Post by Matt James on Apr 16, 2009 12:49:46 GMT
Boy Messenger ( A Mopper ) – Recollections.
I became a ‘Mopper’ in April, 1944 a couple of weeks after my fourteenth birthday. Following in my Father and Grandfather’s footsteps.
Reporting to the Battersea District Office on a Saturday morning, following an entrance examination held at King Edward Buildings in the City a few weeks earlier. I received my uniform of thick blue serge and my all important belt, pouch and badge number B32. Cycling the seven miles home, in uniform, on that very hot day I was astounded to find that the dye had run and I had turned a very dark shade of blue.
The following Monday I presented myself at Wimbledon B.O. where, with one short exception, I spent the next, very happy, four years. At that time messengers carried out various duties. Some were classed as ‘Indoor’ whilst the ‘Outdoor’ boys were either on walking duties, pedal cycling or (when over 16) motor cyclists. (My father had been an ‘Indoor’ boy at the Savings Bank) Hours of duty, a forty eight hour week, were worked as shift patterns varying from a 6am to 10pm.With a Sunday duty roughly every fourth week. (This earned around ten shillings overtime pay!)
For instance, at Wimbledon, a boy was on standby at 6am every morning in case medals needed to be collected from Spink and Son (Medallist’s) and delivered immediately to either St James or Buckingham Palace for that day’s presentation.
We also delivered all ‘Express’ mail that came in overnight. Messengers were also available (although rarely used in my experience) for dog walking, shopping and private collections.
A lad from a neighbouring office was lucky enough to be selected to deliver an engagement ring, personally, to a New York address. He enjoyed the trip across the Atlantic on one of the Cunard Line ‘Queens’. I was fortunate enough to draw the two weeks Wimbledon Tennis (Which warranted a temporary office in those days) where I struck up a casual friendship with the film star, Jinx Falkenberg, who was supporting her brother Bob.
Every tour of duty started with an inspection by the P.S.M (Postman Superintending Messengers) to ensure that we were properly turned out. Stiff White Collar, black tie, highly polished leather and brasses. Incidentally, we were charged three pence a week for boot and brass polish! Until we were 16 ½ years of age, in London, we attended Morley College on one day a week for further education and sat the Civil Service entrance examination.
That was a defining moment in one’s career. Choices had to be made. At that time one could transfer directly into the Royal Navy, or move over to the Telephone side of the business and train as an engineer (starting as a ‘Cord’ boy). The examination also determined your starting point should you wish to remain on the postal side .The option, depending upon your exam, result, were Counter Clerk, Telegraphist, Sorter or Postman. (I finished my messenger time and transferred to Kingston-upon Thames before joining the Army for my National Service in the Royal Signals. Upon demobilisation I returned to Kingston and within a few weeks was seconded to Southern Rhodesia where I met my wife, a Telephonist from Aldershot, also on a three year secondment, by this time I had decided I needed a little more adventure, left the Post Office and joined the Kenya Police-but that is a different story)
The friendships formed during my messenger days remain quiet strong, we were a very close knit bunch with our own Moppers whilst call and spirit de corps. Discipline was tight but we still managed to have lots of fun. I recall on one occasion (I was posted to Battersea D.O. on punishment, for four weeks, for throwing darts through the late duty P.S.M’s hat, which happened to be hanging in our rest room) another lad and I were in the cellars in Lavender Hill during an air raid. We decided to enliven our evening with a little jousting. Mounted on bicycles, dustbin lids for shields and brooms for lances, we carried out a number of furious charges. Unfortunately, a swinging broom caught a major light cluster and brought the whole lot crashing down. We repaired it best we could, using sorting office string, and made quietly away.
Being on late turn again the following day, we reported for duty at 2pm, only to find that later the previous night a bomb had struck the side of the building and part of the cellar, including our lamps, had collapsed.
One of the saddest parts of duty was in the delivery of Telegrams notifying the relatives of the death of loved ones. We had a lot of those, especially after the allied landings in Normandy. On one occasion I was delivering to a house in West Wimbledon when a ‘Doodle Bug’ landed in the back garden destroying most of the house. I was able to assist the elderly couple that lived there, both fortunately unhurt but very shocked, but was severely chastised, upon my return to the office, over the length of time I had taken over that Particular message!
All in all it was a very good apprenticeship for a young lad aspiring to a career in either the Postal Service or the Civil Service generally as I could transfer to other government departments upon reaching Clerical Officer Grade. Incidentally, my Father, having spent over 5 years abroad with the R.E.P.S. during the war years, finished his time in charge at the Agricultural Hall.
