A SPECIAL postmark has been created to celebrate the life of a York economist and broadcaster.

Royal Mail has created the postmark to commemorate the centenary of the birth of Barbara Ward, and it will appear on mail delivered in and around the YO31 postcode for a week from Friday (MAY 23).

The postmark is part of the Royal Mail’s Remarkable Lives stamps set which honours individuals who have made a significant contribution to UK life.

Barbara Ward was born in Heworth in 1914, and worked for the Ministry of Information during the Second World War, and oversaw projects in India and Africa where she realised the importance of economic relationships between established and emerging countries. In 1974 she was made a Dame of the British Empire and two years later became Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth. She also received the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding from the Government of India.

The stamps can be purchased at royalmail.com/remarkablelives, by phoning 08457 641641 and in 10,000 Post Office branches throughout the UK.