A Kingcoed man has just become 'Polar Postmaster' - re-opening an old post office in Antarctica more than fifty years after it was abandoned.

Tudor Morgan, 41, will operate the post office - selling British Antarctic Territory stamps - from a historic British base on a tiny outcrop of rock, surrounded by icebergs, glaciers and minke whales.

He will be assisted by Michael Powell, 49, from Crickhowell who has worked in the Antarctic for the last 25 years and is one of the UK's most experienced Antarctic veterans. 

The British Post Office at Detaille Island on the Antarctic Peninsula has no telephone, internet access, mains electricity or running water, but it will provide a fully-functioning international mail service to the rest of the world.

"We're re-opening the Post Office to breathe new life into the building at Detaille Island" said Rachel Morgan, Director of the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust, a British charity based in Usk which acts as custodian of several important historic buildings in the Antarctic.

"The base at Detaille Island, which was once a functioning science research station with its own Post Office, has a fascinating and important story to tell".  

Tudor regards the role of Polar Postmaster as 'an honour'.

"Detaille Island was a British base built in the 1950s and, like every other British base built during that time, it had its own Post Office.

"Men would parcel up rocks in order to get enough stamps to send home to their families as collectors' items. It's a privilege to be able to re-open it after all this time and reconnect the building with the world."

Tudor Morgan was recently awarded the prestigious Polar Medal in the 2013 New Years Honours List.

He and Michael will be assisted by Anna Malaos, thirty, from Cambridge, who works as the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust's Operations Manager.

"Approximately 25 ships are expected to call in to use the Post Office over the next few weeks and we will be hand-franking more than 300 letters and despatching them to the rest of the world," said Tudor.

"The letters will each receive a highly-prized Antarctic stamp and post mark and then travel by sea to the Falkland Islands where they will enter into the international mail system.

"All the money raised from stamp sales will go towards saving the historic building and protecting it against the harsh Antarctic winter weather." 

There are several small historic huts on the Antarctic Peninsula which have all been designated Historic Sites and Monuments under the Antarctic Treaty.

"They are fragile and vulnerable but important for the glimpse they can give us into the daily lives of some of Antarctica's earliest scientists and explorers," said Rachel.