The British Postal Museum & Archive Podcast

Each year the BPMA presents a series of talks in which specialists and experts explore different aspects of philately and the British postal service. This podcast enables you to listen to or download a selection of these.

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Episodes

#6 Dr Scott Anthony - Stephen Tallents and the GPO

Night Mail and the Valentines Day telegram were two innovations that bore the stamp of Sir Stephen Tallents' influence. Dr Scott Anthony, Director of the MA in Modern British History at Manchester University and author of the BFI Classics book on Night Mail, explains how and why the GPO became the patron of a brilliant generation of artists, filmmakers and poets, and in the process invented the new profession of public relations.

Recorded: 29 October 2009 | Duration: 31 minutes

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MP3 (12.4MB)

Further Reading
Dr Scott Anthony writes for the BPMA blog: Barnett Freedman, Stephen Tallents and the making of the Jubilee stamp, 13 October 2009

#5 Christine Earle - The Post Office Went to War

To mark the 7th Anniversary of the start of the Second World War, Christine Earle, Fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society London, explores the effect of the conflict on the General Post Office. Christine has been a thematic stamp collector for over twenty years, using stamps and philatelic material to tell a story. Her Post Office Went to War collection comprises a wealth of supporting material including GPO notices, ration books and saving stamps.

For copyright reasons we are unable to include the images referenced in this podcast.

Recorded: 29 September 2009 | Duration: 34 minutes

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MP3 (13.7MB)

#4 Peter Sutton - The Post Office During the First World War

Peter Sutton, Researcher, BPMA, discusses the complexities of the role of the Post Office during the First World War. At the start of 1914 the General Post Office was one of the largest employers in the world, but the Great War had a significant impact on the service. Post Office servants fought and died on the western front, designed and installed communication networks between the armies and England, paid separation allowances to the wives of servicemen away in the trenches and helped run the largest postal censorship operation in history.

Recorded at the Churchill Museum & Cabinet War Rooms as part of Last Post: Remembering the First World War.

Recorded: 5 March 2009 | Duration: 53 minutes

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MP3 (21.3MB)

#3 Dr Katherine Rake - Human Letters

On 23 February 1909, two suffragettes, Miss Solomon and Miss McLellan, posted themselves by express messenger to 10 Downing Street, in an attempt to deliver a message personally to Prime Minister Herbert Asquith. Dr Katherine Rake, Director of the Fawcett Society, marks the centenary of this event with an exploration of the progress made by the equality movement since then.

For copyright reasons we are unable to include the images referenced in this podcast.

Recorded: 26 February 2009 | Duration: 31 minutes

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MP3 (12.4 MB)

#2 Mark Crowley - The Post Office during the Second World War

Mark Crowley traces the role of the Post Office during the Second World War. The organisation became an integral part of British life, and an essential component of the war effort both on the home and military front. The war brought issues of employment, especially the employment of women, and technological development to the forefront of the Post Office's priorities.

Recorded at the Churchill Museum & Cabinet War Rooms as part of Last Post: Remembering the First World War.

For copyright reasons we are unable to include the images referenced in this podcast.

Recorded: 16 February 2009 | Duration: 57 minutes

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MP3 (23.5MB)

#1 Tony Benn - Girobank: The 40th Anniversary of The People's Bank

Prime Minister Harold Wilson opened the National Girobank in Liverpool in 1968. This landmark initiative extended banking services to people on low incomes and revolutionised the transfer of money in Britain. National Giro was set up to be computerised from the outset, and embraced technology such as optical character reading and telephone banking.

The project was initiated by Tony Benn, during his period of office as Postmaster General. The BPMA was delighted to welcome him to talk about the development and the history of The People's Bank.

Recorded: 16 October 2008 | Duration: 45 minutes

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MP3 (18.0MB) | Enhanced MP4 (67.8MB) | Enhanced WMV (61.1MB)

From the blog

Sir Stephen Tallents and the GPO, 26 February 2010
Two new additions to the website, 29 January 2010
The Post Office during the First World War, 30 October 2009
Human letters: The Post Office and women's suffrage, 2 October 2009
New podcast goes online: The Post Office during the Second World War, 26 August 2009
BPMA launches podcast, 31 July 2009

Disclaimer

The views expressed in our podcasts are not necessarily those of the BPMA or Royal Mail.