British Postal Service Appointment Books 1737-1969 - ancestry

[Sue from Southend]

Found my Dad! Can't be sure about his father though as he has a more common name, will have to wait till the end of the week and payday when I'll renew my sub

[Langley Vale Sue]

I've found two of my grandmother's brothers, a postman and a telephone engineer. I've also found my Mum, a telephonist who joined in 1941.
I'm not on there though , despite the records apparently going up to 1969. The latest ones I've found are 1956 . I joined in 1965.

It also looks as though my Mum's paternal grandfather was a postman for a while - I didn't know that.

[kiterunner]

This bit of the Postal Museum Family History guide might be of interest:

Please be aware that if somebody left the Post Office before they became eligible to receive a pension, we would not have much information on them. The appointment minutes are essentially a list of names with the dates that they started employment on, therefore confirming that a particular person began their employment with the Post Office on a particular date. The pension or gratuity records though are far more useful in that they not only confirm the date a pension or gratuity was granted, but give a brief summary of individuals’ careers, the different positions they had, the different salaries they received and any notable achievements they may have made. These records are therefore the best place to start looking for ancestors.

(The pension records aren't online as far as I know)

Link to the Postal Museum site:
http://postalheritage.org.uk/page/genealogy

[kiterunner]

Originally Posted by Langley Vale Sue

I'm not on there though , despite the records apparently going up to 1969. The latest ones I've found are 1956 . I joined in 1965.

You can browse the records by date, and there certainly are some from 1969 but it doesn't look as though there are very many.

[kiterunner]

A new database has just been added to Ancestry:

UK Postal Establishment Books 1691-1979

There are over 1.6 million records, which is more than in the Postal Service Appointments Books, but I'm not sure whether there is an overlap between the two or not.

A lot of entries have initials rather than first name, so if a search on first name doesn't find them, try initials instead.

[kiterunner]

Okay, now I've had a look at the records for someone in my tree, there is quite a lot on the new database that isn't in the appointments books one. So definitely worth a look.

[JBee]

Yes found OH's grandfather. He got the Kings Medal for his service and walked for miles on his route in Angus, Scotland.