Locals fight to ‘Save Al’ the postman because they all love him so much

Spirits in the Swansea suburb of Dunvant have been somewhat dampened this week after receiving the news that their beloved postman Al is being transferred to a different patch.

While most of us might say a little hello to our local postman (if we’re lucky), in Derlwyn, Dunvant, residents treasure him as a valued member of the community who has a far more important role than just delivering the mail.

In an area that’s home to many elderly residents, Derlwyn residents have found conversations with postman Al to be a lifeline for many of those who were shielding throughout the pandemic. In fact, residents have been so upset by the news of his leaving that they’ve started a petition to ‘Save Al’. You can read more stories about Swansea here.

Read more:Royal Mail aiming to recruit 20,000 seasonal workers for Christmas

Barbara Devlin, 67, of Bro Dedwydd Road in Derlwyn, is championing hard for Al to stay in the area.

She said: “Al has been our postman for years, but Royal Mail are doing a reshuffle and he’s being moved in January to a different area. He doesn’t want to go, and we don’t want to lose him.”

With a high population of elderly and vulnerable people, many Derlwyn residents spent months at home shielding from the virus – with a number unable to see friends or family during the ongoing pandemic. So, during that time, Al’s face has been a huge welcome to lonely residents in need of human interaction.

“We love Al, and he loves us too. We’re a very close-knit community, and we’re going to really miss him. We’ve had hard times over the past few years, and in Derlwyn, we have quite a few elderly and vulnerable people,” added Barbara.

“Sometimes, Al’s face was the only face they saw, and he would always stand at the end of the drive and have a chat with residents. If you haven’t seen anybody else through the day, situations like that become really important. He was brilliant.”

Barbara has left petitions in local shops such as the Gemini hairdressers and Pixie’s cakes, and has had a huge amount of support from other people in the area.

“We’ve had lots and lots of people messaging us, and many of us have emailed the Royal Mail ourselves asking that he can stay. The post office have said they will look into it for us, so that’s a start.”

“He’s been with us through really hard times. Everybody here has a brilliant relationship with him – even those that work and haven’t been home shielding.”

Sign up to the SwanseaOnline newsletter to receive our top stories straight to your inbox.

It takes just seconds to sign up – simply click here, enter your email address and follow the instructions.

Changed your mind? There’s an ‘unsubscribe’ button at the bottom of every newsletter we send out.

She added: “You only have to meet him once, and he remembers everybody’s name. People trust him, and that’s the main thing.”

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We are always pleased to hear that our postmen and postwomen form such an important part of the local community in which they serve. Our people are famed for going the extra mile.

“We are about to carry out a review of local postal routes to ensure that our postmen and postwomen’s routes have equal workload and are fairer and more balanced to reflect the growth in parcel deliveries. We will ensure that our colleague who serves customers in Derlwyn is recognised for his dedication to his role.”

For more stories from where you live, visit InYourArea.