Kirkwall Post Office lingers under a dark cloud of future closure announced on 13th November under ‘Transformation’ plans by Post Office Ltd. Before emails and social media, sending letters and telegrams (if it was urgent) was the way most people would communicate with each other.

On 30th of January 1747 Orkney’s first Post Master, Andrew Young of Castleyards was appointed.

In 1934, Jack Barnett was the first postman to deliver mail which had arrived by air into Orkney.

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The importance of the services once provided were recalled in an article for The Orkney Herald in 1948 (pub. 27.01.1948) by the Head Postmaster Sinclair Ross.

Kirkwall Head Post Office in 1948 and Royal Mail were one outfit, unlike today when these organisations have been separated.

In 1948 the Post Office working day started at 5.30am and finished at 9.15pm because this included the sorting and delivery of mail, as well as other services. Post Office workers had an eight hour day with half an hour for lunch.

For the over the counter trade the monthly figures for the year 1947 were impressive:

• Registered letters posted: 2220
• Registered parcels posted: 1240
• Money orders issued: 300
• Money orders paid: 550
• Army, navy, etc allowances paid: 3440
• Savings bank transactions: 1100
• Old Age etc pensions paid: 4300
• Postal Orders issued: 2,750
• Postal Orders paid: 2310
• Postal drafts paid: 400
• Savings certificates transactions: 190
• Telegrams (including Press messages): 1050
• Postage stamps sold at counter: £1500
• All other stamps (Insurance etc) £2890

The Post Office building had a phonogram room where female typists would answer telephone calls and transcribe these into telegrams for people who wanted to send messages quickly. If this message was for a local address it would be transferred to the nearest telegraph office where a delivery boy would take the printed message to its recipient. If it was for outside the islands the message would be conveyed to the teleprinter room. This would be then typed in and sent onwards. This form of message was the quickest way to relay a printed message before we had the instantaneous joys of the internet.

For the year 1947, Kirkwall Head Post Office dealt with 1000 telegrams.

On 1st October 1981, the various telecommunications aspects of the Post Office were split from the postal aspects with the formation of British Telecom as a completely separate public corporation, and this included the telegram service. In early 1982 a “Telemessage” service was introduced (a message dictated by phone or telex, charged in blocks of 50 words, and sent by first class post, guaranteed to arrive the following day), and from October this completely replaced the inland telegram service. Inland Telegram Rates 1870-1982

During the Second World War most of the workers at the Post Office were either called up or volunteered. This left a gap in the workforce which was ably filled by women, girls and young boys. Many women continued to be employed after the war.

In 1947 across the whole of Orkney the number of people employed by the Post Office was 185. More people were employed on a casual basis during busy periods, especially in the run up to Christmas.

Fifty two people were employed by Kirkwall Head Post Office. As well as the Head Post Master and the Assistant Post Master there were:

• Overseers: 2
• Postal and Telegraph Officers: 11
• Teleprint Telegraphists: 4
• Postmen (higher grade): 6
• Postmen: 12
• Boy Messengers: 3
• Assistant Supervisor (telephones): 1
• Telephonists (female): 8
• Telephonists (male): 3

Boy messengers often remained in the employ of the Post Office moving up through the ranks as their age and experience allowed.

Fiona Grahame

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