Royal Mail unveils special-edition black postboxes to mark Black History Month

Royal Mail will unveil four special-edition black postboxes to mark the beginning of this year’s Black History Month.

The postboxes, which are decorated with a gold trim, are intended to honour black Britons past and present, and to pay tribute to black Royal Mail staff around the country.

Postboxes have been installed in each UK nation ahead of the first day of Black History Month and will remain open for use until the end of October.

England’s box is located on Acre Lane in Brixton, south London, close to the Black Cultural Archives, while Scotland’s is situated near the University of Glasgow on Byres Road.

In Wales and Northern Ireland the boxes can be found on King Edward VII Avenue, near Cardiff City Hall, and Bedford Street, close to Belfast City Hall, respectively.

Each postbox features a notable black Briton or a piece of work by them, with these images all previously appearing on a special stamp. Letter-writers keen to find out more about these figures can use their smartphone to scan a QR code on the boxes, which will direct them to an online gallery on the Royal Mail website.

Celebrating black people

London’s box is decorated with the image Queuing at the RA by Yinka Shonibare, one of six artists commissioned by Royal Mail to produce original pieces of work for a set of special stamps issued to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Academy in 2018.

Taking pride of place in Glasgow is an image of footballer Walter Tull, who had signed on to become the first black player for Rangers, before he was killed in action in his post within the British Army in 1918.

Nurse and businesswoman Mary Seacole, who treated British troops during the Crimean War, appears on the Cardiff box, while comedian Lenny Henry, co-founder of Comic Relief, can be seen on the Belfast receptacle.

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