Edward VIII post box: Quite rare and in a state of disrepair!

Though he reigned for less than a year* before abdicating, Edward VIII, or more accurately, his royal cypher, appeared on more than 200 post boxes around the UK (The Letter Box Study Group reports 271). That might sound a lot, but these post boxes are relatively rare. Fewer than 170 remain today, accounting for less than 0.2 per cent of all the ~115,000 postboxes in the country. (Not surprisingly, Queen Elizabeth II post boxes are by far the most numerous and I'm guessing Charles III are by far the rarest...)

Though I do enjoy spotting Victorian post boxes (see my blog post here) simply because they are the oldest, I have to admit I was thrilled when I encountered this 1936 Edward VIII pillar box on the Great North Road near East Finchley. But, gosh, it is in a bit of a sorry state! 

Edward VIII

Edward VIII's crumbling facade

There are a few EVIII boxes around outer London, hinting perhaps at the development of a commuter belt.

*  Edward's reign is counted as 326 days from the death of his father on 20 January 1936 to 11 December 1936, the official date of abdication. So that's 1.2 days per post box - I reckon that's a fair old rate, which presumably reflects the boom in housebuilding/growth of suburbia in the 1930s.

How many Edward VIII post boxes have you seen, and where? Let us know in the comments!



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