2017

Centenary of WWI

Post Office Pack

This stamp issue is the fourth in the five-year series commemorating World War I. It represents some of the main events of 1917, most notably the Third Battle of Ypres. In this series of actions in Flanders, Australian troops were effective for their part in taking ground, but Ypres was a costly offensive, with 38,000 Australian lives lost. The Australian Flying Corps made its first flights over France in 1917, the war in the air expanding from the Middle East to the Western Front. In the east in 1917, Australia’s mounted forces, which had already secured the Suez Canal, participated in the advance into Palestine, fighting in actions at Gaza, Beersheba and Jerusalem.

This stamp issue also represents aspects that shaped Australia’s broader contribution to the war. Bitter weather and incessant rains in Europe turned battlefields into lakes of mud, and soldiers suffered terribly from fungal “trench foot” and freezing conditions. On the home front, an army of women and care agencies, such as the Red Cross and the Comforts Fund, knitted, sewed, fundraised and packaged goods to support the troops.

Technical details

• Issue date: 18 April 2017
• FDI withdrawal date: 16 May 2017
• Denominations: 5 x $1
• Stamp and minisheet design: Phil Ellett, Creative Ethos
• Product design: Sonia Young, Australia Post Design Studio
• Printer: Ego
• Paper (gummed): Tullis Russell Red Phosphor
• Paper (self-adhesive): B100
• Printing process: Offset lithography
• Stamp size: 35mm x 35mm
• Minisheet size: 170mm x 80mm
• Perforations: 14.28 x 14.28
• Sheet layout: Module of 50
• FDI postmark: Canberra, ACT 2600
• Issue withdrawal date: 31 October 2017