Ascension Island Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Ascension Island is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean, a dependency of Saint Helena. The capital is Georgetown.The United States maintains missile tracking sites on the island. The island served as a refueling station for the British fleet during the Falklands War.
It is famous as a nesting site for Atlantic sea turtles.
It is home to Wideawake Field, built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers during World War II, as a refueling and staging station for aircraft flying between the Americas and Africa. Wideawake is also used by the RAF as a bridge to the Falkland Islands.
In 1982 when Argentine forces invaded the Falklands, Ascension Island proved essential to British forces in their efforts to retake the islands from Argentina. Wideawake airfield became the busiest airport in the world as the RAF flew in supplies to aid the Task Force. A squadron of RAF Harriers was based on the island to repel any possible Argentine attack. The British bombers flew a series of long-range bombing attacks from Ascension Island, against the Falkland Islands (operation Black Buck).
There is no native population in Ascension Island.
It is likely the island was named after the day of its discovery.
Postage stamps and postal history
on stamps of Saint Helena.]]
Originally mail was carried on an irregular basis as ships called. A datestamp was in use from February 1858, and in 1863 the Union Steamship Co. began regular carriage of mail, continuing until 1977. On 3 March 1867 British postage stamps became valid for Ascension mail, and continued in use until 1922, when Ascension became a dependency of Saint Helena.
On 2 November 1922, nine stamps of St. Helena overprinted "ASCENSION" replaced British stamps. These were followed up in 1924 by a series of 12 using the St. Helena design, but inscribed for Ascension. In 1934 a pictorial series of ten engraved stamps depicted various views of the island.
In 1938 the pictorials were re-issued with a portrait of George VI replacing his father's image. Various color, perforation, and watermark changes ensued, with the last being issued in February 1953.
by the Duke of Edinburgh, 1957]]A new definitive series of 13 in 1956 resembled the previous stamps, but was a little taller, and used maps and pictures of native animals in addition to local scenes. No further stamps were issued until 1963, when there was a series of 14 featuring birds.
From 1963 on, commemorative and special issues started to appear more frequently; in the 1990s, typical policy was to issue 5-6 sets per year, each consisting of 4-5 designs.