Poppy power
To mark Remembrance Day, postwoman Katy Haydon did her round in a striking dress covered in bright red poppies in aid of the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal.
Katy joined Sutton-in-Ashfield Delivery Office almost three years ago and has worked on the Skegby round for five months.
‘I just wanted to do something for Remembrance Day,’ Katy told Chad.co.uk. ‘People can’t go to the services this year, and everyone is fed up with the coronavirus situation.
‘So, I thought it might cheer people up if they saw me delivering the mail, come rain or shine, in my colourful poppy dress. I wore it at wedding a few years ago. I thought, ‘I might as well get another wear out of it!’
Katy delivered her Remembrance Day round with a collection bucket and has, so far, raised more than £1,000 for veterans. ‘It was a wonderful day with a great response,’ she said. ‘I chose the Royal British Legion because I think it’s a wonderful charity, and it needed a bit of extra help this year.
‘I enjoy meeting people and I want to make people happy. I absolutely love my job. I genuinely feel like I have one of the best jobs in the world. I love the people and being outdoors, it’s great.’
We will remember them
Teams and individuals across the business held two-minute silences and Remembrance Day memorial services, including one at Mount Pleasant Mail Centre where colleagues attended a Laying of the Wreaths ceremony at 11am.
Royal Mail Chaplin Rev. Darren Street from Deep Water Baptist Church in Hayes, Kent held a small service, which you can watch here.
Don’t forget – if you are interested in researching relatives who were part of the General Post Office (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.
