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A retirement celebration has been held for popular Broadstairs postman Ralph Lowdon who hangs up his bag after some 23 years as a Thanet postie plus another 10 served in London.
Ralph Lowdon, 66, began his career as a telegram boy aged 16. The Finsbury Park lad spent ten years with the company in London before moving to Broadstairs in 1985 and buying the Curzon Hotel.
He went back to Royal Mail in around 2002 and has been delivering in Broadstairs from then until his final round last Saturday {December 28}.
Known for always having a smile – and a wealth of terrible dad and Tony Blackburn jokes- Ralph says the thing he will miss most is the town and the people.
He said: “I love seeing people, making my silly jokes and walking along the beach. It’s the best delivery walk in Thanet, maybe the country, with the beach and the harbour.
“I love it here, I can pop in any café for a cup of tea or in the pub for a quick pint.”
There have also been many changes over the years.
The dad-of-four said: “Since I have been in Broadstairs there have been changes. It’s all parcels and packets now, the job has changed so much. I think Royal Mail will hold its own because it is the Royal Mail but there are a lot of delivery services now.
“I get asked so many times {by couriers} where this shop or place is. I’ve even picked up parcels that have gone to the wrong address and taken them to the right address,
“There’s not so much time now to stop and have a chat, I think the last time was when we were on strike and a lot of people would go by and give s a toot.
“It’s a more physical job since we lost the bikes a few years ago and I do think it’s time {to retire}, it’s been a good run.”
One of Ralph’s stand out moments was in 2018 when news that his wallet and a package had been stolen while he was on his rounds went viral.
Ralph was outside SunDays tanning in The Broadway when he nipped across the road to deliver at the garage. It was then that an opportunist thief, who had an accomplice, dipped into the trolley and pinched the items.
Ralph, who had been due at his surprise 60th party at Lesters’ that night, had to fork out £229 for a new lock because his key and driving licence with his address were in the wallet.
The CCTV from SunDays Tanning received a massive response when it was posted to facebook with more than 1,000 shares and numerous comments. Ralph was even filmed by Meridian TV after the station spotted the video.
He said: “The Meridian interview on the Broadway took nearly an hour, the union rep with me was in hysterics because every time they started filming someone would shout out “Ralphy” and they’d have to start all over again.”
Travel features in grandad-of-five Ralph’s retirement plans with he and wife of 43 years Leigh, a former deputy headteacher, heading off to Gran Canaria in just under a fortnight. Regular trips to Madrid are also planned as one of his son’s is a sergeant with the RAF stationed there.
Ralph said: “I’ll be spending time with family. Madrid is beautiful and {my son} works for the embassy and my three-year-old grandson is there.”
To mark Ralph’s retirement a celebration was held at The Royston micropub in Broadstairs. Ralph was presented with a £500 TUI voucher by Broadstairs Chamber of Commerce President, Malcolm Cox, which members and other individuals had all contributed to.
Liam Smith, of Klaxon Creative and son of Royston boss Andy, also went out with Ralph on his final rounds to create a short film which will be presented to him and also screened at the micropub in the new year.
Ralph said: “I am an emotional person and I did well up a little bit. The TUI voucher was incredible and a bit of a shock! I also got a beautiful watch from a local jewellers and a retirement card. It was quite overwhelming. I’ve been going out for a walk on the seafront and people have been shaking my hand and saying congratulations.
“I even got a message from Tony Blackburn! I’m well known for my Tony Blackburn jokes and we were upstairs in the Bradstow Mill and I got the message with Tony Blackburn sitting in his chair, it was a good evening!”
Andy Smith, from The Royston, said: “We had a presentation and my son Liam filmed him on his last rounds. We are a community pub and have supported the postmen before , holding a collection during covid for them all to have a drink.
“The Post Office and the pub are the last bastions of community. Ralph always puts a smile on people’s faces and is really involved with the community.
“He will be sorely missed. He not only delivered mail, he was a ray of sunshine, always smiling and brightened the day for many of us. He’d always have time to say hello or have a quick chat… even if it was to tell you one of his awful ‘dad’ jokes.”
