The British General Post Office has instructed its staff to keep supplies of alternate postage stamps for customers who refuse to accept the new “Battle of Britain” stamps which show a swastika on the wreckage of a German plane shot down in the Second World War.
In a confidential memorandum, the Post Office points out to the staff that “there has been some controversy” over the stamps. The Department states: “Customers who refuse these stamps should be offered any current four penny commemorative or ordinary postage stamp as an alternative. In any case, supplies of normal issue stamps should be kept on hand at counters for people who ask specifically for them.” Leaders of British Jewry and members of Parliament had protested the use of the stamp, but it was put on sale in spite of the protests.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
