The first issue of 1974 came on the 27th February, and was the second issue in the British Trees set. It was a 10p stamp depicting a Horse Chestnut tree (Aesculus Hippocastanum), designed by David Gentleman.

The Horse Chestnut was introduced into Western Europe from Istanbul in the 16th Century and it is said that it derives from the practice in eastern countries of using its fruit to cure horses of a cough.

The stamp, and the series was not deemed a success and just over 7 million of the stamps were produced. Any plans for further releases of stamps from the same series were scrapped, although this was mostly due to the lack of support for the tree planting scheme.

The next issue arrived on the 24th April and was a commemoration of Fire Engines., more specifically the Bicentenary of the Fire Service (Metropolis) Act of 1774 and the designs depict historical fire fighting appliances.

The 3 1/2p value depicts the first motor powered fire-engine, made by Merryweather & sons of Greenwich for the Finchley Fire Brigade. The 5 1/2p shows the Sutherland Fire Engine, which was a horse drawn appliance which won first prize for steam operated pumps at Crystal Palace in 1863. It was used until 1918 and has been lovingly restored, and now resides in the Science Museum, London. The 8p shows the first steam powered fire-engine, which was invented by John Braithwaite in 1830. The final stamp, 10p, shows the first manual fire-engine made by Samuel Phillips in 1766.

The next issue for was the U.P.U Centenary and was issued on 12th June. The universal postal union was founded on the 9th October 1874 and this issue marking its centenary shows steps in the development of overseas mail.

The 3 1/2p depicts the P & O Packet ship Peninsular from 1888, the 5 1/2p Farman Biplane from 1911, the 8p Airmail-Blue van and Postbox from 1930 and the 10p shows the Imperial Airways “C” Class Flying Boat from 1937.

All the stamps included postmarks reproductions. These included the Southampton “Packet Letter” cancelation of 1869, the first “Aerial Post” cancellation on the London-Windsor flights of 1911, the London “F.S. Air mail” cancellation of 1931 and the Southampton “Air Port” cancellation of 1937.

The stamps were designed by Rosalind Dease and were often confused with the previous issue due to the similar designs.

Interestingly, 12th June was Great Britain Day at the U.P.U Centenary International Exhibition at Basle, and the Post Office stand sold first day covers with the Basle “Internaba” cachet, which with the addition of a swiss stamp, could then be posted back to the UK.

The next issue arrived on thee 10th July and commemorated Medieval Warriors, designed by Fritz Wegner.

The 4 1/2p honours Robert The Bruce, Earl of Carrick, who won independence for Scotland from Edward I at the battle of Bannockburn in 1314. This stamp commemorated the 700th anniversary of his birth. The 5 1/2p depicts Owain Glyndwr who was pronounced as the Prince Of Wales in 1400. He united the independent divisions of Wales and summoned two All-Wales Parliaments, but strangely disappeared in 1416, and his life became a legend and the subject of many rumours and stories.

The 8p shows King Henry the Fifth who won the famous battle of Agincourt in 1415 and conquered Normandy, after which he was proclaimed air to the throne, but died suddenly at the age of 35. The 10p depicts the Black Prince, who was the oldest son of Edward III and an infamous soldier who won many victories over the French, including most notably the capture of Calais in 1347 and Poitiers in 1356.

Due to a mistake at the Post Office, all of the values are known pre-released at Dulverton, Somerset, postmark the day before release, July 9th. Interestingly, the values and inscriptions are weaker on the first supplies which were issued in the presentation packs, although this was put down to dry prints owing to insufficient ink.

Winston Churchill was the subject of the next set of stamps, issued on 9th October and designed by Collis Clements and Edward Hughes. The issue celebrated the centenary of the birth of Sir Winston Churchill and covered his career from 1899 to 1942.

The 4 1/2p shows Churchill in his uniform of Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports in 1942. The 5 1/2p shows him with his trademark cigar from a photograph taken when he became Prime Minister in 1940. The 8p shows him in 1919 when he held the post of Secretary for War and Air, and finally the 10p shows him in the uniform of the South African Light Horse in 1899 when he was a war correspondent.

As well as all the usual releases, a souvenir pack was produced, which included a fully illustrated biography of Churchill, along with a set of stamps encased in a raised plastic wallet on the front cover.

The final issue of the year was the Christmas issue, released on 27th November and designed by the Peter Hatch Partnership. The issue featured scenes depicted by medieval craftsmen on church roof bosses.

The 3 1/2p showed “Adoration of the Magi” from York Minster c.1355, the 4 1/2p “The Nativity” from St Helen’s Church, Norfolk c.1480, the 8p “Virgin and Child” from St Marys Church, Ottery c.1350, and the 10p showed “Virgin and Child” from Worcester Cathedral c.1224.

The phosphor band on the 3 1/2p was first applied down the centre of the stamp but as this gave a poor phosphor response this was deliberately placed to the right between the roof boss and value. Many intermediate positions are known, although naturally either stamp can occur on first day covers and in presentation packs.

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