The agreement, signed in Royal Mail’s 500th year of operation, continues the special relationship the UK postal operator has had with the British Forces Post Office for over 100 years.

The new deal means armed forces personnel stationed all over the world will continue to take advantage of services, such as the Enduring Families Free Mail Service for personnel deployed on Operations, which allow them to receive mail from friends and loved ones in the UK. The agreement, known as the Forces Mail Settlement, also allows mail and online shopping orders going to armed forces personnel overseas to be sent at inland UK prices.

Royal Mail has a history of supporting the UK Armed Forces, having recently signed up to the Armed Forces Corporate Covenant.

Lieutenant General Paul Jaques CBE, Chief of Materiel (Land) for Defence Equipment and Support, the UK MOD’s procurement organisation, said: “There is nothing like getting a letter from back home, whether you’re a few hours away or on the other side of the world.

“This deal will ensure that friends and family members can continue to support our troops overseas with letters, parcels and packages without incurring extra postage costs.

“It is crucial that Service personnel, who work so hard to keep Britain safe, both at home and abroad, have the support of agreements like this one between Government and Royal Mail as part of the Armed Forces Covenant.”

Mike Newnham, Royal Mail’s Chief Customer Officer, said: “Royal Mail is delighted that its long standing contract with the British Forces Post Office is continuing. We are proud to play our part in delivering mail to our armed forces stationed around the world.”

Forces Post Offices based all over the world handle service personnel’s mail while it is overseas, with the Royal Mail taking over its handling when it reaches the UK, whether at the beginning or end of its journey. Royal Mail also pays half the costs of the Enduring Families Free Mail Service.

This year is the 500th year of the Royal Mail, and the continuing Centenary of the First World War, during which BFPO delivered two billion letters.

Over the last two centuries, the BFPO has grown to become a key channel of communication for those fighting abroad. Letters provided comfort for troops throughout the years and across the world, with Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery famously saying, during the Second World War, that his soldiers could march for three or four days without food on the strength of one letter from home.

Providing a constant link between soldiers and their families, the military postal service began in 1795, when Parliament granted the penny postage concession to soldiers and sailors of the British Army and Royal Navy. Four years later, the first Army Postmaster was appointed, followed by the formation of a dedicated military postal unit – the Post Office Corps – in 1882. The unit was created at the request of Queen Victoria.

Source: Royal Mail