Mike Wade
Badge Number B32
I became a ‘Mopper’ in April, 1944 a couple of weeks after my fourteenth birthday. Following in my Father and Grandfather’s footsteps.
Reporting to the Battersea District Office on a Saturday morning, following an entrance examination held at King Edward Buildings in the City a few weeks earlier. I received my uniform of thick blue serge and my all important belt, pouch and badge number B32. Cycling the seven miles home, in uniform, on that very hot day I was astounded to find that the dye had run and I had turned a very dark shade of blue.
The following Monday I presented myself at Wimbledon B.O. where, with one short exception, I spent the next, very happy, four years. At that time messengers carried out various duties. Some were classed as ‘Indoor’ whilst the ‘Outdoor’ boys were either on walking duties, pedal cycling or (when over 16) motor cyclists. (My father had been an ‘Indoor’ boy at the Savings Bank) Hours of duty, a forty eight hour week, were worked as shift patterns varying from a 6am to 10pm.With a Sunday duty roughly every fourth week. (This earned around ten shillings overtime pay!)
For instance, at Wimbledon, a boy was on standby at 6am every morning in case medals needed to be collected from Spink and Son (Medallist’s) and delivered immediately to either St James or Buckingham Palace for that day’s presentation.
We also delivered all ‘Express’ mail that came in overnight. Messengers were also available (although rarely used in my experience) for dog walking, shopping and private collections.
A lad from a neighbouring office was lucky enough to be selected to deliver an engagement ring, personally, to a New York address. He enjoyed the trip across the Atlantic on one of the Cunard Line ‘Queens’. I was fortunate enough to draw the two weeks Wimbledon Tennis (Which warranted a temporary office in those days) where I struck up a casual friendship with the film star, Jinx Falkenberg, who was supporting her brother Bob.
Every tour of duty started with an inspection by the P.S.M (Postman Superintending Messengers) to ensure that we were properly turned out. Stiff White Collar, black tie, highly polished leather and brasses. Incidentally, we were charged three pence a week for boot and brass polish! Until we were 16 ½ years of age, in London, we attended Morley College on one day a week for further education and sat the Civil Service entrance examination.
That was a defining moment in one’s career. Choices had to be made. At that time one could transfer directly into the Royal Navy, or move over to the Telephone side of the business and train as an engineer (starting as a ‘Cord’ boy). The examination also determined your starting point should you wish to remain on the postal side .The option, depending upon your exam, result, were Counter Clerk, Telegraphist, Sorter or Postman. (I finished my messenger time and transferred to Kingston-upon Thames before joining the Army for my National Service in the Royal Signals. Upon demobilisation I returned to Kingston and within a few weeks was seconded to Southern Rhodesia where I met my wife, a Telephonist from Aldershot, also on a three year secondment, by this time I had decided I needed a little more adventure, left the Post Office and joined the Kenya Police-but that is a different story)
The friendships formed during my messenger days remain quiet strong, we were a very close knit bunch with our own Moppers whilst call and spirit de corps. Discipline was tight but we still managed to have lots of fun. I recall on one occasion (I was posted to Battersea D.O. on punishment, for four weeks, for throwing darts through the late duty P.S.M’s hat, which happened to be hanging in our rest room) another lad and I were in the cellars in Lavender Hill during an air raid. We decided to enliven our evening with a little jousting. Mounted on bicycles, dustbin lids for shields and brooms for lances, we carried out a number of furious charges. Unfortunately, a swinging broom caught a major light cluster and brought the whole lot crashing down. We repaired it best we could, using sorting office string, and made quietly away.
Being on late turn again the following day, we reported for duty at 2pm, only to find that later the previous night a bomb had struck the side of the building and part of the cellar, including our lamps, had collapsed.
One of the saddest parts of duty was in the delivery of Telegrams notifying the relatives of the death of loved ones. We had a lot of those, especially after the allied landings in Normandy. On one occasion I was delivering to a house in West Wimbledon when a ‘Doodle Bug’ landed in the back garden destroying most of the house. I was able to assist the elderly couple that lived there, both fortunately unhurt but very shocked, but was severely chastised, upon my return to the office, over the length of time I had taken over that Particular message!
All in all it was a very good apprenticeship for a young lad aspiring to a career in either the Postal Service or the Civil Service generally as I could transfer to other government departments upon reaching Clerical Officer Grade. Incidentally, my Father, having spent over 5 years abroad with the R.E.P.S. during the war years, finished his time in charge at the Agricultural Hall.
Mike Wade
Badge Number B32