No longer the odd one out

After a motorcycle accident saw Thomas Isaacs lose the use of an arm three decades ago, his ability to drive for Royal Mail seemed to be lost – but this ‘odd one out’ postie is now firmly back in the fleet thanks to an environmentally-friendly collaboration.

Thomas, known by everyone as Jimmy, is a postie at Crewkerne Delivery Office. He lost the use of his left arm in a motorcycle accident 32 years ago and has worked for Royal Mail delivering mail on foot, using his adapted high-capacity trolley and an adapted bike at Royal Mail for 25 years.

Jimmy continued to hold a full car and motorcycle licence after his accident but was unable to drive for Royal Mail as all our vehicles were manual.

In April 2023, Matt Sweet, fleet champion at Crewkerne, saw an article about the micro-electric vehicle trials. He contacted Matthew Chappell in Operations support to see whether they might be suitable for Jimmy to drive. Matthew thought, we can do better than that, and allocated an electric vehicle to the site.

‘Everyone who drives an EV has to complete a four-hour assessment, and Jimmy passed with the highest score the assessor has ever seen, throwing off all doubts of his ability to drive the vehicle,’ reveals Matt.

Jimmy says: ‘This has changed my life and I’m so proud to drive for Royal Mail. I’ve always loved my job but I’d always felt the odd one out in the office, but I now feel equal to the rest of the team. I’m so grateful to Royal Mail for giving me this opportunity.’

His manager, Nick Martin, adds: ‘Jimmy is simply incredible, he’s always been able to do any task asked of him and he keeps his new van absolutely immaculate.

‘Being a postie is a really challenging job to do with the use of both arms, let alone with only one, but it has never stopped him. He has such a can-do attitude and is so cheerful. I’d employ 20 Jimmy’s – he is actually amazing, what an inspiration.’

In fact, the driving performance at the Crewkerne office is so good, thanks to Jimmy and the rest of the team, they’re at the top of the list for new fleet as it arrives, as the business knows the new vehicles will be well looked after by this team of clean and careful drivers.

We know there are lots of amazing stories out there. Please share on Workplace or email your news to rmcommunications@royalmail.com.