Special stamps to commemorate Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at Bletchley Park

Bletchley Park's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang event on Sunday 1 June will celebrate the centenary of the birth of Ian Fleming, who as well as creating Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the Bond novels, also worked closely with Bletchley Park during World War Two. The original car that was used in the 1968 film, starring Dick Van Dyke, will be on show at the event to celebrate its own 40th birthday, thanks to sponsorship from Destination Milton Keynes, Tourism South East and West Bletchley Council.

To celebrate Bletchley Park Post Office is issuing a sheet of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang stamps. Each stamp features a different picture of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang flying around Bletchley Park.

The sheets will be a limited edition of 500 and are priced at £35 plus £3.50 post and packing.

On the event day, there will be a competition on the day for two people to win the chance to ride around Bletchley Park in the car, known fondly as our Fine Four-Fendered Friend. Other attractions will include a Victorian fun fair, craft stalls, Punch and Judy and much more. Milton Keynes' Sno!Zone will also be bringing along its mascot, Percy the Penguin, together with an ice box with snow play area for kids, free prizes, face painting and free tobogganing.

Every half an hour there will also be guided tours of Bletchley Park, home to the codebreakers of WW2 and the birthplace of the modern computer. Today it is a museum and heritage site, with a fascinating range of permanent exhibitions and private collections. Among other things, you will see the famous Abwehr Enigma Machine, back on display after its dramatic theft in 2000, the Lorenz and other mechanical cipher systems and the Bombe rebuild. The whole family will enjoy the Home Front exhibition; the Toys and Memorabilia Collection, with playthings and domestic artefacts from the 1930s and 1940s; the Maritime Display and Model Railway exhibition; and the various vintage vehicles, including two 1930's Austins featured in the film The Eagle Has Landed and a Talbot and 1938 ambulance used in the film, Enigma.

The event is open between 10.30am and 5pm. Entry costs £10 per adults; £8 for over-60s and students with a valid ID.; £6 for 12-16 year olds; and under-12s go free. On-site parking costs £3 per car. Admission fees also serve as an annual season ticket to return to Bletchley Park throughout the year.

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