# United Kingdom commemorative stamps 1990–1999

Commemorative stamps, postage stamps issued to honour or commemorate a place, event or person, have been released by the United Kingdom since 1924. Several sets were released during the decade of the 1990s.

## History

Postage stamps were first used in Great Britain on 6 May 1840, with the introduction of the world's first adhesive postage stamp, the Penny Black. Up until 1924, all British stamps depicted only the portrait of the reigning monarch, with the exception of the 'High Value' stamps, the so-called "Sea Horses" design issued in 1913, which were twice the size of normal stamps with added pictorial design.
In 1924, the first 'Commemorative' stamp was issued for the British Empire Exhibition. There were then occasional issues over the next thirty years, when the frequency of new issues became more regular. From the mid-sixties, in most years, six to nine sets of commemorative stamps have been issued every year. PHQ Cards, postcard sized reproductions of commemorative stamps, have also been issued to accompany every new set of stamps since the mid-seventies.
British Commemorative stamps issued between 1990 and 1999 :
| Issue Date | Issue details | Stamps in set | Designer(s) |
| 1990 ||||
| 23 January 1990 | 150th Anniversary of Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals | Four | |
| 6 February 1990 | Greetings Stamps "Smiles" | Ten | |
| 6 March 1990 | Europa & Glasgow 1990, European City of Culture | Four | |
| 10 April 1990 | 25th Anniversary of Queen's Award for Export & Technology | Two | |
| 3 May 1990 | "Stamp World 90" International Stamp Exhibition, (Miniature Sheet) | One (MS) | |
| 5 June 1990 | 150th Anniversary of Kew Gardens | Four | |
| 10 July 1990 | 150th Birth anniversary of Thomas Hardy (Author) | One | |
| 2 August 1990 | 90th Birthday of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother | Four | |
| 11 September 1990 | Gallantry Awards | Five | |
| 16 October 1990 | Astronomy | Four | J. Fisher |
| 13 November 1990 | Christmas | Five | |
| 1991 ||||
| 8 January 1991 | Dogs – Paintings by George Stubbs | Five | |
| 5 February 1991 | Greetings Stamps "Good Luck" | Ten | |
| 5 March 1991 | Scientific Achievements | Four: Charles Babbage (computing), Michael Faraday (electricity), Frank Whittle (jet engine), Robert Watson-Watt (radar). | J Harwood |
| 26 March 1991 | Greetings Stamps "Smiles", same set as issued 06/02/90 reprinted, inscribed "1st" instead of "20p" | Ten | |
| 23 April 1991 | Europa, Europe in Space | Four | |
| 11 June 1991 | World Student Games, Sheffield (22p, 26p & 31p) & Rugby World Cup, London (37p) | Four | |
| 16 July 1991 | 9th World Congress of Roses, Belfast | Five | |
| 20 August 1991 | 150th Anniversary of Dinosaur's Identification by Owen | Five | Bryan Kneale |
| 17 September 1991 | Bicentenary of Ordnance Survey. Maps of Ham Street, Kent | Four | Howard Brown |
| 12 November 1991 | Christmas | Five | |
| 1992 ||||
| 14 January 1992 | Wintertime | Five | |
| 28 January 1992 | Greetings Stamps "Memories" | Ten | |
| 6 February 1992 | 40th Anniversary of Accession | Five | |
| 10 March 1992 | Death Centenary of Alfred, Lord Tennyson | Four | |
| 7 April 1992 | Europa, International Events | Five | |
| 16 June 1992 | 350th Anniversary of the Civil War | Four | |
| 21 July 1992 | 150th Anniversary of Sir Arthur Sullivan | Five | |
| 15 September 1992 | Protection of the Environment, Children's Paintings | Four | |
| 13 October 1992 | Single European Market | One | |
| 10 November 1992 | Christmas | Five | |
| 1993 ||||
| 19 January 1993 | 600th Anniversary of Abbotsbury Swannery | Five | David Gentleman |
| 2 February 1993 | Greetings Stamps " Gift Giving" | Ten | |
| 16 February 1993 | 300th Anniversary of John Harrison, inventor of the marine chronometer | Four | |
| 2 March 1993 | £10 Definitive | One | |
| 16 March 1993 | 14th World Orchid Conference, Glasgow | Five | |
| 11 May 1993 | Europa, Contemporary Art | Four | |
| 15 June 1993 | Roman Britain | Four | |
| 20 July 1993 | Inland Waterways | Four | |
| 14 September 1993 | The Four Seasons, Autumn | Five | |
| 12 October 1993 | Sherlock Holmes | Five | Andrew Davidson |
| 9 November 1993 | Christmas | Five | |
| 1994 ||||
| 18 January 1994 | The Age of Steam | Five | |
| 1 February 1994 | Greetings Stamps "Messages" | Ten | |
| 1 March 1994 | 25th Anniversary of Investiture of the Prince of Wales Paintings by Prince Charles | Five | |
| 12 April 1994 | Centenary of Picture Postcards | Four | |
| 3 May 1994 | Opening of Channel Tunnel (Joint issue with La Poste) | Four | |
