Fakenham postman David Neill celebrates 40 years

Forty years later, he is still delivering letters and parcels with a big smile on his face to people in the Fakenham area.

Mr Neill has worked in Binham and Bale, as well as in the Fakenham sorting office and the Hindringham round.

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Looking back at his early days as a postie, he said: “I remember when we first started we wore these heavy black crombie coats that needed a shirt and tie.

“We weren’t allowed to wear shorts, but now you see loads of us in shorts.”

The Royal Mail has evolved in many ways during David’s tenure, one being the incorporation of shorts into the uniform. (Image: Rachel Neill)

Another change has also been to the pace of the business’ operations. As more companies have moved online, the Royal Mail has remained a popular delivery service for orders to reach customers.

This has ramped up work for postmen and women. “We have more parcels to deliver,” Mr Neill added. 

Part of Mr Neill’s last 10 years, during which he received a gift for 30 years of service, has also been the pandemic.

“That was very strange, and very scary,” said Mr Neill. 

“But we made the most of it. We dressed up as different characters for charity, which cheered a lot of our customers up. One of my costumes was Bob the Builder.” 

Many postmen and women dressed up during the pandemic to keep customers smiling. One of David’s outfits was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle number. (Image: Rachel Neill)
And there is no slowing down for Mr Neill. At 59, he remains energised to continue to serve his community for as long as he physically can.

“There’s someone I know who has been working here for 47 years, that’s the next record to beat,” he said.