Heart of gold
Congratulations to Woking driver Stephan Triggs, aka Big Stef, who has now been with the business for an impressive 40 years.
Stef began working at Royal Mail in his early 20s, starting at the Post Office in Cobham, Surrey on 10 March 1980. After working at our former Southern Home Counties facility up until its closure, Stef moved to where he currently works at Woking Vehicle Operating Centre (VOC).
Woking VOC shift manager, Chris Wood, said: ‘I have been Stef’s line manager for the last 11 months. However, I’ve known him for a lot longer. Stef’’s current duty is trucking from Aldershot Local Depot (LD) to Coventry Hub then on to North London LD. Steff has been travelling up to Coventry Hub for more than eight years now and is a very popular and well-liked colleague there.
‘One thing that always makes me chuckle each time Stef returns to Woking VOC, is the way he sits down with traffic office assistant, Terry Kemp and goes through what went on overnight on his duty. Then, it’s like some kind of Trevor McDonald-esque news programme where the two of them discuss what’s been going on around the world over the past 24 hours.
‘After discussing the sport, they then go over what’s currently on RMtv. By the end of each morning, between them they’ve put the world to rights. It’s so funny.
‘Stef wears his heart on his sleeve and has always been passionate about working for Royal Mail. He has a heart of gold and is the first person to help anyone out with any issues both in and outside of work. He’s a great colleague and it’s a real pleasure working with him.’
‘My interview for Royal Mail was a test at Kingston-on-Thames Post office with a group of other lads,’ said Stef. ‘The test involved questions about shrimp nets, bikes and lots of addresses. After the test, half of us were asked to leave the room. We looked at each other and thought that we’d all failed. But we were the lucky ones.
‘When I started at the Post Office in Cobham, where I lived at the time; on my first day, Mr Dodson the manager, gave me a book to read called “GPO Rules 1946!” Cobham was a fantastic place to live and work. I delivered the post to customers on the Fairmile area of Cobham, which is a lovely area with very nice houses. I loved it. After passing my driving test, I became a driver.
‘I met my wife, Pauline, in Cobham and saw her most days when I was out delivering, and she was on her way to work. When we got married and moved to Addlestone in Surrey, I commuted by bike to Cobham for a while until I transferred to Addlestone Post Office. A year or so later, I was asked if I could work in the West Byfleet Post Office as they were short of drivers. Both Addlestone and West Byfleet were great places to work. My wife and I than moved to Ash Vale and I transferred to Guildford Mechanised Letter Office (MLO).
‘Royal Mail Guildford paid and trained employees to become HGV drivers. I was one of the lucky ones to get such an opportunity and I’m very grateful to the business for that chance. After I got my HGV license, I worked on the Saturday nights “Road Runner” service. When the company restructured and Streamline started, the service was no longer used by Royal Mail. I missed going to the Travelling Post Offices (TPOs) in London, Reading, Woking, Watford and Luton. When Streamline closed, some of us moved to Woking old Parcel Depot, where I still work.
‘I would like to thank my manager, Chris Woods, for arranging my 40 years’ service presentation. There were balloons, banners, cake and treats. I felt very special and humbled. I even had to leave the office as I became so emotional. I was really welling up. Yes me, Big Stef! Long-service awards are special as they really make you feel that the company appreciates your service.
‘I have met loads of great people over the years. Thankyou GPO and Royal Mail, and most important, thank you to all the people who have made a difference over the past 40 years.’
