UK postal service issues 'Best of British' D-Day stamp featuring US troops 8,500 miles away

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The United Kingdom’s Royal Mail postal service launched a 2019 “Best of British” campaign Thursday to celebrate centuries of British history and accomplishments.

One portion of commemorative series, however, has the Royal Mail under fire: A stamp honoring the 75th anniversary of British soldiers landing on the beaches of Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944 — D-Day — actually features a photograph of U.S. troops wading ashore in Dutch New Guinea, nearly 8,500 miles away.

The image, taken one month before the D-Day landings, is an official U.S. Coast Guard photograph that was featured in a July 1944 issue of “All Hands” magazine. It can be found in the digital archives of the National WWII Museum.

Britain’s stamp faux-pas was instantaneously lambasted online — a social media custom — by history enthusiasts. “Wow Royal Mail really need some better fact checkers,” one user wrote.

The "Best of British" D-Day commemorative stamp to mark the event's 75th anniversary actually shows American troops landing in Dutch New Guinea. (Royal Mail)


Other users, meanwhile, decided to have a little fun at the Royal Mail’s expense.