THE METRIC MARTYRS

Are you one of those Society senior citizens who still have to double the number shown on the TV weather forecast then add 30 to know how warm it will be outside tomorrow? Or do you first think pounds and ounces or feet and inches for things we use in our  everyday life.

Most of today's stamp collectors grew up in the days when milk was delivered in pints, petrol was sold by the gallon and Roger Bannister earned a place in history by becoming the first man to run a mile under four minutes. Imagine the back page headlines declaring he had crossed the finishing line at Oxford after "an unbelievable 1.60934 Kilometres effort".

At school we were taught a system of weights & measures and because it had existed for centuries we never asked why 16 oz made 1 lb or 36 ins were in one yard and 1,760 yds made that mile. Complicated? Yes, but we just learnt it parrot fashion.

The Imperial system was named for obvious reason so distant lands which carried portraits from Queen Victoria to King George VI on their stamps didn't query the system either, writes Tony Smith.

It is now over 25 years since politicians were preparing to take us down the metric road but you can still get a pint in a pub and buy your vegetables by the lb., providing the greengrocer remembers to include Kgs. on the label too. We're warned we will go totally metric by 2010. Will the post office help us understand?

When ex-colonies and the Commonwealth nations "went metric" in the 1970s many used stamps to help their people understand.

In 1970 a set from Kenya , Uganda & Tanzania (SO 288-91) compared change-over differences such as weights between kg and lbs (oops, sorry), final '5' is not needed). A Ghana set of 1976(SO760-3) illustrated a pint and a Litre, scales for different weight, a tape measure for cloth and a thermometer comparing the temperature from ice to boiling kettle.

Singapore explained their change to metric in 1979 with a three-stamp issue (SO 343-5) including an example of a 10km roadside speed warning. How quickly will we get on that road? And do you know how fast that 10km is? Many other countries 'going metric' have tried to help the change via stamps including 1962 Brazil (SO 1062) and 1975 Sweden (SO 843), while in 1973 Australia tried a light-hearted approach in a set (SO 532-5). The Imperial system grew from mediaeval tradition but in the 19th century industry and commerce needed clear definitions so the Imperial Standard Yard and Pound Act was settled by an Act of Parliament in 1855. France , with a complicated system of their own for centuries, prepared a metric system based on the distance from the North Pole to the Equator via Paris . Divide that distance by ten million and you have the basic measure the Metre. In 1791 they set it up and then, realising they needed a basic weight too, they opted for one Metre of flat bronze bar and named it a Kilogramme. That bar soon became platinum and the original still exists. Cubic measure and temperature were later included.
In 1804 France called a gathering of foreign governments to suggest a worldwide metric system. Several European countries liked the plan. Britain attended but didn't join in.
Charles de Talleyrand was at the heart of France 's early effort and a 1951 French issue (50 1117) honoured him. In 1954 France (SO 1224) marked the 150th anniversary of the world's first full metric system.

(Never let it be said that WETS News does not deal with up to the minute topics. The European Commission announced they would allow us to continue using Imperial Measures after this article was written. We knew Tony Smith was a good press man, we didn’t know he was this good.  – Ed.)

Created July 2008