British Postal Service Appointment Books 1737-1969 - ancestry

[kiterunner]

http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=1933

Woohoo! I've been waiting impatiently for these! I have a few ancestors who worked for the post office, and while I was helping to index these records (they're done by the World Archives Project, so the index is free for everyone, by the way) I came across one of my mum's relatives, so I shall start by seeing if I can follow his career through.

Let us know what you find.

[maggie_4_7]

oooh I just remembered the Hoyes!

[Lynn the Forest Fan]

Thanks for putting this up Kate. I waas told that my g grandfather Francis Samuel Stowell worked for the TPO at one point, although Mum hadn't been aware of this. I just searched for his name & bingo F S Stowell is listed for 1924 in London. :) Would sks be able to tell me the details please?

[Phoenix]

What a bummer! I can usually (as somebody who doesn't have a sub) access the indexes straight off. This time they are asking for details from me.

*sulks*

[kiterunner]

Do you mean it's asking you to login / register, or it's saying you need a sub?

[Tilly Mint]

Its asking me to take the free trial......

[kiterunner]

If it isn't letting you look at the index for free when you're logged in, you should complain to ancestry and point out it should be free to everyone as it was keyed by the World Archives Project.

(You would still need a sub to view the actual images)

[WendyPusey]

Doesn't give you a lot of information though does it?

[maggie_4_7]

Doesn't give you a lot of information though does it?

Not much at all.

[kiterunner]

I think I've found my great-aunt on there - she's only listed by initials rather than first names, but it says on her marriage cert that she worked for the post office and there's only one possible listing for her that I can see. I thought until now that she took a job in Brighton after she left home in her early twenties, but it appears that she went to work for the Post Office when she was 17. Very interesting.

[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 :d :d

[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]

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.