The envelope below was damaged in the cancellation machine at Ilminster on 23rd March 1971, and repaired with Post Office tape.
During the seven week Postal strike in 1971, the Ilminster Postmaster Mr Withers continued a limited local mail delivery service. The strike began on 20th January and continued until 8th March 1971.
In September 2000 a postman at Ilminster was jailed after being caught stealing from letters.
Throughout the 1990s "TO PAY" stamps applied for Postage Due were left uncancelled at Ilminster.
This first cover has a fixed surcharge fee of 15p, plus the deficiency of 19p for a total of 34p.
The next item has the same handling fee of 15p for a total of 19p in this case.
The example below now has a "SURCHARGE" of 15p rather than a Handling Fee.
The Handling Fee increased to 20p from 8th July 1996, as did the second class postage rate.
By 2003 any Postage Due had to be paid for at the Delivery Office or a Post Office.
From 1979 mail from Ilminster went to Bristol for sorting and cancellation as witnessed by this postcard from dentists in Ilminster to an address in Ashill. The addressee had "Gone Away" so it was returned to Ilminster.
From 1988 to 1990 mail posted in Ilminster for an Ilminster address was sorted locally at Ilminster and cancelled with rubber packet cancels or obsolete handstamps.
The practice was short lived and was stopped by Royal Mail, the decision not being reversed despite protests by local residents in the newspapers and TV.
These first couple of sheets haven't been written up yet but they all relate to the payment of Council Rates, starting with 1960 (May and October) ...
... then 1961 and 1966. Sent as Printed Matter, the rate was 2d from ast June 1956, going up to 2½d on 1st October 1961 and 3d on 17th May 1965 ....
... and finally 1965 and 1967. The top cover has the inside of the dater inverted and has the time inserted but no year (the year can be deduced from the contents).
Here are the contents of the May 1960 rates cover, and the receipt for payment of £4 - 1s - 4d.
The first item was a key part of life in WW II, being a National Service certificate of registration, in this case for an Agricultural Worker.
The postal service carried on through WW 2 using the same cancels and postal stationery.
Below is an Advice of Delivery of a Registered Letter, sent within Ilminster in March 1946 - it travelled a distance of about a third of a mile.
The handstamps continued to be used, here is the "ILMINSTER / SOMERSET" double circle double-arc cancel in use from 1954 to 1969.
The first two covers here are censored in July and August 1916 from Ilminster to Switzerland.
Moving on to January 1917, the card below is from Montreal and has a poor example of the "ILMINSTER / SOMERSET" skeleton cancel from that period.
In February 1919, here is a postcard to Crewkerne with a single ring cancel.
... and then "a couple of "ILMINSTER / +" double circle double-arc cancels from 1922 and 1923.
By 1924 the cancel had been replaced with an "ILMINSTER / SOMERSET" double circle double-arc cancel (here are examples from 1924, 1925, 1926).
Not all items went via the Post Office, freight would have gone by the railway as evidenced by this receipt for cartage of wheat from 1925.
The "ILMINSTER / SOMERSET" double circle double-arc cancel was replaced by one with smaller lettering as shown on the postcard below from June 1930 ...
... and by this airmail from Ilminster to Buenos Aires that went via Paris (rather than via Germany).
The envelope below is from France to Ilminster in 1938 and was underfranked so charged postage due. It was probably franked at the domestic rather than international rate and has tax marks including a "T" in a triangle.
A few posts on Ilminster coming up .... starting with a 20mm single ring receiving mark from March 1886 on a postcard from Yeovil "Please let yr Chestnut mare be in the Sale Yard at abt 11 o'clock and much oblige. Also kindly let us know your reserve price."
From January 1888, here is a piece from a parcel from Ilminster to Cullompton in January 1888. The Post Office parcel service started on 1st August 1883. 6d was the parcel rate for 2-3 lb.
The "ILMINSTER / +" double circle double-arc cancel is shown here in use from 1903 to 1908.
Single ring cancels were also in use, as shown by these examples from 1912 and 1924.
Here are a couple of unadopted large registration etiquettes, the top from 1912 and the bottom one undated with a violet straight-line "ILMINSTER".
According to Ancestry, the Yandle family name was found in the UK, USA, and Canada between 1840 and 1920. In 1891 there were 58 Yandle families living in Somerset, about 43% of all the recorded Yandle families in the UK. Below are a couple of items relating to the Yandle family, starting with a parcel label from "T. Yandle, Minehead Dairy Supply" sent from Minehead to Buxton in May 1909.
The cover below from Bristol in January 1938 has been charged 2d postage due because one of the stamps was 'inadmissable'.
The first tranche of Queen Victoria stamps, those prior to the 1881 "postage and revenue" stamps, were invalidated from 1st June 1901. The Notice was published in The London Gazette on 19th April 1901.
Further Queen Victoria stamps were invalidated from 1st July 1915 by a Notice published in The London Gazette on 21st May 1915.
The information above came from an article by Douglas Muir in the GBPS Journal published in July/August 2002.
Here are two examples of the Frome 115 boxed mileage mark, both on free fronts. The first from August 1805 was franked "Bath" by the Bishop of Bath and Wells.
The second was franked by Lord John Thynne, I think in November 1807 though it could possibly be 1801.
The example of the Frome Parcel Post Label below also has an unclear date, it could be July 1902 or 1907.
The two examples of the Frome Krag machine cancel are from 1941 and 1943.
And finally a commemorative cover for the Frome & District Stamp Club in 2007. I'm not sure if the club is still active.
