1966.BEC.0125th Anniversary of the Bechuanaland Royal Pioneer Corps
Bechuanaland Protectorate·1966
25th anniversary of the Bechuanaland Pioneers and Gunners / Bechuanaland Royal Pioneer Corps, 1 June 1966
Series details
Identity
- CodeSeries code YYYY.ENT.SS — year, 3-letter issuing entity, sequence (e.g. 1900.CGH.01).
1966.BEC.01- EntityPostal authority that issued the stamps (country, territory, or historical entity).
- Bechuanaland Protectorate (BEC)
- Year
- 1966-06-01
- Event
- 25th anniversary of the Bechuanaland Pioneers and Gunners / Bechuanaland Royal Pioneer Corps, 1 June 1966
- TypeIssue kind. Charity issue = postage + voluntary surcharge (e.g. 6+4), not an overprint.
- Commemorative
Production
- Designer
- Victor Whiteley
- Printer
- Harrison & Sons
- Process
- Photogravure
- PerforationsHole gauge between stamps (e.g. 12, 13½). Higher ≈ finer.
- 14½
Catalog numbers
- DomfilDomfil thematic catalog number (scouting).
- 966.5; 966.6; 966.7; 966.8
- ScottScott catalog number (Americas).
- GB-BE 210; GB-BE 211; GB-BE 212; GB-BE 213
- MichelMichel catalog number (Europe / DE).
- GB-BE 185; GB-BE 186; GB-BE 187; GB-BE 188
- YvertYvert & Tellier catalog number (FR).
- GB-BE 149; GB-BE 150; GB-BE 151; GB-BE 152
- Stanley GibbonsStanley Gibbons catalog number (UK / Commonwealth).
- GB-BE 198; GB-BE 199; GB-BE 200; GB-BE 201
History
On 1 June 1966 the Bechuanaland Protectorate issued a commemorative set for the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Bechuanaland Pioneers and Gunners, the wartime military formation associated with the Bechuanaland Royal Pioneer Corps. The unit had been raised in 1941. Each stamp carries a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II with St Edward’s Crown, the corps title, and the protectorate name at the foot.
The four values show a British Haslar smoke generator with Bechuana operators (2½ c), a bugler sounding the Last Post in the desert (5 c), a Bechuana gun-site in action (15 c), and the regimental cap badge with the motto Labor omnia vincit (35 c).
Victor Whiteley designed the set. Harrison & Sons printed it in photogravure, perforated 14½, on paper watermarked St Edward’s Crown Block CA.