Gordon, you do like doing things the hard way! I applied for my licence renewal last March, and did it online. They tell you there about losing the old classes if you do it online, and that you need to have the medical, etc if you need to retain them.
And applying online, they advise you that you only need to return the old licence once you receive the new one, and then send the old on to Swansea. I kept my old one until it expired, and I still have the old paper back-up that shows my old entitlement.
Good news is that until 2019, I can still provisionally drive a road roller just in case someone drops a few lumps of the black stuff outside of the drive.
