Based on childhood recollections
of working class life in north London in Edwardian times.
Postmen's uniforms
The postman was always in uniform.
An early 1900s postman showing his unique peaked hat.
Detail from a photo in Nidderdale Museum.
A postman in the early 1900s, showing his uniform and
the special shoulder bag. Photo in my mother's
effects.
He wore a hat that
was unusual, a sort of graduated peak back and front of very dark blue, almost
black. HIs uniform was the same colour, and his trousers had a thin red stripe down the outside
of the leg.
Postmen's rounds
Postmen had a lot of of walking to do, as there were four deliveries
a day, with the last one at half past nine at night. Letters were very important
in those days as ordinary families did not have
telephones. So people would wait
for the postman, if they were expecting news from the family.
A postman's handcart from the early 1900s.
Photographed in York Castle Museum.
Postmen carried the letters in bags over their shoulders, but they used
hand carts for taking parcels for delivery.
Dreaded letters
Dreaded letters
had black-edged envelopes containing black-edged paper, and they brought news
of a death - see funerals.
The Boxing Day tip
It was customary for the postman to call on Boxing Day for his
Christmas present called a Christmas Box.
This would be just a few
coppers.
This website Join me in the 1900s is a contribution to the social history of everyday life in early to mid 20th century Britain, seen through personal recollections and illustrations, with the emphasis on what it was like to live in those times. It is © Pat Cryer.
