Tue, 25 Jul 2023
Isle of Man Post Office (IOMPO) hosted an official visit from His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor Sir John Lorimer KCB DSO MBE and Lady Lorimer MBE to Postal Headquarters.
The visit coincided with the IOMPO celebrating its 50th anniversary of postal independence since 1973.
During the visit, His Excellency and Lady Lorimer undertook a tour of the mail centre including seeing the new parcel automation machine in operation, met the Customer Services and Vehicle and Driving Licensing teams, as well as visited the Stamps and Coins and Business Solutions divisions.
They also received an overview of the business by Chief Executive Simon Kneen, and were presented with a folder of Isle of Man Stamps presentation packs since His Excellency was sworn in as Lieutenant Governor in September 2021.
As part of the visit, His Excellency unveiled a significant piece of artwork dating back to 1983 which had been in storage since IOMPO moved from its previous headquarters in Circular Road, Douglas to its current premises in Spring Valley in 1999. The mosaic, created by artist George Dereford, was derived from the Viking stamp designed by John Nicholson in 1973 and in recent years it has been restored to its former glory by Chris Weeks of Manx National Heritage.
Stu Peters MHK, Chairman of IOMPO said: “We were delighted to host His Excellency and Lady Lorimer for a tour of our business and we thank them for their time and keen interest in learning about IOMPO and the many facets it has to offer as the leading trusted parcel provider on the Island. We were particularly pleased that His Excellency unveiled the restored Viking mosaic which is now proudly on display at Postal Headquarters.”
His Excellency said: “We very much enjoyed visiting the Isle of Man Post Office as they celebrated their 50th anniversary of postal independence. It was wonderful to meet so many staff and to unveil the spectacular Viking mosaic based on a 1973 stamp, which has been beautifully restored.”