2009 - Alderney Bees Date of issue: 26 February 2009. Our Alderney Bees edition features beautifully detailed artwork depicting a variety of bee species pictured within Alderney settings. A hint at the bee’s habits is often given by its ‘common name’ and this is demonstrated well in a number of the bees featured in this issue. We must be thankful to these tiny insects; as bees pollination is vital to our food ch...

2008 - Aurigny 40 Years 1968 - 2008 Date of issue: 31 October 2008. The island of Alderney is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the third largest of the Channel Islands, only three-and-a-half miles long, one-and-a-half wide, its population is less than 3,000. Its inhabitants have always been fiercely independent and happy to be relatively remote, and since the late 1960s have been safe in the knowledge that the airline that b...

2008 - Alderney Resident Raptors Most people know what a bird of prey is, but wouldn’t necessarily know the term ‘raptor’, which means the same thing. Yet it somehow conveys the aggressive nature of these birds, which may be elegant and impressive to us as they go about satisfying their hunger, but do so in a ruthless way that we wouldn’t like to see in a human. In order to survive, these airborne assassins need a ready supply ...

2008 - Alderney Butterflies Date of issue: 28 February 2008. Of all the world's creatures (and this is quite a claim), butterflies must be among the favourites. Beautiful, elegant and so delicate that we want to take care of them, butterflies enjoy an entirely positive reputation. When we see one, we're not irritated but charmed. They don't buzz around threateningly like certain other flying insects and if one should land o...

2008 - 25 Years of Alderney Stamps 1983 - 2008 Date of issue: 14 June 2008. The third-largest of the Channel Islands, this year Alderney celebrates 25 years of issuing stamps. As you might expect, the first set of definitives – 17 of them – gave the world a pictorial look at the island, courtesy of the designer, Gordon Drummond. The illustrations ranged from a map to some beaches and from a lighthouse to a lifeboat. Since that first issue, the...

2007 - Just So Stories Date of issue: 25 October 2007. Rudyard Kipling was born in India and much of his work reflects the privileged and faintly bizarre life led by his family and their fellow expatriates. The Just So Stories are delightful little entertainments for youngsters, written for Kipling's eldest daughter, Josephine, and originally accompanied by illustrations by the author himself. In each case once t...

2007 - Alderney Resident Passerines Date of issue: 24 May 2007 Despite - and in many cases because of - man’s heavy fortification of the island, Alderney’s wildlife continues to thrive and this is no more widely seen than in its bird population. While seabirds have made the coast, cliffs, beaches and offshore rocky outposts their home, resident passerines have taken advantage of the wild commons, domestic gardens and even the aban...

2007 - Alderney Ramsar Date of Issue: 8th March 2007. On 25 August 2005, the United Nations officially recognised Alderney's west coast and the Burhou Islands as wetlands of worldwide importance. It became the first designated Ramsar site in the Bailiwick. The site - entitled Alderney West Coast and the Burhou Islands - extends to 1,500 hectares (some 600n hectares more than mainland Alderney) and includes the waters...

2007 - Alderney Definitives 2 - Corals and Anemones Many people will be familiar with one or two species of anemone, but they are just a tiny part of the fascinating and colourful group of sea creatures that also include corals. The family resemblance is not always obvious but all share the same basic structure of a polyp with a central mouth surrounded by stinging tentacles.  Some live fused together, such as the Colonial Anemone and Red Fi...

2006 - The Once And Future King - T.H. White 1906 - 1964 Date of Issue: 16 February 2006. This year celebrates the centenary of the birth of T.H. White, author and Alderney resident. Through this set of six stamps designed by Nick Watton, Alderney pays homage to the Once and Future King, perhaps the finest testament to the dazzling imagination of this extraordinary writer. The 29p stamp depicts King Arthur. He has just pulled Excalibur from the stone a...

2006 - Corals and Anemones Date of Issue: 2nd November 2006. Of all the wonderful marine creatures living in the cool, clear waters around Alderney, the sea corals and anemones are without doubt the most colourful. Together with jellyfish they belong to the phylum Cnidaria, which references the cnida, or stinging cells, that they all possess. Sea AnemonesAnemones consist of a central column, containing the mouth and dige...

2005 - Trafalgar Stamp series Date of Issue: 9 May 2005. As part of the SeaAlderney 2005 marketing theme, the island has issued a new set of 6 stamps commemorating the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar and Admiral Horatio Nelson` famous victory over the Franco-Spanish fleet on 21 October 1805. Designed by Shaun Shackleton, the 26p shows Nelson in full-dress uniform. The 32p value features HMS Victory proudly lead...

2005 - The Little Mermaid Date of Issue: 3 February 2005. Alderney is endorsing its 2005 ``Sea Alderney`` tourism theme and the nautical theme of this year` Alderney Week with a new set of stamps from Alderney features Hans Christian Anderson` classic tale ``The Little Mermaid``. Designed by Nick Watton, this enchanting 5-stamp set commemorates the bicentenary of Hans Christian Anderson whose magical and immortal tale ``T...

2005 - The Homecoming Date of Issue: 27 October 2005. Alderney is commemorating the 60th anniversary of the homecoming - after mass evacuation of the island in 1940, with a special £2 stamp. The miniature sheet featuring a £2 stamp designed by Peter Furness, depicts the sun setting over the island, just as it would have done all those years ago on 15 December 1945 and features the wording: ``The homecoming of Alderne...

2005 - Migrating Birds - Part 4 - Waders Date of Issue: 21 July 2005. The fourth and final part of Alderney's Migrating Birds series concentrates on six wading birds and was designed by Andrew Robinson. The 26p stamp depicts the Little Stint with Essex Castle in the background. The 32p stamp shows the Greenshank observing the view at Platte Saline. The Golden Plover, flying over Fort Clonque, features on the 36p stamp. The 40p value s...