Post by Matt James on Apr 13, 2009 14:45:05 GMT
I was employed as a temporary boy messenger at the age of 13 in York in 1926.
We messengers were housed in the basement of the Head Post Office in Lendal, York.
Our Inspector at the time was a medium size 'ramrod ' indivial called George Verney.An ex-army , kindly ,disciplinarian who extended his authority to his twenty five messenger boys whose ages ranged from 14 to 19.
In order to gain civil service certificate, we had to attend night school until we were 16, learn 'standard' handwriting and pass the medical. One Irish lad called 'spud' Murphy, undergoing his medical was given a mug to urinate in-put it in the middle of the surgery floor and missed.
As temporary messengers, we were employed on a Saturday attached to press reporters on the Knavesmire to carry reports of football matches back to the news office in Coney Street.
Our attendances covered from 7am to 9pm, The 7 to 8 period involved cleaning the front and rear oil lamps used the previous night. The seniors sent one young lad to the stores manager for some red oil for the back lamps.(Hullaballoo)
Delivery started at 8am and telegrams were dropped from the telegraph room on the top floor, in carriers down a brass tube into a small cage in the basement. New recruits were kidded to pay the Inspector a shilling for measuring for his uniforms.
One laddie dropped a shillings worth of coppers down the tube! everybody got a share!
From 7am to 9pm we had to wait in the telegraph room to be despatched,and it was intriguing to watch the telegraphists operating their morse keys and interpreting the sounders as they wrote out the messages. This was before the advent of teleprinters
I once delivered a telegram to a police station and the sargeant observed "nay lad ,I deant recognise the handwriting!" Also at that time were ABC circular machines which were used to transmit messages ,from sub-post offices
As my seniority grew I was awarded three red stripes and seconded to the race meetings in the silver ring and attended the Assizes at the Crown Court to be available to Barristers.
Each morning ,before duty,Mr Verney held an inspection parade in the Guildhall yard next door and woe betide any boy with dirty boots,badges or buttons.
Our system of identifying distances from the Post Office were concentric circles starting with A and the most distant ones being X Yand Z.
On saturday nights we used to delight in racing, threading our way through the congested crowds in Coney Street, clanging our bells and seeming very important.
After our tern as Telegraph Messengers, we could progress to be postmen, train as Telegraphists or transfer to the G.P.O. Telephone Engineers as youths-in-training, I chose the latter
Just a brrief glimpse of the long dead service of the 1920's
Tom Purt
We messengers were housed in the basement of the Head Post Office in Lendal, York.
Our Inspector at the time was a medium size 'ramrod ' indivial called George Verney.An ex-army , kindly ,disciplinarian who extended his authority to his twenty five messenger boys whose ages ranged from 14 to 19.
In order to gain civil service certificate, we had to attend night school until we were 16, learn 'standard' handwriting and pass the medical. One Irish lad called 'spud' Murphy, undergoing his medical was given a mug to urinate in-put it in the middle of the surgery floor and missed.
As temporary messengers, we were employed on a Saturday attached to press reporters on the Knavesmire to carry reports of football matches back to the news office in Coney Street.
Our attendances covered from 7am to 9pm, The 7 to 8 period involved cleaning the front and rear oil lamps used the previous night. The seniors sent one young lad to the stores manager for some red oil for the back lamps.(Hullaballoo)
Delivery started at 8am and telegrams were dropped from the telegraph room on the top floor, in carriers down a brass tube into a small cage in the basement. New recruits were kidded to pay the Inspector a shilling for measuring for his uniforms.
One laddie dropped a shillings worth of coppers down the tube! everybody got a share!
From 7am to 9pm we had to wait in the telegraph room to be despatched,and it was intriguing to watch the telegraphists operating their morse keys and interpreting the sounders as they wrote out the messages. This was before the advent of teleprinters
I once delivered a telegram to a police station and the sargeant observed "nay lad ,I deant recognise the handwriting!" Also at that time were ABC circular machines which were used to transmit messages ,from sub-post offices
As my seniority grew I was awarded three red stripes and seconded to the race meetings in the silver ring and attended the Assizes at the Crown Court to be available to Barristers.
Each morning ,before duty,Mr Verney held an inspection parade in the Guildhall yard next door and woe betide any boy with dirty boots,badges or buttons.
Our system of identifying distances from the Post Office were concentric circles starting with A and the most distant ones being X Yand Z.
On saturday nights we used to delight in racing, threading our way through the congested crowds in Coney Street, clanging our bells and seeming very important.
After our tern as Telegraph Messengers, we could progress to be postmen, train as Telegraphists or transfer to the G.P.O. Telephone Engineers as youths-in-training, I chose the latter
Just a brrief glimpse of the long dead service of the 1920's
Tom Purt