Stamps Recall Wartime Sacrifices

Royal Mail is paying tribute to the hundreds of thousands of men and women who 'did their bit' for the war effort during Britain's darkest hour.

The Britain Alone stamps, just issued, highlight the endeavours of the 'Homeland Heroes' who contributed to the war effort at home, as Britain and the Commonwealth stood alone against the might of the Axis powers.

The eight stamps feature civil defence organisations like the Home Guard, alongside the 80,000 strong Women's Land Army; but also focus on the young evacuees, the contribution of the Royal princesses and the man who symbolised Britain's bravery and defiance - Sir Winston Churchill.

And if Churchill was seen as man of the hour, the mass-evacuation of Dunkirk was certainly the event which summed up the people's determination to succeed despite significant odds.

To commemorate the evacuation in June 1940 of more than 338,000 servicemen from the beaches of Normandy, Royal Mail has also issued a Dunkirk Miniature Sheet.

A Royal Mail Group spokeswoman said: "After the defeat of France in 1940, Britain suffered a period of huge uncertainty and grave danger; brought into sharp focus by the destruction of the Blitz, and the possibility of defeat in the Battle of the Atlantic.

"With the Britain Alone and Dunkirk stamps we wanted to remind later generations how the public at large were affected by the Second World War and the Belfast Blitz, and to celebrate the huge contribution they made to the war effort."

(BMcC/GK)