The island is off the Tenby coastline in Pembrokeshire, and is only accessable via ferry. The island is famous as a tourist attraction and its Monastery has become the focal point of the island.

The stamps are used for the mail to be carried on the main ferry and are collected by Royal Mail for distribution. Due to this fact, mail sent from the island, must contain a Caldey Island stamp and a standard Royal Mail stamp for the final leg of its journey.

I am still awaiting full details, but information received so far indicates that due to financial and legal reasons, the postal service has now apparently now become a full postal administration. This technically makes it the smallest in the world!

The Island has only ever produced four stamps for postage from the island. In 1976 the first stamp was produced which was yellow, and featured St Illtuds Church, followed by a Gold stamp featuring Caldey Abbey to celebrate the Golden Jubilee in 1979. In 1982 a blue stamp was issued featuring the Monastery Church, and the final stamp to be issued was in 2001 featuring Caldey Lighthouse.

All of the stamps are still available for purchase from the island, and are available in a presentation pack at a cost of £1.50. The stamps have no real value other than the transport of post from the island, but have become very popular with collectors.

Mark Steele

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