The Queen and Country stamp collection

BlackPoolGazette.com reports that a local war hero has been remembered on a set of stamps in the Queen and Country stamp collection at the Imperial War Museum in London.

Queen and Country by artist Steve McQueen consists 98 facsimile commemorative stamps editions each bearing the face of a British soldier killed in Iraq. McQueen worked directly with the bereaved families, asking them to choose the images for the stamps.

The deceased names, regiment, age and date of death are printed in the margin.

Karen and Mick Thornton gave consent for their son's image to be used on a stamp as a way of remembering him. Lee Thorton was killed in Iraq last year serving in the British military.

Mrs. Thorton, shown above with a sheet of stamps featuring her son, is quoted in the article as saying, "I can't think of a more fitting memorial to the memory of Lee than seeing his face on stamps which will be seen by millions of people in the UK. This is just a brilliant cause and one well worth supporting.

According to the article, "It is hoped that the stamp collection could one day be commissioned by Royal Mail and a campaign to bring this to fruition has already received support from all the families involved."

For more on the controversial Queen and Country collection, click here.