Royal Mail launches stamps featuring colourised photos from 1945 to mark 75th anniversary of the end of Second World War

Photos depict scenes of celebration by service personnel and civilians

(PA)

The Royal Mail has launched a new set of stamps to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.

Eight of the 12 stamps depict scenes of celebration by service personnel and civilians when news of the conflict's end was announced.

The images were originally photographed in black and white but have been brought to life in colour for the first time by colourist Royston Leonard.

One of the new stamps features a photo of a serviceman returning home to Oreston, south Devon, from his air base in Lincolnshire, while another depicts a group of nurses celebrating VE Day in Liverpool.

A third stamp shows crowds celebrating VE Day in London's Piccadilly and another features evacuees returning home to London after a stay in Leicester.

Other stamps in the collection include photos of troops marching along London's Oxford Street, soldiers and sailors leaving a demobilisation centre, allied prisoners of war at Aomori Camp near Yokohama, Japan, cheering their rescuers and a member of the Women's Royal Naval Service proposing a toast during celebrations in Glasgow.

One of the stamps features a group of nurses celebrating VE Day in Liverpool (PA)

In addition to the colourised photos, the Royal Mail has also created four stamps that are presented in a miniature sheet and. show images of official monuments and cemeteries built to remember and honour the fallen, as well as a memorial to the victims of the Holocaust.

“Our new stamps capture how the end of the war was greeted and the resulting return of service personnel after nearly six long years of conflict,” said Philip Parker, head of stamp strategy at the Royal Mail.

“We also pay tribute to those who never returned, and the victims of the Holocaust.”

The End of the Second World War Miniature Sheet costs £4.78, while the set of eight coloured stamps cost £8.92.

The collection of stamps depict scenes of celebration by service personnel and civilians as news of the conflict's end was announced (PA)

Customers can also buy a Presentation Pack, which includes a compilation of stamps, stories and photographs for £14.60.

The stamps will be on sale from May 8 and are available to pre-order now here.