COVER N. 401 - BRITISH OVERSEAS TERRITORIES - GIBRALTAR

Postmark: Royal Gibraltar Post Office Main office 19.01.24

Posted on the 19th January; Received on the 31st January 2024

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Almost one year ago I received a cover from Gibraltar sent by one of the usual suspects on this blog - Muito Obrigado, Eric! - which had a couple of stamps dedicated to the man that led the UK through a war that would shape the world for the next sixty or so years... and I put it that way because I feel that ever since the last turn of the century, world order has been reshaping itself, adapting, changing…

Where this will lead us it is still a mystery, but, once again, mouldy winds are blowing, hate as a weapon is on the rise, demagogy, populism... and I am not talking about one of those black and white news films produced by Rivus Pathé,  or any other agency, that would run before the day feature film at the local theatre, when I was a lad, but about of what I see every day on TV....

Lest we forget... a phrase coined by Kippling which  could be seen in memorials... poems... remembrance writings ever since the first world war...

have we forgotten?....

Yesterday, Mr Postman delivered this great Gibraltar cover, again courtesy of the Flying Dutchman, which contains the companion set to the above souvenir sheet  on cover 244, issued on 25MAR2020 in celebration of the 75th anniversary of VE Day.

The stamps, illustrated with period photographs highlighting all the main branches of the British military forces - Navy, Army and Air Force - also carry each a Letter which, when aligned in sequence, form the phrase V E DAY.

The stamps are cancelled with the postmark of the main Post Office at Gibraltar.