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Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland
  Press Statements

Royal Mail And An Post Urged To Issue Special Somme Stamp

24 October 2005

The Orange Order has called on both the Royal Mail and An Post in the Irish Republic to consider a special stamp to mark the 90th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme next year.

Thousands of Ulstermen along with others from Great Britain and the south of Ireland were killed or wounded at the Somme in July 1916. The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers alone had 2,208 fatalities, more than any British regiment has ever suffered in one single day of action.

"The Somme was one of the bloodiest battles in military history in which men from all over the island of Ireland displayed almost unimaginable courage", said the Orange Order's Grand Master, Robert Saulters. "Because of the prominent role played by the 36th Ulster Division, naturally thousands of people in Northern Ireland will be making a special effort to mark next year's 90th anniversary of the battle - but we believe the Somme deserves even wider recognition and a special commemorative stamp is the obvious answer."

While the Royal Mail says commemorative stamps are usually only considered for 50th anniversaries or multiples of 50, the idea of a special Somme stamp hasn't been entirely ruled out. There's been no reply yet from Dublin to the Order's request but Mr. Saulters said he was hoping for a positive response.

"Given the number of men from what is now the Irish Republic who died in the battle, I'm sure the Irish authorities will recognize that a commemorative stamp is one way to ensure that their courage and self-sacrifice isn't airbrushed out of the national memory."


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