A 1st class career! Longest serving Royal Mail postman finishes final shift after 60 years of working for the delivery service

Britain’s longest-serving Royal Mail postman finished his final night-shift yesterday, marking the end of a record-breaking 60-year career.

Robert Hudson, from Leyton, east London, started his career in December 1964 – aged 16 – as a messenger in the Whitechapel Delivery Office distributing telegrams.

The 76-year-old, known as Rocky, carried out his final shift at the Docklands Delivery Office in east London – where he has spent the last four decades working.

Looking ahead to retirement, Rocky told the BBC it will feel strange to live without his early alarms but he said was looking forward to spending time gardening and seeing his family.

After spending years delivering mail door-to-door, Rocky opted to transfer to night shifts at the London Docklands Delivery Office.

This came after the sudden death of his wife, Sheila, at age 26, in 1980 and he needed to take care of their three children, who were around the age of 10 at the time.

‘I had little kids to bring up on my own and the night shift was the only way I could sort of get round it,’ Rocky said.

‘I didn’t start until midnight so I could be there with them right up until then, get them in bed, tuck them in, shoot off to work, come home again at 7am and get them up to go to school. It worked out absolutely perfect.’

The 76-year-old, known as Rocky, carried out his final shift at the Docklands Delivery Office in east London. His colleagues celebrated with a retirement party on December 7 (pictured)

Rocky has since spent the last 40 years working from 11pm to 7am emptying and organising the delivery trucks to go out each morning.

During his time with Royal Mail, he has met King Charles twice, he said.

To mark 60 years and the end of his service, Rocky and his colleagues celebrated his retirement party at the Docklands delivery office on 7 December – the date he first started in 1964.

‘The first thing I’m going to do is turn all my alarms off,’ Rocky said. ‘I’ll finish building my shed down the garden and do some maintenance things.’