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Apart from retail workers, posties are undoubtedly the busiest people during the festive season, ensuring precious cards and parcels reach their destinations before Christmas Day.
Royal Mail may have been founded during the 1500s, but even in the digital age our posties are essential – not just at Christmas but all year round.
And during the last year when Covid kept families and communities apart, posties were often the only person many people saw in lockdown.
As the last Christmas posting date approaches next week, we take a look back at our merry mail carriers of days gone by.
Unmistakably from the 1940s, this photo shows post office workers sorting through copious amounts of Dundee’s Christmas post.
With Britain still at war, women were drafted in to help out at post offices and even took to the streets as posties – a move that was seen as controversial when first introduced.
This photo was taken on December 19 1944 and with letters being sent to and from troops in Europe and Africa, there was plenty to keep the workers busy.
They say many hands make light work, and it took 10 employees to sort through the last of the post on Christmas Eve in 1946.
These employees look like they had almost sorted through all of the last-minute mail that arrived in Dundee ahead of Christmas Day.
But in the 1930s, there was so much post that additional large sheds had to be found in Dundee at Earl Grey Dock.
He’s checking it twice – Perth postie Ronald Ratting makes sure he’s got the correct destination for this Christmas parcel in 1948.
Looking smart in his uniform, some readers might remember the posties’ formal tunics, waistcoats and peaked hats of yesteryear.
The uniform underwent a major overhaul in the early 2000s to become more practical and casual.
Our posties pound the pavements, battling all sorts of Scottish weather – often experiencing four seasons in one day.
Postie Mr Barclay, above, was wrapped up warm in his overcoat during his Dundee round on a snowy day on December 18 1950.
He was laden with festive parcels wrapped up in brown paper and string.
This post office worker was looking glum in the so-called ‘Heartbreak Corner’ at this Dundee post office.
Not because he was lovelorn, but because of the broken and unclaimed Christmas parcels piling up on December 18 1953.
The abandoned parcels ended up unloved because they were poorly wrapped or couldn’t be delivered to their recipients.
There was an endless stream of Christmas post at the Edward Street post office in Dundee in December 1960.
Dozens of postal workers can be seen lining up along both sides of the pigeonholes sorting through the abundance of mail.
Even in the 1970s, post was still sorted and put into sacks by hand – and there was a lot to get through at this Dundee post office on December 17 1975.
One big change, however, was the uniform – gone were the tunics and suits, to be replaced with more cosy and casual office wear.
William Brown, higher grade postman, looks at the pile of broken parcels with dismay on December 21 1979.
The poorly packages arrived in a right state at Dundee Post Office.
Such was the volume of mail that Mr Brown was taken off his normal postal duties to become a “parcel surgeon” to try to repair the parcels.
Even posties need a hand sometimes, and Santa was a willing helper at Christmas in 1989.
Here he is pictured with two-year-old Richard Lindsay picking up some letters from Kirkton Community Centre Playgroup.
Santa also took time out of his busy festive schedule in December 1991 to pop past the Christmas party at the post office at Dundee East.
Here he meets the adorable little Liam Saunders who was celebrating his first Christmas.
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