Paul Bartlett shares his memories of Ottery’s Post Office

Published:
6:00 AM March 7, 2022

During the pandemic brought by Covid-19 and the subsequent lockdowns, deliveries completely took over the everyday scenery and the white van used by the Post Office in response to the increased demand seemed to have surpassed the appearance of the Royal Mail van with the crown on its side. It looked as if our friendly local postman had vanished in the depths of uncertainty leaving us with that nostalgic taste of something vital that appeared to have been taken over.

We know of the important role played by our local postmen through centuries and especially during the war years. So the action group had a chat with Paul Bartlett who was born and bred in Ottery and whose father, Alfred Bartlett, was Ottery’s Sub-Postmaster for 30 years. We asked him, as a child, what memories he had of his father’s job, considered by many at the time as the most important job in town.

Paul started his account with a unique piece of information. He said: “The Post Office in Ottery was the first place to have a telephone, which was to the right just as you entered. Guess what the number was… OSM1.

“The Post Office building went from the front in Mill Street to the back in Hind Street, in what is now Full Circle. The entrance was more central back then and if you walked in the public area had three sides. On the right was the counter and behind the left side was the place where the postmen sorted their mail for delivery.

“At that period of time, there were only six postmen who I would like to pay homage. Although, being so young then, I can’t remember their full names. They are: Fred Atkins, Dickie Dawe, George Paddon, Harold Palfrey, Bending and Clark(e). They will always remind me of those dedicated postmen that preceded or followed them in the job and are too many to mention.

“The postmen used to frank all the mail that was collected from the mailboxes around their area. When I got older, after school, I would frank the mail with a metal stamp, that I think is still used today. It was surprising how fast I could frank the stamps on the envelopes. If I was not careful and caught my finger it would really hurt.

“Once franked, then they would be sorted. The most important part was they kept all local mail. The rest of the mail, once sorted, was bagged up ready to be taken to the station for collection by the train. As there were not as many vans the postmen delivered the post on red bikes with a frame on the front for the post bag. The vans back then had an iron bar across the back door that was locked in place.

“My father would get up at 5.00am so that he would open the big green doors at the back to let the postmen in, in order to sort the mail for delivery that day. The sorting part of the office was later moved down to the room that had been used as a printers and also an electrical repair shop. Once the postmen had moved out, my father then changed the layout of the counter and public area. The counter was moved to the left as you came in the door. At this time the frontage was changed to where the door is now. The Post Office counter has been moved about over the years.”

Although an institution under a lot of pressure because of the changes brought by modern technology, the job done by our postmen remains as valuable as ever and we all should support, use and appreciate it. It still remains the job that doesn’t matter if it rains, snows or is burning hot, it has to be done.

We would like to thank Paul Bartlett for sharing these memories with us. Undoubtedly they will be part of the history of this town for future generations to pass on.