack ANTHONY TROLLOPE, INTRODUCED THE POST BOX IN 1852. DID YOU KNOW.. THE FIRST PILLAR BOX WAS SET UP IN 1852 IN JERSEY? LONDON’S FIRST PILLAR BOX WAS INSTALLED IN 1855? BRITAIN’S OLDEST POSTBOX STILL IN SERVICE DATES FROM 1856 AND CAN BE FOUND IN DORSET? THE EARLIEST POSTBOXES WERE GREEN, BUT SOON PHASED OUT BECAUSE OF COMPLAINTS THAT IT BLENDED IN WITH THE COUNTRYSIDE? RED BECAME THE STANDARD COLOUR IN 1874? BLUE AIRMAIL BOXES APPEARED IN 1930 BUT WERE PHASED OUT BY 1938? ROYAL MAIL PAINTED MORE THAN 100 OF ITS POSTBOXES GOLD TO CELEBRATE EVERY OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC GOLD MEDAL WON BY TEAM GB IN THE LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES SOME EARLY PILLAR BOXES HAD VERTICAL APERTURES? THERE ARE AROUND 800 DIFFERENT TYPES OF PILLAR BOX? ALL POSTBOXES BEAR THE MARK OF THE REIGNING MONARCH AT THE TIME OF MANUFACTURE? Bucks Mind Royal Mail Reminiscence Pack Christmas Stamps Every year the royal mail issues special stamps at Christmas. Over 17billion stamps have been printed since the first ones in 1966! Points for discussion…… • Did you ever have a pen pal? • Did you or anyone you knew collect stamps? • Who did you used to write letters to? • Did you enjoy writing and sending Christmas cards? • Did/ do you have a friendly postman? • Did / do you have any pets that dislike or like your postman? .