‘These stalwart men’

Colleagues in Portsmouth have been hailed for their dedication to the job, particularly during lockdown.

Postmen Colin Page, John Sturt and Mark Drennan, from Portsmouth Delivery Office, were singled out for special praise in the form of the below poem written by one of their customers.

Our special postmen

‘Here's to our special postmen and their comforting little red van.

Colin, John and sometimes Mark, who every working day will park

in quiet roads by silent cars, abandoned churches, closed down bars.

Like Father Christmases in spring, they lug their big red bags to bring

some contact with this locked-down land, we see how much they understand.

For them, the covid holds no fear, they charge ahead, their mission clear,

protected by the clean fresh air to show us that they really care.

Let us now praise these stalwart men, who bring good will to us. Amen.’

Portsmouth mail processing unit (MPU) manager, Kerry Whiteford, said: ‘During this pandemic, Colin, John and Mark have supported their community more than ever, checking in on their most vulnerable customers and getting their shopping for them. We were all extremely proud to receive this poem.’

Fareham delivery office manager, Mark Bell, said: ‘Colin, John and Mark are old school postmen. They always put their customers first and go the extra mile to hold the business in good light.

‘Their delivery has many elderly customers and all three postmen have made a point of checking in with these more vulnerable customers throughout the lockdown, including visiting nine different shops to make sure customers had some spare loo roll, when all the panic buying was happening at the start of the outbreak.’