Post by rogergreen on Sept 17, 2009 19:08:36 GMT
Bernard Doxey 1955 Derby
I joined the G.P.O. as a junior Postman on the 29th December 1955 at 15 years old and 8 months at Derby. It was a thrsday after my initial starting & uniform measuring etc , I was assigned to another lad for instruction this lasted 2 days and then I was on my own
We worked a 48 hour week and a 2nd delivery on Saturday
The National service was in full swing & 2 lads left for R.A.F. same week I started this went on until 1956
Telegrams were sent out by a PHG i/c with the messages coming down a tube from the instrument room . the two P.H.G’s were withdrawn at Christmas 1956 and the lads were under the i/c supervisors of the instrument room
There were mainly motor cycles duties with only one or two on push bikes , other duties included an indoor writing room messenger ( a selected job ) also another attached to the engineers now B.T. adminand they had to cycle to Mayheaton Park , the home of the engineers workshops . there were 2 or 3 duties in the sorting office and 1 in the Parcel Office and another one attached to Mickleover about 2 -3 miles out of Derby to deliver the rural any one with out a job was spare in the delivery office ie splitting a walk with a colleague all prepared by a full postman
On or near my sixteenth birthday I was released for motor cycle training with another lad from Nottingham , before I could do this I had to have written permission from my parents and a medical . After a weeks trainging a few hours solo I had my test and passed.
I loved it I was on my motor cycle full time until Christmas 1958 because as lads left there were no replacements I was on them until I was 21 years old when two of us then got married and the assistant Head Postmaster then had us in the Postmans Section
We went to technical colledge one day a week with telegrahist & Sainsbury Girls
Some of the things that we got up to was a plastic bugie was put up the shut which blocked the system which resulted in major repairs also the youngest always had to fetch the teas from the milk bar
p.s. 6 out of our 7 bikes had no springs at rear
Bernard Doxey
I joined the G.P.O. as a junior Postman on the 29th December 1955 at 15 years old and 8 months at Derby. It was a thrsday after my initial starting & uniform measuring etc , I was assigned to another lad for instruction this lasted 2 days and then I was on my own
We worked a 48 hour week and a 2nd delivery on Saturday
The National service was in full swing & 2 lads left for R.A.F. same week I started this went on until 1956
Telegrams were sent out by a PHG i/c with the messages coming down a tube from the instrument room . the two P.H.G’s were withdrawn at Christmas 1956 and the lads were under the i/c supervisors of the instrument room
There were mainly motor cycles duties with only one or two on push bikes , other duties included an indoor writing room messenger ( a selected job ) also another attached to the engineers now B.T. adminand they had to cycle to Mayheaton Park , the home of the engineers workshops . there were 2 or 3 duties in the sorting office and 1 in the Parcel Office and another one attached to Mickleover about 2 -3 miles out of Derby to deliver the rural any one with out a job was spare in the delivery office ie splitting a walk with a colleague all prepared by a full postman
On or near my sixteenth birthday I was released for motor cycle training with another lad from Nottingham , before I could do this I had to have written permission from my parents and a medical . After a weeks trainging a few hours solo I had my test and passed.
I loved it I was on my motor cycle full time until Christmas 1958 because as lads left there were no replacements I was on them until I was 21 years old when two of us then got married and the assistant Head Postmaster then had us in the Postmans Section
We went to technical colledge one day a week with telegrahist & Sainsbury Girls
Some of the things that we got up to was a plastic bugie was put up the shut which blocked the system which resulted in major repairs also the youngest always had to fetch the teas from the milk bar
p.s. 6 out of our 7 bikes had no springs at rear
Bernard Doxey