User:The C of E/sor

Rhodesian stamps were originally printed under the colony's official name of Southern Rhodesia. During Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence, the Southern Rhodesian stamps continued to be used. However in 1966, they issued a commemorative "Independence" stamp.

The British viewed UDI as illegal and refused to recognise any stamps that asserted an independent Rhodesia. Successive Postmaster-Generals ruled that any pre-UDI Southern Rhodesian stamps were valid but any issued after that date or had been altered were not recognised as valid and were surcharged.

Following UDI on 11 November 1965, Rhodesia continued to use previously issued Southern Rhodesian stamps. On 8 December, they issued a commemorative independence stamp. In preparation for such an issue, a week prior the Postmaster-General Tony Benn declared that any such issue would be considered invalid and liable for surcharge. MI5 created parodies of the independence stamp with the assistance of Ted Proud with the words "illegal" printed before "independence" and "due" after "postage". These were posted in a diplomatic bag and distributed by Proud's niece, the deputy Postmaster-General of Rhodesia.

On 17 January 1966, Rhodesia amended the Southern Rhodesian stamps to include an overprint of "Independence 11 November 1965". The British informed the Universal Postal Union that they viewed these as invalid and informed local Post Offices to treat any letters with them on as if they had not been stamped. Often local Rhodesians would counter any surcharges by affixing "legal" Southern Rhodesian stamps in addition to the locally produced Rhodesian ones. They would also start affixing loyalty tags to support UDI or to thank South Africa for supplying them with oil despite UN sanctions.

In 1970, following their declaration as a republic, they issued new stamps in the newly decimalised Rhodesian dollar. The British reenforced their position that the new stamps were illegal. In preparation for this, the Post Office created a label to be affixed to all post from Rhodesia reading: "Southern Rhodesian Stamps. The Government has announced that stamps issued in Rhodesia of the kind used on this postal packet have no legal basis and has been surcharged accordingly". However, in October 1970, the Foreign Secretary Sir Alec Douglas-Home announced that Rhodesian post would no longer be surcharged.