Post & Go : Royal Mail Heritage : Mail by Bike

2018 (September 12 2018)

Designed by Andrew Davidson
Size 56mm (h) x 25mm (v)
Printed by International Security Printers
Print Process Gravure
Gum Self Adhesive

Stamps

Pentacycle, 1882

1st

Five-wheeled ‘Hen and Chicks’ were used for mail delivery in the Horsham district, Sussex, in 1882. Postmen liked these machines, but officials were unconvinced of their practicality, and so their use never extended beyond the initial trials.

Motorcycle and trailer, 1902

1st

Such a motorcycle and trailer were used in 1902 for delivering letters and parcels to the rural districts surrounding Sittingbourne, Kent. This was very much a local initiative, and it was among the first motorised mail deliveries outside London.

Tricycle and basket, 1920

1st

First introduced in 1880, tricycles, with their large wicker baskets, had been ideal for carrying substantial amounts of mail in urban and rural districts. By the First World War, they were antiquated and insufficient for the increasing weight of the mail.

Bicycle, 1949

1st

The bicycle was the mainstay of the postal fleet for more than a hundred years, with over 36,000 in use in 2006, followed by a dramatic decline. A standard specification for delivery bicycles remained almost unchanged between 1929 and 1992.

Motorcycle, 1965

1st

Motorcycles were used for mail delivery and collection, as well as for telegram delivery. Various manufacturers supplied them, with BSA being the largest. The BSA Bantam was the much-loved and reliable workhorse of the fleet between 1948 and 1971.

Quad bike, 2002

1st

Honda quad bikes were used for collecting and delivering mail in Scotland between 2001 and 2010. They were ideal for the rough terrain of the Scottish islands Gigha, Iona and Kerrera, allowing Royal Mail to reach locations previously accessible only by foot.