Paul's Unofficial Letterbox Pages: History of British Letter Boxes - Part 2
1900 to 1999
In 1924 oval signs showing the direction to the nearest post office were used on top of pillar boxes for the first time. It was also in 1924 that the first experimental Telephone Kiosk no. 4 was produced which incorporated a post box and stamp vending machine.
Pillar boxes for airmail letters were introduced in London in 1930. The first of these was sited outside the General Post Office in King Edward Street, London. Originally these were simply a type 'B' box painted blue with an oval sign saying AIR MAIL placed on top, but from 1932 they were produced with a double collection plate, one for collection times and one for air mail postage rates. This service lasted until 1938 when the first box to be erected was also the last to go.
King Edward VIII (1936) The only example of a postbox with this royal cypher is in Mayfield Road, Hersham near the junction with Queens Road. This postbox was originally located where the roundabout at the junction of West Grove and Queens Road is now. Postboxes from the Reign of Edward 8th + Join Group Photographs of postboxes with the E8R script of which there are only around 165 since he reigned for such a short time. During the short reign of Edward VIII in 1936 only a relatively small number letter boxes were made, with the larger type 'A' pillar box being much rarer than than the narrower type 'B'. It is believed that there is only one surviving example of an Edward VIII Ludlow type letter box. Forgandenny Post Box is an extremely rare example of a Ludlow-style wall post box made in 1936 during the reign of Edward VIII. It is believed to be one of only seven in continued use in the United Kingdom and the only known example in Scotland.
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During the short reign of Edward VIII in 1936 only a relatively small number letter boxes were made, with the larger type 'A' pillar box being much rarer than than the narrower type 'B'. It is believed that there is only one surviving example of an Edward VIII Ludlow type letter box.
Edward Viii Post Boxes
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In 1935, towards the end of the reign of George V, a new design of lamp box was introduced with a flatter roof. Another design, with a rectangular front, was introduced during the reign of George VI.
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Edward Viii Post Boxes
In 1954, after it had been pointed out that Elizabeth II of England was only the first Elizabeth to reign over Scotland, the EIIR cipher was not used in Scotland. Letter boxes were made with just a Scottish Crown on instead.
There was very little further change in the design of letter boxes until an experiment in 1968 with rectangular boxes (Type F). These were made from sheet steel and proved not to be very hard wearing and so a cast iron version, the Type G, was introduced.
Edward Viii Post Box Claygate
For their next design in 1979 the Royal Mail went back to the cylindical shape, this time without the familiar pillar box cap. This box is known as Type K. Finally, on modern postboxes the words POST OFFICE have been replaced by the words ROYAL MAIL.
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Copyright © Paul Wicks 2002