Saying goodbye

The team in Chipping Norton have said goodbye to a much-loved colleague, who sadly passed away due to cancer during lockdown.

Andrew Hawtin died peacefully on 23 July, aged 54 years. He was the son of Mick and Janet, dad, brother, uncle and friend to many.

His funeral service took place at St Mary's Church, Chipping Norton on Friday 14 August. In a fantastic show of unity, a cortege of 25 Royal Mail vehicles followed Andrew’s coffin to his final resting place.

Chipping Norton postman, Chris Austin, said: ‘The whole of Chipping Norton stopped to allow us through to loud applause.

‘Andrew was a delivery postman at our office for 18 years and a popular chap. He recently had a kidney removed and seemed to be recovering well. But he then had to have chemotherapy after his operation.

‘Due to the lockdown, none of us saw him for his last four or five months and only his family could visit him in hospital.

‘It was a sad occasion made worse as Andrew’s brother Steve worked with him at the delivery office. This was our way of saying goodbye.’