Malta stamps, during 1948, celebrated the resumption of internal self-government in the colony.
Between 1933 and 1946, the constitution of Malta was suspended, and the islands returned British rule as a crown colony. Malta was very important to the Allied nations during World War II. The British Mediterranean Fleet was headquartered there early in the the war. The Allied invasion of Sicily was launched from Malta. And prior to the Yalta Conference, Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin had met in Malta to begin discussions on the post-war division of Europe.
In 1947, a new constitution was implemented and internal self-government in Malta was re-established.
What happens now? Of course, we have to take ALL the definitive Malta stamps of King George VI that are in existence and overprint them, in celebration of the colony's new political status!
On November 25, 1948, all the concurrent pictorial definitive stamps of King George VI were overprinted "SELF-GOVERNMENT / 1947".
Some of the lower-denominations of this series were also issued, in new colors, on January 8, 1953, and they were overprinted with the same overprint. They are included above.
The vignettes on these stamps have already been described in previous sections of this category.
1/4 P. (1948 - Scott #208) - Valletta Harbor.
1/2 P. (1948 - Scott #209) - Fort St. Angelo.
1 P. (1948 - Scott #210) - Verdala Palace.
1 P. (1953 - Scott #235) - Verdala Palace.
1 1/2 P. (1948 - Scott #211) - Neolithic Temple Ruins.
1 1/2 P. (1953 - Scott #236) - Neolithic Temple Ruins.
2 P. (1948 - Scott #212) - Victoria and Citadel, Gozo Island.
2 P. (1953 - Scott #237) - Victoria and Citadel, Gozo Island.
2 1/2 P. (1948 - Scott #213) - De L'Isle Adam Entering Mdina.
2 1/2 P. (1953 - Scott #238) - De L'Isle Adam Entering Mdina.
3 P. (1948 - Scott #214) - St. John's Co-Cathedral.
3 P. (1953 - Scott #239) - St. John's Co-Cathedral.
4 1/2 P. (1948 - Scott #215) - Megalithic Temple at Mnaidra.
4 1/2 P. (1953 - Scott #240) - Megalithic Temple at Mnaidra.
6 P. (1948 - Scott #216) - Statue of Antonio Manoel de Vilhena.
1 S. (1948 - Scott #217) - Woman in Faldetta.
1 1/2 S. (1948 - Scott #218) - St. Publius.
2 S. (1948 - Scott #219) - Mdina Cathedral.
2 1/2 S. (1948 - Scott #220) - Statue of Neptune.
5 S. (1948 - Scott #221) - Palace Square.
10 S. (1948 - Scott #222) - St. Paul.
The four Malta stamps shown above were issued on October 10, 1949 to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the founding of the Universal Postal Union.
The designs are as follows:
2 1/2 P. - Mercury and symbols of communications.
3 P. - Plane, ship, and hemispheres.
6 P. - Mercury scattering letters over the globe.
1 S. - UPU Monument in Bern, Switzerland.
The three stamps shown above were issued on December 1, 1950, to celebrate the Visit of Princess Elizabeth.
Prince Philip and Princess Elizabeth Villa Guardamangia, Malta (1950)
Prince Philip was stationed in Malta with the Royal Navy from
1949-1951. Princess Elizabeth spent several months there, staying at
the Villa Guardamangia, during that time period.
above was taken just a few days before her 24th birthday in 1950. It
was during this visit that the royal couple announced that Princess
Elizabeth was pregnant with their second child (Prince Charles).
The three stamps shown above were issued on July 12, 1951, to commemorate the 700th Anniversary of the Presentation of the Scapular to St. Simon Stock.
Simon Stock was a 13th Century Englishman and an early Prior General of the Carmelite Order. The Virgin Mary is traditionally said to have appeared to him and given him the Carmelite habit, the Brown Scapular,
with a promise that those who die wearing it will be saved.
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All of the stamps of King George VI were printed on paper with WMK 4 - the Multiple Crown and Script CA watermark, as shown in the image above.
The two Malta stamps shown above were issued on January 4, 1949 to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Wedding of Prince Albert Frederick Arthur George (King George VI) and Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon (Queen Elizabeth).