Falkirk man preparing to retire following 47-year Royal Mail career

Sixty-six-year-old Paul Young was still in his teens when he joined the company’s Brightons office and began delivering the post by bicycle.

Some 47 years on, the College Crescent resident is preparing to hand over the keys to his work van for a final time.

Following his birthday in February, and after much thought, Mr Young decided he would officially retire on Friday, April 2.

He joked: “I’m not retiring on April 1, just in case!

“I’m looking forward to retiring and not having to look out the window to see what the weather’s like before going to work.

“If I were 20 years younger, I’d enjoy the job better. I was intending to work most of this year but I gave a lot of thought to the matter.

“A lot of things go through your mind. At the back of my mind is to be active and try not to relax every day.

“I’ll go for walks and do the garden. I think the worst thing would be to stop and do nothing.

“It’d be wiser to be active. That’s the key to health.”

Born and raised in Laurieston, Mr Young initially secured a job as a road engineer with Falkirk Council but soon grew tired of its demands.

Conversations with a friend who worked as a postman led to his career change, aged 19.

He lived in his home village with wife Ena for a year before moving to his current home.

The dad-of-two then swapped Royal Mail’s Brightons office for its base in Garrison Place, Falkirk a few years later.

Mr Young will be a familiar face to those who live or work in Grangemouth, Avonbridge or Linlithgow, given the fact he’s spent much of his career as a driver for rural and outlying areas, including farms and steadings.

The opportunity the role has afforded him to meet others is what, he says, he’ll miss the most.

Mr Young added: “It’s been a job I’ve liked and nothing really major in my life has changed as a Royal Mail driver.

“I want to thank my wife and children, Nathan and Aimee, for their support over the years.”