Delivering The Post In Northwood Hills

A Memory of Northwood Hills.

I worked for the post office as a "Christmas Casual" in 1962 and the crafty regular postmen dumped all the unpopular rounds on the young students doing a couple of weeks casual work.  I was given an armband with a numbered badge and minimal training to sort the letters on my "walk".

The sorting office was in Bridge Street, Pinner but my round was in Northwood Hills delivering to Alandale Drive, Lyndhurst Gardens and Avenue, and Dale Close. This was a good two miles away - and uphill too! I rode my ropey old post office bike which in those days had no front pannier so you carried your letters in satchels over your shoulder. At Christmas this needed two satchels!

I fell off my bike one morning while cycling past the traffic lights in Pinner Green because my load was so heavy it overbalanced me as I turned the corner!  Folks rushed from the nearby bus stop to pick me up!  Gosh I was tired that week. The day started early with clocking on at the Pinner sorting office about 4.30 am and to get there I had to cycle from my home in Hatch End so I was knackered before I started!   I can remember the smell of paraffin or oil lamps, wet cycling capes, and the soggy canvas satchels!

I felt honour bound to deliver EVERTHING in my satchel so I didn't return to the sorting office until all had been delivered. My worst nightmare was a householder running after me with a letter saying I had put it in the wrong letterbox and sometimes this meant retracing my steps quite a long way.

At the end of each week we got paid in cash at the princely rate of two shillings and fourpence farthing an hour. One week I had an easier and far more interesting casual duty on the parcel counter at Hatch End Post Office. The pay rate was just the same but the work was at least all in daylight and indoors!  When I completed my couple of weeks my National Insurance card was returned to me with stamps stuck on for each week I had worked. Now that I shall be 65 this year I sometimes wonder if this will do anything to improve my state retirement pension!!