A popular family is celebrating 50 years running a village post office and shop.
The Ward family took on East Barkwith Post Office and Village in the summer of 1975 and they have been at the heart of this community ever since.
David Ward’s family also run Donington on Bain Village Shop. His Mum, Jenny, has run that shop for the past 53 years since David was just two years old. Three years later David’s dad, Eric, bought East Barkwith Post Office and village shop.
David recalls helping with decorating their new family business to modernise it.
At first the business was run by his grandparents, but David has been running the branch for the past 33 years with the help of his wife, Sally.
East Barkwith postmaster David said: “My mum, Jenny, phoned me in April to make sure I’d remembered that it was our family’s special 50th anniversary for East Barkwith this summer. I have posted on my social media and customers have been reminiscing.
“Having been a part of this community since aged five, I know all of my regular customers by first name and I know them well, so I want to celebrate my family’s golden anniversary with them.
“When it was the 50th anniversary of our Donington on Bain shop, my mum wrote a local history book with money donated to Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance.”
East Barkwith Post Office, including sorting mail, has been based in the same location at 110 Main Road, East Barkwith, LN8 5RW, for over 125 years.
Times have changed greatly since the family took on the Post Office. Originally it was the place where people came to withdraw their pensions, benefits and family allowances, but this is now paid into bank accounts. However, with so many bank closures, East Barkwith is now the place for everyday banking for businesses and individuals again.
It was not until 1994 that the National Lottery started. David has nicknamed his branch ‘Barkwith’s lucky lottery Post Office’ as his customers have done really well with winnings – much better than the national average. That has encouraged more customers to keep trying their luck with the Lottery. David is also delighted with how much his customers have contributed towards good causes by playing the Lottery.
Another big change is that people used to visit shops in person or by mail order catalogue. Today the popularity of online shopping continues to rise, resulting in a greater amount of home shopping returns. His Post Office is also a hub for Amazon and Royal Mail deliveries.
David Ward received a British Empire Medal in the 2023 New Year’s Honour list in recognition for the services he provided to his East Barkwith community.
As well as running the Post Office, including throughout the pandemic, he has been a Parish Councillor for 28 years.
David only recently resigned from the role of President of the National Federation of Sub Postmasters (NFSP) North East Region and also having served as President of the Lincoln and Grimsby branch of the NFSP for many years. He also volunteers on the Post Office Postmaster Forum. David has had conversations with many top politicians about the important role Post Offices and village shops play in communities.
When David won an independent retailer competition, he shared the £750 prize between the school where he was a governor, the village hall and the local swimming pool.
Another year David did a big fundraiser for BLISS & Baby Life Support Systems charity, raising £1,000 for his local hospital towards incubators. Fatefully, one year later his son needed this equipment when he was born.