Liverpool’s finest

With colleagues working harder than ever before in the face of the pandemic, customers in Merseyside thought it was only right to thank their favourite key workers for making such an amazing difference to their communities.

The Liverpool Echo was so impressed by the dedication of our people, including colleagues from Prescott Delivery Office, who you can watch here expressing their gratitude to Liverpool’s NHS workers, that it asked its readers to nominate their ‘best-loved posties.’

‘Whether it's a retired postie who served your community for decades, the man or woman who always goes above and beyond for you, or the local postie who's always on hand with a smile and a bit of chat,’ said the paper. ‘Tell us all about the postal staff who have made a difference over the years.’

Below, you can see 10 of the 28 serving and former colleagues nominated by customers in Merseyside. As you can imagine, many customers were only on first-name terms with their local postman or woman, so, like the paper, in some cases, we have only included the colleague’s name as the customer provided it, plus where given, the areas they serve.

Jeffrey Roberts, Mossley Hill Delivery Office - Margaret Pitt said: ‘My postman is Jeff, he's a lovely fella, always got a smile on his face.’

Rob McMurray – Liverpool South Delivery Office - Sara McMurray said: ‘My dad Rob has been a postie for 40 years - he's spent the last five years doing nights sorting the mail in Sandhills depot.’

‘Ian in Maghull’ - Sheila Darby said: ‘Our postman in Merrilox Avenue, Maghull is Ian. He always has a smile whatever the weather, he’s polite and friendly. Our collie Digby waits in the porch to watch him go up and down the road. It may be a love/hate relationship, but you can tell Digby is gutted on a Sunday when there’s no post. Thanks Ian.’

‘Brian in Anfield’ - Debbie Sweeney said: ‘Brian has been our postie in Anfield for years and knows everybody by name - he is such a gem in L6 and L7.’

Sean Prendergast, Garston Delivery Office - Jillian Mclaughlin said: ‘My postie is Sean Prendergast, a happy-go-lucky person, always with a smile on his face and very helpful indeed.’

Phillip Bache, Mossley Hill Delivery Office - Beverlie Phillips said: ‘My postie is Phillip Bache - he's a lovely fella and goes above and beyond in L18.’

Geoff Highton, Upton Delivery Office - Barb Teale said: ‘My postman is amazing. I've been having cancer treatment for over a year and every time he needed to knock because he had a parcel, he would apologise for disturbing me and ask if I was okay. It's little things like that which make you smile even when it's hard. Please tell him, he's my hero.’

Manny Owolabi, South Eastern Delivery Office - Sue Hough Armstrong said: ‘My cousin Manny Owolabi has been a postman for years. Even this pandemic doesn’t stop him from doing his job. We’re all proud of him.’

Colin Brown, Liverpool South Delivery Office - Tommy Dalton said: ‘Our postman who delivers to our work in Brunswick Dock is one of the best! Colin Brown is his name. He’s got a lovely bulldog called Jowels and before social distancing he would show us videos of Jowels in the garden.’

‘Chris in L16’ - Paul Goldstaub said: ‘Chris delivers to Childwall Park Avenue and he is absolutely fantastic! The best postie we have had in all the years we have lived here. Nothing is ever too much trouble. All the posties are under a lot of pressure at the moment, but Chris always goes the extra mile for his customers and thoroughly deserves to be recognised.’

People Business Partner, Merseyside, Sheryll Elliott, said: ‘I’m really proud of all our postmen and women in Merseyside and the wonderful work they do to help keep the country running especially during this difficult time.

‘Their commitment and support to our community is fundamental to ensuring that letters, parcels and essential items are delivered to our loved ones.

‘The appreciation from all our customers demonstrates the excellent level of service they deliver daily, going above and beyond for communities up and down the country.’

Click here to see the full list of 28.