Here are two collections that have produced to tell quite different stories. The first is an account of that most famous of history dates 1066 and the Battle of Hastings. The display has been called ‘1066 … and all that’, and as you will see includes a variety of material.
The second display is interesting too as it shows that if you do not wish to tell a story as such, you can study a particular country’s stamps, or even focus on a certain type of stamp.
For many years, since 1929 New Zealand has produced stamps each year which are used to help finance its Children's Health Camps.
This continues to the present day with NZ Post issuing health stamps annually. Click the link here or from the album page right: Health stamps from New Zealand.
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Click image above to start slide show of this collection
The Battle of Hastings was the decisive Norman victory in the Norman conquest of England. King Edward I of England began the chain of events which led to the Norman invasion of England and the Battle of Hastings while on his deathbed. He called to his side the Earl Harold Godwinson. Harold was ordered to go to Normandy and receive a pledge from William, Duke of Normandy, to take the throne after Edward died.
When King Edward died, Harold was offered the kingship and accepted, breaking his oath to William. William was outraged and decided to invade England with approval from the Vatican.
Arriving in Britain, William ordered fortifications built at Hastings. William then started playing out the tactics of an invader, ordering homes burned. Harold set out with his men to intercept William's forces.
The battle took place on October 14, 1066, between the Norman army of Duke William of Normandy, and the English army led by King Harold II. Harold was killed during the battle; traditionally, it is believed he was shot through the eye with an arrow. Although there was further English resistance for some time to come, this battle is seen as the point at which William gained control of England.
The famous Bayeux Tapestry depicts the events of the battle.
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Click image above to start slide show of this collection
The popular Health stamp series has been issued every year since 1929. Part of the money from the sale of Health stamps goes towards the running of Health camps. The first Health stamps had the word CHARITY written on them but the word on the stamps was changed to HEALTH in 1932. This is probably because, with an Act of Parliament (the Finance Act 1929) saying that Charity stamps could not cost be more than 2d in face value, in order to charge more than 2d for the stamps, the word Charity had to be changed to Health.
Except for 1929, 1930, 1939, 1940 and 1941, different designs have been used on the stamps each year.
Some of the most well-known health stamps are the Red and Blue Boys which were the two stamps in the 1931 set. This set is quite rare because it was issued when New Zealand and the world economy were very low and, for this reason, not many of these stamps were sold.
The 1938 stamp showing children at play is interesting because it shows one of the children as being left-handed. This was because the design was made by using two photographs of the same boy. But the designer turned the photograph back to front in order to help the picture fit onto the stamp and, so, instead of winding up the engine with his right hand, the boy is winding it up with his left.
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