The United Kingdom, known in philatelic circles as Great Britain, released many commemorative stamps (postage stamps issued to honour or commemorate a place, event or person) in the 1980s.

History Postage stamps were first issued in the United Kingdom on 6 May 1840, with the introduction of the world's first adhesive postage stamp, known as the Penny Black. Until 1924, all British stamps depicted only the portrait of the reigning monarch, with the exception of the "high value" stamps (also known as the "Sea Horses" design) issued in 1913, which were twice the size of normal stamps with added pictorial design.

In 1924, the first "commemorative" stamp was issued for the British Empire Exhibition. There were then occasional issues over the next thirty years, when the frequency of new issues became more regular. From the mid-1960s, in most years, six to nine sets of commemorative stamps have been issued every year. PHQ cards, postcard-sized reproductions of commemorative stamps, have also been issued to accompany every new set of stamps since the mid-1970s.

+ British commemorative stamps issued between 1980 and 1989 Issue date Issue details Stamps in set Designer(s) 1980 16 January 1980 Centenary of Wild Bird Protection Act Four (10p, p, 13p, 15p) Michael Warren 12 March 1980 150th Anniversary of Liverpool & Manchester Railway Five (5 × 12p se-tenant) David Gentleman 9 April 1980 "London 1980" International Stamp Exhibition One (50p) Jeffery Matthews 7 May 1980 "London 1980" International Stamp Exhibition(Miniature Sheet) One (Minisheet 50p. Was sold for 75p, the premium being used for the exhibition) Jeffery Matthews 7 May 1980 London Landmarks Five (p, 12p, p, 15p, p) Sir Hugh Casson 9 July 1980 Famous Authoresses Four (12p, p, 15p, p) Barbara Brown 4 August 1980 80th Birthday of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother One (12p) Jeffery Matthews 10 September 1980 British Conductors Four (12p, p, 15p, p) Peter Gauld 10 October 1980 Sport Centenaries Four (12p, p, 15p, p) Robert Goldsmith 19 November 1980 Christmas Five (10p, 12p, p, 15p, p) Jeffery Matthews 1981 6 February 1981 Folklore Four Fritz Wegner 25 March 1981 International Year of the Disabled Four John Gibbs 13 May 1981 Butterflies Four Gordon Beningfield 24 June 1981 50th Anniversary of the National Trust for Scotland Five M Fairclough 22 July 1981 Royal Wedding Two David Gentleman using photos taken by Lord Snowdon 12 August 1981 25th Anniversary of Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme Four P. Sharland 23 September 1981 Fishing Industry Four B. Sanders 18 November 1981 Christmas Five 1982 10 February 1982 Death Centenary of Charles Darwin Four David Gentleman 24 March 1982 Youth Organisations Four 28 April 1982 Europa – British Theatre Four 16 June 1982 Maritime Heritage Five Marjorie Saynor 23 July 1982 British Textiles Four 8 September 1982 Information Technology Two 13 October 1982 British Motor Cars Four 17 November 1982 Christmas Five 1983 26 January 1983 British River Fishes Four 9 March 1983 Commonwealth Day, Geographical Regions Four 25 May 1983 Europa – Engineering Achievements Three 6 July 1983 British Army Uniforms Five 24 August 1983 British Gardens Four 5 October 1983 British Fairs Four 16 November 1983 Christmas Five 1984 17 January 1984 500th Anniversary of College of Arms Four 6 March 1984 British Cattle Five 10 April 1984 Urban Renewal Four 15 May 1984 25th Anniversary of C.E.P.T. ('Europa') &second elections to European Parliament Four 5 June 1984 London Economic Summit Conference One 26 June 1984 Centenary of Greenwich Meridian Four 31 July 1984 Bicentenary of First Mail Coach Run,Bath and Bristol to London Five 25 September 1984 50th Anniversary of the British Council Four 20 November 1984 Christmas Five 1985 22 January 1985 Famous Trains Five 12 March 1985 Insects Five 14 May 1985 Europa, European Music Year, British Composers Four 18 June 1985 Safety at Sea Four 30 July 1985 350 years of Royal Mail Public Postal Service Four 3 September 1985 Arthurian Legends Four 8 October 1985 British Film Year Five (Sir Alfred Hitchcock, Sir Charlie Chaplin, Vivien Leigh, Peter Sellers and David Niven).Walker, Alexander. Vivien: The Life of Vivien Leigh. New York: Grove Press, 1987. pp. 303, 304 19 November 1985 Christmas Five 1986 14 January 1986 Industry Year Four 18 February 1986 Appearance of Halley's Comet Four 21 April 1986 60th Birthday of Queen Elizabeth II Four 20 May 1986 Europa, Nature Conservation-Endangered Species Four 17 June 1986 900th Anniversary of Domesday Book Four 15 July 1986 13th Commonwealth Games, Edinburgh &World Hockey Cup for Men, London Five 22 July 1986 Royal Wedding Two 19 August 1986 32nd Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Conference One 16 September 1986 History of the Royal Air Force Five 18 November 1986 Christmas – 13p, 18p, 22p, 31p & 34p values Five 2 December 1986 Christmas – 12p value One 1987 20 January 1987 Flower Photographs by Alfred Lammer Four 24 March 1987 300th Anniversary of "The Principia Mathematica"by Sir Isaac Newton Four 12 May 1987 Europa, British Architects in Europe Four 16 June 1987 Centenary of St. John Ambulance Brigade Four 21 July 1987 300th Anniversary of Order of the Thistle Four 8 September 1987 150th Anniversary of Queen Victoria's Accession Four 13 October 1987 Studio Pottery Four 17 November 1987 Christmas Five 1988 19 January 1988 Bicentenary of Linnean Society. Four 1 March 1988 400th Anniversary of Welsh Bible Four 22 March 1988 Sports Organisations Four 10 May 1988 Europa, Transport & Mail Services in 1930s Four 21 June 1988 Bicentenary of Australian Settlement (Joint issue with Australia Post) Four Greg Emery 19 July 1988 400th Anniversary of Spanish Armada Five 6 September 1988 Death Centenary of Edward Lear Four 27 September 1988 Death Centenary of Edward Lear, Miniature Sheet One (MS) 18 October 1988 New Issue of 'Castle' High Value Definitives Four 15 November 1988 Christmas Five 1989 17 January 1989 Centenary of Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Four 31 January 1989 Greetings Stamps Five 7 March 1989 Food and Farming Year Four 11 April 1989 Anniversaries Four 16 May 1989Europa, Toys and games Four 4 July 1989 Industrial Archaeology FourRonald Maddox 25 July 1989 Industrial Archaeology (Miniature Sheet) One (MS)Ronald Maddox 5 September 1989 150th Anniversary of Royal Microscopical Society Four 17 October 1989 Lord Mayor's Show, London Five 14 November 1989 Christmas Five David Gentleman

Sources Stanley Gibbons Concise Stamp Catalogue Gibbons Stamp Monthly Royal Mail Stamp Guide Royal Mail British Philatelic Bulletin

Other decades United Kingdom commemorative stamps 1924–1969 United Kingdom commemorative stamps 1970–1979 United Kingdom commemorative stamps 1990–1999 United Kingdom commemorative stamps 2000–2009 United Kingdom commemorative stamps 2010–2019 United Kingdom commemorative stamps 2020–2029

See also

Stanley Gibbons Stamp Collecting List of people on stamps Philately Stamps PHQ Cards

References

External links Stanley Gibbons Stamps Shop Homepage Royal Mail