 Gilbert & Ellice Islands

The first mail service to the Gilbert and Ellice Islands was ad hoc, depending on which ships were calling at the various islands. A regular service began in 1911 when Edward VII postage stamps of Fiji were overprinted GILBERT & ELLICE  PROTECTORATE and put on sale on 1 January of that year. On 31st December 1975 the stamps of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands were withdrawn when the separate colonies of Kirbati (Gilbert Islands) and Tuvalu were created.