Great British Commemorative Stamps - Issued 1924 to Date
Great British Commemorative Stamps are as the name implies issued to commemorate something. The first set was issued in 1924 for the Wembley Exhibition and issues have continued every since, firstly, very occasionally (4 issues over an 11 year period) to more modern times, where 10+ is the norm for each year.
Commemorative sets contain from between one and 10 stamps showing various images related to the chosen theme.

Unlike definitive issues that can have a varied issued life span depending on the need for a particular value, commemorative sets are only available for one year after their initial issue, or until the available stock runs out. After one year’s availability Royal Mail removes any unsold stock.

In 1978 Royal Mail issued its first Miniature Sheet in support of raising funds for the 1980 London International Stamp Exhibition.
Two further sheets were issued in 1979 and 1980 for the same purpose. 1988, 1989 and 1990 saw three more sheets issued in support of Stamp World London 90. A wait of nine years followed before the next sheet, only this time, not issued in support of anything other than Royal Mails coffers.
2005 saw the height of Miniature Sheet Issues with no fewer than nine.

As with most series of something, some Commemorative issues are wonderful, whilst others are in my opinion junk. Some issues have had a great deal of effort put into the design and printing and can be called miniature works of art and are informative as well, whilst others, look as if someone really couldn’t be bothered. Quite a few of the stamps in the various Millennium Series received a lot of criticism for this.

My favourite issue of all time has to be the 1985 Trains Set of five stamps. Not only because they beautiful work’s of art from paintings done by Terence Cuneo, but because Cuneo always drew a Mouse somewhere in his Pictures. You will need very good eyesight to spot them on the stamps, but if you look carefully at the set of PHQ cards, then you should be able to find them. Most Commemorative Stamps are also available in Presentation Packs and I have done a separate description for these else ware on this page. Likewise for First Day Covers, PHQ cards, Traffic Light Gutter Pairs and Smilers Sheets. Royal Mail do seem to be slowly bringing about the death of the Commemorative issues, as very few Post Offices stock them at all in any format. This would be a great shame for GB collectors, particularly those who only collect the modern era. I’m afraid that I personally find it very difficult to get excited about a new value and coloured Machin stamp!