Post Gemr
Post Gemr plc is responsible for universal mail collection and delivery in the Kingdom of Cambria. Letters are deposited in a pillar or wall box, taken to a post office, or collected in bulk from businesses. Deliveries are made at least once every day except Sundays and Bank Holidays at uniform charges for all destinations within the FK. Post Gemr is a public limited company, formed in 1969, having originally been a department of the government, the Offig General lla Bost. Along with Scotish Royal Mail plc and English Royal Mail plc (formed in 2009 by the English Parliament) is a subsidary of Royal Mail FK plc.
History
The history of the Royal Mail as an extension of His Majesty's government extends back to 1487 when Emreis V constituted the office of the Master of the Post. The early Royal Mail was mostly concerned with the security and delivery of government documents and personal correspondence of the nobility to all parts of the kingdom. In 1613 Gereint X made the service available to the general public and in 1660, Donal II established the General Post Office as it existed up until 1969. In that same year, 1660, Thomas I of England also established a General Post Office for his own country.
Throughout a period of more than forty years, between 1720 and 1764, the Royal Mail was almost single-handedly reformed and improved by distinguished philanthropist and entrepreneur, Raff Alan. Through his diligent work, the system of postal roads was improved and daily operations of the Post Office were modernised and improved. His methods were exported to Kemr's American colonies where they have served as the basis for the American arm of Royal Mail.
The 1800s saw the introduction of uniform delivery rates, postage stamps, mail trains and mail delivery via horseless electric waggons. The 1900s saw the mails being delivered by airship and the beginings of computerisation of some aspects of the enterprise.
Postage Stamps
The humble but eminently useful postage stamp was invented by noted Kemrese reformer Rhigardd Brê. Following in Alan's footsteps, Brê was keen on reforming a wide variety of social services and institutions, being most famous for his reform of the Royal Post; he was also known for advancing the cause of education reform and railway standardisation in the kingdom.
The first postage stamp in world history was Brê's famous penny black stamp (in Brithenig, ceniog nîr), and was issued on 25 March 1840. The first penny stamp was followed shortly by the penny blue and tuppence red. Within a very short time, a whole slew of graded stamps from 1/4d to 1s would be issued, all depicting the crowned head of Iewan IV "Ill Braw".
The popularity of the postage stamp in Kemr prompted England, Scotland, Ireland and the NAL to begin issuing stamps that same year. Much of Europe had joined the fray within two years and by century's end, most countries around the world issued postage stamps.
Kemrese postage rates were worked out by Dave Joll:
6d is the rate for a basic two ounce internal letter. Based upon that rate I have come up with the following:
- Third class internal mail (bulk mailouts, etc.) 3d for the first two ounces, 2d for each additional two ounces.
- Second class internal mail (postcards or Christmas cards) 4d for the first two ounces, 3d for each additional two ounces.
- First class internal mail (ordinary letters) 6d for the first two ounces, 4d for each additional two ounces.
Since air mail is generally carried via air ship, it is doubtful that an internal air mail service would be necessary or even feasible.
The next graduation would be for mail to close territories, such as other parts of the British Isles (i.e., Ireland) and France. Mail to these areas is often transported via ferry or small merchant vessels.
The rates would be along the lines of:
-Third class: 4d for 2oz, 3d for additional 2oz.
-Second class: 6d for 2oz, 4d for additional 2oz.
-First class: 10d for 2oz, 6d for additional 2oz.
-Zeppelin mail: 1/3 for 2oz, 1/- for additional 2oz.
The next graduation would be to other countries in Western Europe and North America. Letters to such countries would normally go by Zeppelin mail; the incremental cost of sending thus would be lower due to the higher economies of scale, with large numbers of mailbags travelling in this manner. There would not be the third class "bulk" rate as there would be little need for it - most commercial traffic would be urgent communications or important documents.
The rates would be along the lines of:
-Second class: 9d for 2oz, 6d for additional 2oz.
-First class: 1/- for 2oz, 9d for additional 2oz.
-Zeppelin mail: 1/6 for 2oz, 1/- for additional 2oz.
The last graduation would be a catch-all "Rest of the World", and the prices would be about double those given above for Western Europe and North America:
-Second class: 1/6 for 2oz, 1/- for each additional 2oz.
-First class: 2/- for 2oz, 1/6 for each additional 2oz.
-Zeppelin mail: 3/- for 2oz, 2/- for each additional 2oz.
Definitive Stamps.
The current definitive stamps feature the head of the reigning monarch. With the broad spread of postal rates, something between 18 and 24 stamps would be needed to cover most possible rates. There may be a need for a ½d stamp if rates denominated in fractions of a penny were used in the recent past, but with the rates I have devised no fractional values are needed. Though the collector market may still demand a ½d stamp, for the sake of collecting an "entire series" for any given stamp issue. Half penny stamps may also be in use in other parts of the Commonwealth.
So, taking into account values needed for postal rates and for convenient make-up rates, we have something along the lines of:
½d, 1d, 2d, 3d, 4d, 5d, 6d, 7d, 8d, 9d, 10d, 1/-, 1/2, 1/3, 1/6, 1/9, 2/-, 2/3, 2/6, 3/-, 5/-, 10/-, £1.
