Isle of Man (IOM)
An island in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. Capital: Douglas. Area: 572,000 Kms, Population:75,000.
Offshore banking, manufacturing, and tourism are key sectors of the economy. The government's policy of offering incentives to high-technology companies and financial institutions to locate on the island has paid off in expanding employment opportunities in high-income industries. As a result, agriculture and fishing, once the mainstays of the economy, have declined in their shares of GDP. Trade is mostly with the UK. The Isle of Man enjoys free access to EU markets.
Part of the Norwegian Kingdom of the Hebrides until the 13th century when it was ceded to Scotland, the isle came under the British crown in 1765. Current concerns include reviving the almost extinct Manx Gaelic language.
Postal History
There is little knowledge of the postal arrangements while the island was in the hands of the Earl of Derby. In 1765 the Act of Revestment which returned the island to the British Crown led to an official packet service from Whitehaven to Douglas. Until 1822 Douglas was a sub-office of Whitehaven, but in that year the packet service was moved to Liverpool and Douglas became a post town.
The first hand stamp is known to have been issued before 1767 and markings continued in the normal provincial style, though worded 'Isle of man' Between 1832 and 1840 there was a Penny Post in operation on the isle of Man with receiving offices at Castletown, Peel & Ramsey, as well as Douglas itself.
Issued with a Maltese Cross postmark in the beginning, the numeral 407 was used in Douglas from 1844 and later (1851) 036 and 37 were allocated to Ramsey & Castletown.
During World War I a number of prison-of-war camps were established on the island. The only one which had its own post office was Knockaloe, though others had their own cachets. The island served a similar purpose in World War II.
Continued to use British and regional stamps under control of the North west Postal RRegion until postal independence was achieved in 1973.
Link to Comprehensive Price List of Isle of Man (IOM) Issues
• Sydney Philatelics • P.O. Box 122 Milton NSW 2538 •
• Phone: +61 (0)2 4455 4011 • Fax: +61 (0)2 8572 9911 •
• E-mail:info@stampsaustralia.com.au •
