Lest we forget
Remembrance Day, also known as Armistice Day, marks the day the First World War ended, at 11am on the 11th day of the 11th month, in 1918.
At the time of the First World War, Royal Mail was part of the General Post Office (GPO). The GPO released 75,000 colleagues to fight in the war. As well as serving throughout the Armed Forces, the GPO also had its own battalion, The Post Office Rifles. A second battalion was formed in September 1915 to accommodate the growing number of volunteers.
The Post Office Rifles had existed in various forms from 1867. It was originally created to protect Royal Mail buildings from civil unrest and attacks during the war and was made up almost entirely of Royal Mail employees.
The unit, which was stationed on the Western Front, fighting at the Battles of The Somme and Ypres, suffered terrible losses in combat. Of the 12,000 soldiers, 1,800 were killed and 4,500 wounded. More than half of the unit’s fighting force was lost at the Battle of Wurst Farm Ridge in September 1917.
During the war, the Post Office Rifles won 145 awards for gallantry. Four former postal workers were awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery ‘in the face of the enemy’. They were Sgt Alfred Knight, Sgt Albert Gill, Major Henry Kelly and Sgt John Hogan.
If you are interested in researching relatives who were part of the GPO who died either in the First or Second World War, you can search The Memorial Books of the Post Office Fellowship of Remembrance. This year the Postal Museum, along with the BT Archives, worked to digitise and transcribe the books making them available online. Now you can look for family members and add your knowledge of their history directly to their records at any time. It is also now possible to find these records on Ancestry, as part of a new partnership between the museum and the genealogy website launching this Remembrance Day.
We appreciate that holding a memorial service will be more challenging this year due to social distancing. Please discuss any plans you have with your manager. However, if a service is not possible, a two-minute silence across your unit or at home is a good way to mark the occasion whilst keeping safe.
If you have any questions, please email community@royalmail.com.
