Description

“Royal Wedding, 29th July, 1981” overprint and 1p surcharge on the 2d stamp from the Lihou local issue of 18 July 1966.

By 1981, Lihou stamps could no longer be used for a local postal service, such activities having been banned once Guernsey gained its postal independence in 1969. However, local stamp catalogues still list this Royal Wedding stamp as a legitimate Lihou issue, even though it had no postal validity on the island.

U/M / Unmounted Mint / MNH / Mint Never Hinged.

About Lihou

Part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, Lihou is a small island, just 15.6 hectares in size, that is rich in marine and birdlife and accessed by a tidal causeway off the west coast of Guernsey itself.

Lihou has been owned by the States of Guernsey since 1995, who now manage the island and guarantee access to Guernsey residents and visitors. Lihou House, the only building on the island in active use, is managed by Lihou Charitable Trust as accommodation for school, youth and other groups.

Compared to other Channel Islands, such as Herm or Jethou, Lihou's stamp-issuing history was relatively short. During the tenancy of Lt Col Patrick Wootton, a set of five stamps, plus a souvenir sheet, was issued on 18 July 1966 as a means of raising funds for the Lihou Youth Project, a Christian project intended to "encourage young men and women to take a real interest in country pursuits and scientific activities", and, it appears, to pay for mail posted on Lihou to be ferried privately to the GPO sorting office on Guernsey.

No further original Lihou stamps were produced, though the island proprietor authorised a 1967 overprinted set to mark the SS Torrey Canyon oil spill disaster, which had polluted the rocks and beaches of Lihou.

Islands within the Bailiwick were no longer permitted to produce their own local stamps once Guernsey gained its postal independence on 1 October 1969, an occasion that Lihou marked with a "Big Brother takes over!" last-day cover on 30 September. However, Lihou stamps can be found with values overprinted in decimal currency, for use during the 1971 UK postal strike.

Lihou stamps bearing overprints for much more recent events - such as the 2010 engagement of Prince William and Kate Middleton - are presumably entirely unofficial. Similarly, labels inscribed Lihou that date from 2012 and after also appear to be unofficial fantasy issues.