page_title: Postage stamps and postal history of Hong Kong
section_title: Post-War, 1945-1997
hierarchical_section_title: Postage stamps and postal history of Hong Kong / British Colony, 1841-1997 / Post-War, 1945-1997
caption_attribution_description: Old mail box in Hong Kong
context_page_description: This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Hong Kong.
context_section_description: Japan surrendered on 15 August, 1945, and postal service under the British resumed on 25 August, initially for free. No stamps were available, so octagonal handstamps inscribed with ‘HONG KONG 1945 POSTAGE PAID’ were later used in lieu of stamps. In early September, the government rediscovered the stash of hidden stamps. Together with the return of the stamp cache from Australia and South Africa, the sales of stamps re-continued on 28 September.
  The end of the Second World War saw the release of the "Victory" commemorative stamps on 30 August 1946, the anniversary of the British takeover. The 30-cent and 1-dollar stamps were designed by Postmaster Edward Irvine Wynne-Jones and Chief Draughtsman of the Public Works Department William E Jones during their internment in the Stanley Internment Camp by the Japanese. The design featured a phoenix with the Latin text "1941 RESURGO 1945", along with the Chinese text "鳳鳥復興 漢英昇平" (Phoenix Resurgence; Han-British Peace). The Chinese text was rendered as "鳳鳥復興 漢英大和" in the original draft, which had the same meaning. However, as "大和" was also a rendition of "Yamato", the text was changed to alternate Chinese characters.  The same month also saw the return of some George VI definitives that were printed in 1941 but remained undelivered to Hong Kong until 1946.
  The reign of Queen Elizabeth II saw several significant changes to stamp design. The most significant was the second series of Elizabeth II definitives issued in 1962. The series, designed by Chinese Cheung Yat-man, did not feature the traditional frames of the previous stamps, instead featuring a frameless portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Pietro Annigoni. This series is nicknamed the "military attire" series by local stamp collectors. Commemorative stamps with Chinese themes were first issued in 1967, featuring the Chinese zodiac. The bauhinia flower and Hong Kong’s coat of arms were also incorporated as the key features on two denominations issued in 1968, the first time that local themes had been integrated in the territory’s definitive stamps. The addition of Chinese and local themes and features, along with designs by local Hong Kongers, became increasingly common in the 1970s and onward. 
  1962 also saw the release of the first officially designed envelopes for first day covers, marked with "OFFICIAL FIRST DAY COVER", for the 100th anniversary of the first postage stamp of Hong Kong. Prior to 1962, there were no official designs other than the postmarked date, and envelopes were designed instead by hobbyists such as the Hong Kong Philatelic Society and the China Philatelic Association.
  In the early and mid 1990s, as the Handover of Hong Kong of 1 July 1997 drew near, British-themed stamps were slowly being phased out. The last stamps featuring Elizabeth II was issued on September 2, 1996. This led to an "explosion" of sales and stamp collecting in the local stamp market, with many hoping the stamps would sell for a profit in the future.
  A "transitional" set of defintives, nicknamed the "neutral definitive stamps", featuring the skyline of Victoria Harbour with no British features, was issued on 26 January, 1997. On 23 May, 1996, it was announced that all stamps with a portrait of the Queen or any British features would become invalid on the day of the handover. The neutral defintives could still be used after the handover, and colonial stamps could be exchanged up until July 31, 1997.
caption: Post box of Hong Kong before 1997, with the royal cypher of Queen Elizabeth II
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