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Royal Mail Telegrams Boys

S

Stitcher

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I remember the 'Telegram Boy' on his little red two stroke, was it a BSA Bantam? I had two step brothers away at war and a step sister away in The Land Army. I do remember the anxiety when the Telegram Boy stopped outside the house and I remember the relief on mom's face when she read the messages. I do not recall mom and dad getting any bad news via this service.
 
Just catching up Stich. 125cc Bantams were always 'light green'. I suspect the GPO had specials that were red (GPO colours)
Royal Mail Telegrams, when I cleared up my mothers belongings after she died in the late 90's there were 2 or 3 old telegrams from overseas in the 30's & were just faded white sheets with ticker tape type strips of paper stuck on with the message - nothing fancy like your examples
The thing that impressed me from my parents records were their diaries. They probably met in the late 20's & 'got serious' in the early 30's. Their diaries on several occations record making dates to meet at certain venues. My father would drop a letter in the letter box on the way to work in the morning & it would be delivered by evening to my mother's address who would then go out to meeet him. No need for telegrams when the postal service was that good! (or even telephones) & probably a .5d stamp
 
hello.the red gpo bantams were made special for them in red livery.i worked on the track at bsa putting them together.
 
hi stitcher
yes i remember the telegram boys did you notice they was always little chaps whom always delivered them on those small boys
when we was little kids for some reason my little brother was always the little on in the family even when he grew up and for some reason my dear old lady always kept on about my brother roy he was always little and blonde hair in fact he his still the sameshe had the notion he as to be a telegram boy thjat what she always wanted him to be
every time she seen one she would always say roy look you have got to be one of them
but luckily by the time he was of age they was scrapped and disapeared thank god astonian
 
Yes Astonian, I remember them, and what younger people today do not understand is what a good service it was.
 
Just after I started driving for the Post Office every now and again you got overtime on a Sunday morning delivering telegrams, we are talking late 1950s. A P +To came in at 10o/clock to open up the
office. The messages came in on a teleprinter on paper strips, and he used to stick them on the form, enveleoped them and you went and took them.One Sunday I was on and had about 30 Birthday Telegrams for a big Hall out near Barton, it was their sons 21st Birthday They invited me in the kitchen
which was as big as my bungalow, Oh sit down postman, get him some breakfast, and a drink, I dont
remember getting back to the office, Happy Days when people respected each other Bernard
 
Hello Phil, there must have been thousands upon thousands of telegrams delivered across the u/k because I remember several coming to our house when I was young. I remember mom was always worried if and when the little motorbike stopped outside our house because I had two older step-brothers away at war. Luckily they were always just messages about how they were and perhaps they were coming home on leave.
 
they started using pedal cycles from 1896 there is a pdf download here postalheritage.org.uk/history/downloads/BPMA_Info_Sheet_Bicy...
 
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Then came the most easily recognised delivery motorcycle – the BSA Bantam in December 1948. The first BSA Bantam 125cc, registered JYY 934 frame number YD1 7051, was quickly followed by 49 sister machines. The Bantam became the GPO’s standard motorcycle and the Bantam, with a few modifications to frame design and engine capacity, continued in service to the end of the GPO existence as a government department.Bantams were the order of the day for the next decade: and BSA supplied 460 in 1955, 1956; 641, 1957; 150, 1958; 661, 1959; 261, 1961; 375, 1962; 346, 1963; 300, 200 in December 1966 and 165 in December 1967.

The GPO tried a few alternatives during these golden years of the telegram service delivered by BSA machines, a Corgi 98cc scooter and a further 75 James motorcycles of 125cc in April 1950.
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