A commemorative cover honouring Wilfred Owen has been released by the British Forces Philatelic Service to remember his death in action 100 years ago today – on 4 November 1918.
On the Centenary, a special handstamp featuring the inscription on the war poet’s headstone has been used to cancel the Royal Mail’s WW1 issue first class stamp.
BFPS sold the limited edition of 100 covers on a ‘first come, first served’ basis, as part of its fund-raising mission for services’ charities.
Wilfred Owen, a lieutenant in 2nd Batallion Manchester Regiment, was killed at the start of the last major Allied offensive of the First World War, a push from Northern France into Belgium.
He fell on 4 November 1918 – one week before the Armistice – while leading his men during the crossing of the Sambre-Oise Canal in the village of Ors. For his actions in the breaking of the Hindenburg Line a month earlier, he was awarded the Military Cross for conspicuous gallantry.
Wilfred Owen, who was 25, is buried at Ors Communal Cemetery, in a grave cared for by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The epitaph on his headstone, derived from his poem The End, reads: ‘Shall life renew these bodies? Of a Truth All death will he annul.’
The British Forces Philatelic Service (BFPS) fundraises for services’ charities through philately and is a not-for-profit organisation run by a small team of volunteers, all of whom are Veterans.
Images ©, courtesy of BFPS
Posted by: CN Editorial Team