Shared description
Post 1952 postboxes in Scotland
When the late queen acceded to the throne in February 1952, she chose the title Queen Elizabeth II which was reflected in her royal cypher, which took the Latin form 'EIIR'. As was traditional this was applied to newly installed postboxes throughout the UK.
Unfortunately this was to cause problems to some people in Scotland who objected on the grounds that there had never been a Queen Elizabeth I of Scotland. This led to vandalism to those postboxes which bore the new EIIR cypher. One particular example in Edinburgh was subjected to repeated attacks before being blown to pieces less than three months after its unveiling.
It therefore came to pass that any new postbox installed in Scotland from 1953 would bear the Crown of Scotland image rather than the EIIR cypher.
A post box with the EIIR cypher installed in Dunoon by 'error' in 2018 had to be replaced shortly after being discovered. There may however be still some examples in Scotland which bear the EIIR cypher which have yet to be discovered.
Strangely there seems to be no objections to the postboxes bearing the cyphers of Edward VII and Edward VIII on similar grounds.
Unfortunately this was to cause problems to some people in Scotland who objected on the grounds that there had never been a Queen Elizabeth I of Scotland. This led to vandalism to those postboxes which bore the new EIIR cypher. One particular example in Edinburgh was subjected to repeated attacks before being blown to pieces less than three months after its unveiling.
It therefore came to pass that any new postbox installed in Scotland from 1953 would bear the Crown of Scotland image rather than the EIIR cypher.
A post box with the EIIR cypher installed in Dunoon by 'error' in 2018 had to be replaced shortly after being discovered. There may however be still some examples in Scotland which bear the EIIR cypher which have yet to be discovered.
Strangely there seems to be no objections to the postboxes bearing the cyphers of Edward VII and Edward VIII on similar grounds.
by JThomas
Created: Sun, 3 Oct 2021, Updated: Sun, 6 Oct 2024
333 images use this description. Preview sample shown below:
... and 308 more images.
Shared descriptions
This shared description
The 'Shared Description' text on this page is © copyright 2021 JThomas.
Shared descriptions are specifically licensed so that contributors can reuse them on their own images, without restriction.
About shared descriptions
These Shared Descriptions are common to multiple images.
For example, you can create a generic description for an object shown in a photo, and reuse the description on all photos of the object. All descriptions are public and shared between contributors, i.e. you can reuse a description created by others, just as they can use yours.
Explore images
View images using "Post 1952 postboxes in Scotland" Shared Descriptions
View images using just this shared description
There are multiple descriptions with the same titleView images mentioning the words [Post 1952 postboxes in Scotland] anywhere in text
Other shared descriptions
Others with same title
- Post 1952 postboxes in Scotland
By JThomas. Used on 2 images
Related descriptions
- The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo
By David Dixon. Used on 22 images
- The Wreck of the 'Crown of London'
By Anne Burgess. Used on 17 images
- HMS Queen Elizabeth in the Firth of Forth
By M J Richardson. Used on 71 images
- The Queen visits Margate
By Oast House Archive. Used on 24 images
- Queen Elizabeth Park (Farnborough)
By Mr Ignavy. Used on 131 images
- Glasgow Queen Street railway station redevelopment
By Thomas Nugent. Used on 46 images
The above selections are automatic and approximate, it might not always select closely matching descriptions