Royal Mail has apologised and announced it will re-design a commemorative D-day stamp which depicts US troops in Indonesia, rather than the allied D-day landings in France.
The special stamp was planned as part of a Best of British series to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the D-day landings in Normandy during the second world war.
Royal Mail said the image would no longer be part of the final collection, adding: “We work very hard to ensure that our Special Stamp programme appropriately commemorates anniversaries and events that are relevant to UK heritage and life. We would like to offer our sincere apologies that our preview release for our 2019 Special Stamp programme included a stamp design which had been incorrectly associated with the D-day landings.”
We sincerely apologise that our 2019 Special Stamp preview included a design which had been incorrectly associated with the D-Day landings.
— Royal Mail (@RoyalMail) December 28, 2018
This stamp design has not been printed. We would like to reassure our customers that this image will not be part of the final set.
Labelled by the Royal Mail as “D-day Allied soldiers and medics wade ashore”, the image appears to be an official US Coast Guard photograph which shows “USS LCI(L)-30 landing troops carrying stretchers on to a beach” at Sarmi, Dutch New Guinea, May 1944, several weeks before the D-day landings took place in Europe.
“Please correct this or you will look like idiots” said one social media user when the image of the stamp was released. “How hard would it have been to choose an appropriate photo and have it verified by a qualified historian?” asked another.
Conservative councillor Robert Barnard, who represents the Penistone East ward of Barnsley Metropolitan borough council, used Twitter to call for disciplinary action to be taken over the error.
Twitter users were quick to suggest some alternative designs that could be used to represent the D-day landings.
Love the new Royal Mail D-Day stamps. pic.twitter.com/kyIy1VjJNr
— TameCrab (@TameCrab) December 28, 2018
Perhaps it's just me, but something about this new D-Day stamp doesn't look quite right. pic.twitter.com/YOTgp1oN9L
— Marc Morris (@Longshanks1307) December 27, 2018
Here you go @RoyalMail I found you s better picture of the D-Day landings. pic.twitter.com/BWr4DvDSPT
— Nick Stone (@typejunky) December 27, 2018
Ian Stewart, the vice-chairman of The Spirit of Normandy Trust, said: “The problem with most of these things is that research has got to be thorough and done well ahead of time. It’s very unfortunate, but research is absolutely critical and it’s not the first time it’s been done about D-day. People think that it doesn’t matter who’s in the photograph.”
As well as stamps marking D-day, the Best of British series planned by the Royal Mail for 2019 will also include special stamps marking the bicentenaries of the births of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, as well as stamps depicting Royal Navy ships, engineering, forests, and British birds of prey.
