telegram boys

[happymackem]

anybody out there that started as one?
i started in may 1970 15 yo at dh9 when it was stanley crown office with the deliverys at the back as a telegram boy monday to saturday
mon to fri 0900 till 5pm but if late one came in no overtime
sat 0900 till 1pm
i used to sit in the telegram office with the counter clerk ,you were not allowed to do postmans work till you were 18 and didnot get full pay till you were 21.
on saturdays you hoped none came in late cos in my case the bus to sunderland was 1pm and if i missed it no match,but the clerks were good used to let me away sharp (thanks to them all)
in those days the postmaster was god and it was mr or miz you knew you place.
oh and the post office bikes i must have pushed mine for miles ok down hill but any hill off and push no gears and heavy
oh great times

[johnnyp]

Not one myself mate as im only 43 and done 23 years,but we do have a couple of lads at our place who started as messengers and have told a few tales of what it was like.Its a shame they dont bring them back in some sort of form as it was a great service imho.

[telegram_sam]

I was a telegram boy, I also started in 1970, went from a push bike to a moped, then a 125 bsa bantam with the pear drop shaped tank, then a 175 'new' bantam with the new shaped tank all 2 stroke engines.
When you took the fuel cap off the oil container was housed in it, can't remember the mix, (can't remember what I had for breakfast come to that ) Remember going out of the yard ,getting round the corner and taking my helmet off and strapping it to the back of the bike (helmets were not compulsory yet!!) Also remember going out in the snow, sleet and whatever else the winter could throw at you, getting back to the office and standing next to the radiator literally thawing out!!, the boss always sent one of the other lads upstairs to brew the tea on such an occasion.
Spent three years as a postman on delivery on less money than a 21yr old for doing the same job, could'nt see that happening today somehow.
Went driving, passed my class 1 but these days just drive the 7.5 ton on collections. Happy days!!

[golfgod]

i was a telegram boy started in 1981still there after 29 years i used to like the job but its s**t now with loads of hassle a job job down the pan

[gj1023]

Started 6AM 7th April 1975 as a Telegram boy , different planet , let alone world back then

[youwot!!!!!]

i started as a telecom messenger doing the rounds of three different b.t.depots.9 months later i was "bombing" around on a "puch" moped(49cc and 29 mph downhill with a tail wind).great in summer but bloody hard in winter.i delivered the last telegram in my city in 1982 as it happens.good days.29 years later and i wonder "what the hell happened to the post office(or g.p.o.) i joined?
i drive 7.5 tonners now as i can't bare to work in deliveries or the processing.

[SpeedFreakPostie]

I was a telemessage boy when i started in 1981. It wasn't long after that the service ended. best time ever, a 17 year racing around Coventry on a pushbike dodging the traffic, those we're the days


These days you're just doing this

[ronnie6]

I started in 1969. In those days the AI was a right little hitler and we had to parade each morning. He would go down the line and send home (without pay) anybody who was incorrectly dressed, had a badge which wasn't polished, or had hair down to their collar. I was then sent to a rural area to deliver telegrams and was there for about three years. Best three years of my career, ah, the stories I could tell.

[telegram sam]

I started as a telegram lad in the red hot summer of 1976 in Newark.Although then we were called junior postmen and had a 3 way .Two earlies and a late with the earlies having a walk each. What i would give now for those days .Still here 33years later .We had push bikes not mopeds so a nice bike ride out to one of the nearby villages would be great in summer .Im now working in a mail centre and my god how the job is deteriorating around us . Im so glad i have some brilliant memories from my earlier service.

[3wheelbike]

I too started as a Telegram boy in 1950 at £2 .90 shillings a week. Started on a pushbike then to a Bantam with leg shields that would ground when cornering. One trick with these was to open the throttle on the last stroke & the engine would run in reverse. Thankfully the note would change as a warning. We also had 250cc BSA four strokes before the Bantams Another trick with the 250cc was to turn off the ignition as we approached the office then turning it back to a loud back-fire, great fun if there were girls around. I like to think I have grown up now. We had a term reffered to as a ‘dash’. This entailed two of you leaving the office with telegrams usually in opposite directions & cycling together at speed to return without the supervisor being aware. You risked a P18 if you were caught, known as a ‘skin’ . Due to staff shortages Three of us were was eventually was taken off Telegram duties to do a deliveries They were all senior men’s jobs who was taken off to make them available to us. The result was they left the Union in protest.

[gideon 60]

aug 1st 1977. puch maxi ,nice job,managers a bit tasty though.

[BELIAL]

I too started as a Telegram boy in 1950

I like to think I have grown up now.

Surrender monkey

[thebandit]

anybody out there that started as one?

Started as a messenger boy in 1963 and got on the Bantam's in 1964 for two-years. The best years of my working life, without a doubt.

[farquarson]

I started in August 1964 (15) as a Telegram Boy at N.W.D.O which covered NW3 & NW8 full of pop stars & film stars at (16) I went on to motorbikes best 2yrs of my 40 yr career at RM.

[DGP1]

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