Links to other sources

The best place to start researching British postal history is, of course, The Royal Mail Archive. Use our online catalogue to search for material in our collection. However, these other organisations hold records useful for postal research in the British Isles.

Other postal archives

The National Archives (TNA)
The National Archives of England and Wales. The Catalogue carries references to Royal Mail Archive material because it is Public Record, as the postal service was formerly a government department. Records of other organisations, including Santander who hold Girobank records are included in the discovery catalogue.

National Records of Scotland
Holds records relating to Royal Mail in Scotland.

Public Record Office Northern Ireland
Holds records relating to Royal Mail in Northern Ireland.

The National Archives of Ireland
Information on the postal service in The Republic of Ireland.

BT Group Archives
BT Group Archives preserves the historical information of British Telecommunications plc and its predecessors – which includes the Post Office – from the early part of the 19th century up to the present day.

National Sound Archive at the British Library
Holds oral history recordings of postal workers from the ‘Post Office Lives’ project.

British Film Institute
Holds the original films from the GPO Film Unit.

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Other related archive websites

British Pathé
The world’s first digital news archive. You can preview items from the entire 3500 hour British Pathé Film Archive from 1896 to 1970, including many things related to the Post Office.

Genuki
Information about UK and Ireland genealogy with links to sources all over the country.

Historical Directories
A digital library of local and trade directories for England and Wales, from 1750 to 1919. It contains high quality reproductions of comparatively rare books, essential tools for research into local and genealogical history.

Legislation.gov.uk
The official home of revised enacted UK legislation 1267 to present.

The London Gazette
Official Newspaper of Record for the UK and a modern, efficient way to disseminate and record official, regulatory and legal information.

Société Jersiaise
The Société Jersiaise is a historic society in Jersey, Channel Islands, founded in 1873 for the study of archaeology, history, natural history, the ancient language and the conservation of the environment. Their online Photographic Archive catalogue contains over 350 images documenting the history of the postal service on the island.

National Library of Scotland – Scottish Postal Directories
Annual directories, including an alphabetical list of a town’s or county’s inhabitants, enabling you to easily find out where people lived at a certain time.

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Related UK museums and websites

Culture 24
Gateway to over 2,500 UK museums, galleries and heritage attractions.

Bath Postal Museum, UK
Set up as an independent museum in 1979, now located at 27 Northgate Street in Bath since late 2006.

Porthcurno Telegraph Museum, Cornwall
Set up in 1997 by Cable & Wireless to preserve the important historical buildings and collections at Porthcurno.

Imperial War Museum
Holds oral history recordings relating to Post Office Rifles.

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Related worldwide museums

• Smithsonian Postal Museum National Postal Museum, USA
• Canadian Postal Museum
• Swiss Communication Museum
• German Postal Museum
• Swedish Postal Museum
• The Spellman Museum of Stamps and Postal History, USA
• The Finland Postal Museum
• L’Adresse Musee de La Poste, France

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Philatelic Organisations

• The British Library Philatelic Collection
• The Royal Philatelic Collection
• The Great Britain Philatelic Society
• The Royal Philatelic Society London
• Association of British Philatelic Societies
• National Philatelic Society
• Forces Postal History Society
• STAMPEX – The Philatelic Traders Society bi-annual stamp show.
• Philatelic Database

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Specialist postal societies, groups and organisations

GB Cover Collector
A reference for Illustrated Postmark Event covers, Plain Postmark Event covers and Slogans.

The Post Office Vehicle Club
The POVC was formed in 1962, and aims to build up a complete historical record of all vehicles operated from 1906 to the present day.

Postal Mechanisation Study Circle
The PMSC studies all aspects of the automation and mechanisation of the posts around the world.

Letter Box Study Group
The LBSG study the history and development of the British letter box, in all its forms.

The TPO and Seapost Society
For enthusiasts of the Travelling Post Office mail trains and transport of mail by sea.

The British Forces Post Office
This website provides background to the origins and continuing work of the BFPO.

Positively Postal
The Positively Postal website illustrates all things connected to the postal system including letters, stamps, post offices, postal vehicles, post office advertising and postal workers amongst others.

The Collectors Weekly
The Best of Antiques, Vintage and Collecting.

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The Postal Museum cannot be held responsible for any material found on linked websites.