| 6 June 1994 | 50th anniversary of D-Day | Five | K Bassford |
| 5 July 1994 | Scottish Golf Courses | Five | |
| 2 August 1994 | The Four Seasons, Summertime | Five | |
| 27 September 1994 | Europa, Medical Discoveries | Four | |
| 1 November 1994 | Christmas | Five | |
| 1995 |||
| 17 January 1995 | Cats | Five | |
| 14 March 1995 | Springtime | Five | |
| 21 March 1995 | Greetings Stamps 'Greetings in Art' | Ten | |
| 11 April 1995 | Centenary of the National Trust | Five | |
| 2 May 1995 | Europa, Peace & Freedom | Five | |
| 6 June 1995 | Science Fiction, Novels by H. G. Wells | Four | |
| 8 August 1995 | Reconstruction of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre | Five | |
| 5 September 1995 | Pioneers of Communication | Four | |
| 3 October 1995 | Centenary of Rugby league | Five | |
| 30 October 1995 | Christmas | Five | |
| 1996 ||||
| 25 January 1996 | Death Bicentenary of Robert Burns | Four | |
| 25 February 1996 | Greetings Stamps, Cartoons | Ten | |
| 12 March 1996 | 50th Anniversary of Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust | Five | |
| 16 April 1996 | Centenary of Cinema | Five | |
| 14 May 1996 | European Football Championship | Five | H. Brown |
| 9 July 1996 | Olympic & Paralympic Games, Atlanta | Five | |
| 6 August 1996 | Europa, Famous Women | Five | |
| 3 September 1996 | 50th Anniversary oc Children's Television | Five | |
| 1 October 1996 | Classic Sports Cars | Five | |
| 28 October 1996 | Christmas | Five | |
| 1997 ||||
| 6 January 1997 | Greetings Stamps, 19th century Flower Paintings | Ten | |
| 21 January 1997 | 450th Death Anniversary of King Henry VIII | Seven | |
| 11 March 1997 | Religious Anniversaries | Four | |
| 21 April 1997 | Royal Golden Wedding Gold Definitives, 26p & 1st values | Two | |
| 13 May 1997 | Europa, Horror Stories | Four | |
| 10 June 1997 | British Aircraft Designers | Five | Turner Duckworth |
| 8 July 1997 | "All the Queen's Horses", 50th Anniversary of the British Horse Society | Four | |
| 12 August 1997 | Sub-Post Offices | Four | |
| 9 September 1997 | Birth Centenary of Enid Blyton | Five | |
| 27 October 1997 | Christmas, 150th Anniversary of the Christmas Cracker | Five | |
| 13 November 1997 | Royal Golden Wedding | Four | |
| 1998 ||||
| 20 January 1998 | Endangered Species | Six | Robert Maude |
| 3 February 1998 | Diana, Princess of Wales Commemoration | Five | |
| 24 February 1998 | The Queen's Beasts (650th Anniversary of the Order of the Garter) | Five | Jeffrey Matthews FSCD |
| 24 March 1998 | Lighthouses | Five | Dick Davis |
| 23 April 1998 | Comedians | Five | Gerald Scarfe |
| 23 June 1998 | Health (50 Years of the NHS) | Four | Vince Frost |
| 21 July 1998 | Magical Worlds (Classic Fantasy Books for Children) | Five | Peter Malone |
| 25 August 1998 | Europa. Carnival (Notting Hill Carnival) | Four | Tim Hazael |
| 29 September 1998 | Speed (Great British Land Speed Records) | Five | Roundel |
| 2 November 1998 | Christmas (Angels) | Five | Irene von Treskow |
| 1999 ||||
| 12 January 1999 | The Millennium Series. The Inventor's Tale | Four | David Gentleman |
| 2 February 1999 | The Millennium Series. The Traveller's Tale | Four | |
| 2 March 1999 | The Millennium Series. The Patient's Tale | Four | |
| 6 April 1999 | The Millennium Series. The Settler's Tale | Four | |
| 4 May 1999 | The Millennium Series. The Worker's Tale | Four | |
| 1 June 1999 | The Millennium Series. The Entertainer's Tale | Four | |
| 15 June 1999 | The Wedding of Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones | Two | John Swannell |
| 6 July 1999 | The Millennium Series. The Citizen's Tale | Four | |
| 3 August 1999 | The Millennium Series. The Scientist's Tale | Four | |
| 11 August 1999 | Solar Eclipse | | |
| 7 September 1999 | The Millennium Series. The Farmer's Tale | Four | |
| 21 September 1999 | World Changers | Charles Darwin, Edward Jenner, Michael Faraday and Alan Turing. | |
| 5 October 1999 | The Millennium Series. The Soldier's Tale | Four | |
| 2 November 1999 | The Millennium Series. The Christian's Tale | Four | Clare Melinsky |
| 7 December 1999 | The Millennium Series. The Artist's Tale | Four | |
| 14 December 1999 | The Millennium Series. Millennium Timekeeper | One | David Gentleman |

## Other decades

* United Kingdom commemorative stamps 1924–1969
* United Kingdom commemorative stamps 1970–1979
* United Kingdom commemorative stamps 1980–1989
* United Kingdom commemorative stamps 2000–2009
* United Kingdom commemorative stamps 2010–2019
* United Kingdom commemorative stamps 2020–2029