After 37 years in the Post Office I still treasure this rather tattered picture of an event that was historic both to the Post Office and me.
For it was 36 years ago [in 1934] that I delivered the first Post Office telegram to go by motor-cycle in the South. I was 17 then and had not been at Brighton head post office long when I was asked to make the delivery to a house in Hove, driving one of the first six telegraph motor bikes to go into service in Hove.
We learned to ride them in about a week. An instructor from BSA taught us - there was no driving test in those days. After a couple of months the police chief of Hove wrote to the head postmaster saying we were driving too fast on our deliveries.
The machines were loud and sounded fast, but the boys only did about 25 mph. We liked the job, but it was the extra 4s 6d a week for driving that really interested us. Our basic pay was 15s.
Stanley Simpkins, postmaster, Chertsey, Surrey
From the Post Office newspaper "Courier", 1970
The photograph shows the big day in 1934 as 17 year-old Stanley is entrusted with the first telegram to go by motor-cycle in the South. The man handing to him: Mr Franks, inspector of messengers.
Picture location: Brighton
Date: 1934
Sent by: Stanley Simpkins
Category: Tools and transport
