Representatives from IOMPO were positioned in the private reception on Horse Guards Parade, and surrounded by many hundreds of RAF Officers, being very moved to meet officers young and old, their families and special guests including Air Vice Marshal Murray, Controller of the RAFBF, who worked with IOMPO on the issue of the RAF100 Stamps. It was the greatest flypast likely to be witnessed in our lifetimes.
The RAF100 stamp collection was presented to pilots and crew of many of the aircraft on display and Ben Glazier of Glazier Design, who designed the stamps, had the opportunity to show them to the representatives of Lockheed Martin, who built the incredible new F35. Ben's Grandfather Geoffrey Glazier was a Royal Flying Corps pilot who became an RAF officer on the first day of the RAF in 1918. Ben was able to take Geoffrey's medals, pilot wings and a photograph with him to show to the crews, which included young Air Force officers dressed in costumes of the era.
During the flypast, something very special happened. On board one of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight aircraft were 500 sheets of the official RAF 100 Stamps. These sheets of stamps flew in the greatest RAF Flypast and are now part of history. They flew over tens of thousands of people in London and directly over Buckingham Palace, the Queen and the Royal Family and very few people will have the opportunity to own one of these pieces of history.
It was an incredibly proud moment for IOMPO to have been a part of this extraordinary event, which was an honour for the Isle of Man, the Post Office and everyone involved.