Stamps capture Manx photographer's five-decade career
The eight images featured include a fisherman on a Manx vessel near the Calf of Man, a female ferry pilot of the Air Transport Auxiliary, who transported aircraft from the factory to the aerodrome during the conflict, and a Texan cowboy rounding up spring-born calves.
Born on the island in 1923 and growing up in Port Erin, McCombe took up photography at the age of 14, with his early work including capturing images of those held at the island's only all-female internment camp in Rushen.After moving to England, he went on to cover the allied advance during World War Two before moving to the United States and capturing American cowboys and the Navajo Nation. His portfolio of work also includes images of Winston Churchill and several US Presidents, as well as the Apollo moon launch.
The Isle of Man Post Office's general manager for stamps and coins Maxine Cannon said many of the images used for the stamp issue had "never been seen or published since the rolls of film were developed several decades ago".That was because in his later years McCombe, who died in 2015, had spent most of his time farming, meaning his "treasure trove of scrapbooks, writings, negatives, prints and books lay forgotten in his study", she added.
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