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[Sir Tigger KC]

I believe one or two of you were lucky enough to drive round in one of these back in the day? 

[STEMO]

  Call that nostalgia? This was my old bus:

[Sir Tigger KC]

You lucky old bastard! 

[Rangie]

Still got my Dinky toy GPO van in the loft & it's an earlier type of Morris van, a lot of my mates worked for BT in the seventies when  they left school & a couple did very well with their redundancies & pensions, never did drive an Ital but I confess to have owned Marinas .

[STEMO]

You lucky old bastard! 

Everything was done military style. All of the spares you were ever going to need was listed in a handbook along with where to find it in the van. You could swap vans and everything would be in the same place. Same with the stores at the exchange. Things were efficient in my day, Nipper. 

[STEMO]

Still got my Dinky toy GPO van in the loft & it's an earlier type of Morris van, a lot of my mates worked for BT in the seventies when  they left school & a couple did very well with their redundancies & pensions, never did drive an Ital but I confess to have owned Marinas .

Like mine above?

1969 I started as TTA, (Trainee Technician Apprentice)

[Sir Tigger KC]

You lucky old bastard! 

Everything was done military style. All of the spares you were ever going to need was listed in a handbook along with where to find it in the van. You could swap vans and everything would be in the same place. Same with the stores at the exchange. Things were efficient in my day, Nipper. 

I vaguely remember the red Morris Minor GPO vans from when I was kid. 

They used to regularly run over the farm cats when they drove into the yard too fast!   

[STEMO]

You lucky old bastard! 

Everything was done military style. All of the spares you were ever going to need was listed in a handbook along with where to find it in the van. You could swap vans and everything would be in the same place. Same with the stores at the exchange. Things were efficient in my day, Nipper. 

I vaguely remember the red Morris Minor GPO vans from when I was kid. 

They used to regularly run over the farm cats when they drove into the yard too fast!   

They were the mail delivery vans. Both mail and telecoms was under the general post office back then.

[Rangie]

Still got my Dinky toy GPO van in the loft & it's an earlier type of Morris van, a lot of my mates worked for BT in the seventies when  they left school & a couple did very well with their redundancies & pensions, never did drive an Ital but I confess to have owned Marinas .

Like mine above?

1969 I started as TTA, (Trainee Technician Apprentice)

. 


No it's an earlier type of Morris same colour green but an upright elongated grille

[Rangie]

Still got my Dinky toy GPO van in the loft & it's an earlier type of Morris van, a lot of my mates worked for BT in the seventies when  they left school & a couple did very well with their redundancies & pensions, never did drive an Ital but I confess to have owned Marinas .

Like mine above?

1969 I started as TTA, (Trainee Technician Apprentice)

. 



Just dug it out Morris Z van circa 1945, recently sold a lot of my toys at auction but hung on to my favourite ones.

[Doctor Gollum]

I remember the Mk3 Ford Escort vans from the Busby era.

Also have fond memories watching the Post vans delivering around school... Always thought that the Mk5 Escort vans (circa '91) were a vast improvement aesthetically.

[STEMO]

It was only about six months after I started that the vans went yellow. Still moggies though.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Call that nostalgia? This was my old bus:

Those headlights are not standard. Nicked from a Frogeye Sprite.

[Raeturbo]

An abomination, attempting a gear change was normally more successful from the rear, it was like mixing a bucket of plaster🤣

[TheBoy]

I believe one or two of you were lucky enough to drive round in one of these back in the day? 

Mine was the stiffer sprung 575 variant.  Wider tyres as well IIRC.

Still wore out the mudflaps on corners though.

A complete crock of shite. My final memory of it was one o the mechanics ripping the door mirror off it and throwing it across the carpark in a fit of temper.

[STEMO]

An abomination, attempting a gear change was normally more successful from the rear, it was like mixing a bucket of plaster🤣

My Austin 1100 was exactly like that.

[TheBoy]

I believe one or two of you were lucky enough to drive round in one of these back in the day? 

Mine was the stiffer sprung 575 variant.  Wider tyres as well IIRC.

Still wore out the mudflaps on corners though.

A complete crock of shite. My final memory of it was one o the mechanics ripping the door mirror off it and throwing it across the carpark in a fit of temper.

Lower geared as well, hence I always lost the countryside races* against my Ital 440 colleagues.


*the rule was you could only use 1st and 2nd gear.

[wingman]

Started 1965 as a TT(A) and when allowed to drive as a linesman (1968) remember well the rubber winged, no heater and restricted (plate with smaller orifice between air cleaner and carb) 850cc wheezy engine. Fortunately quickly wrote my one off when the aforsaid engine dropped a con rod through the side of the crankcase. This was followed by another later model which was also quickly written off after it ripped one of the suspension arms from the chassis due to tin worm rot. As a punishment I was given a 15cwt Diesel Commer van by the depot mechanics which had the gearbox lever positions reversed (ie 1&2 where 3&4 should be) whilst I waited for a new van.
Much to my disgust this was another Morris 1000 except this time in yellow!!

[STEMO]

I believe one or two of you were lucky enough to drive round in one of these back in the day? 

Mine was the stiffer sprung 575 variant.  Wider tyres as well IIRC.

Still wore out the mudflaps on corners though.

A complete crock of shite. My final memory of it was one o the mechanics ripping the door mirror off it and throwing it across the carpark in a fit of temper.

Lower geared as well, hence I always lost the countryside races* against my Ital 440 colleagues.


*the rule was you could only use 1st and 2nd gear.

We, of course, didn't have time for stuff like that. On subs maintenance we went straight from the exchange to the cafe for breakfast (caff was about half a mile from exchange and you couldn't move for GPO vans) then a couple of hours work before going to the pub for a pint, (yes, drinking and driving) eating our butties, and a quick game of footie in the park. Didn't matter if the job was 10 miles away, you drove to this park. Another couple of jobs and take the van back. Happy days.

[STEMO]

Started 1965 as a TT(A) and when allowed to drive as a linesman (1968) remember well the rubber winged, no heater and restricted (plate with smaller orifice between air cleaner and carb) 850cc wheezy engine. Fortunately quickly wrote my one off when the aforsaid engine dropped a con rod through the side of the crankcase. This was followed by another later model which was also quickly written off after it ripped one of the suspension arms from the chassis due to tin worm rot. As a punishment I was given a 15cwt Diesel Commer van by the depot mechanics which had the gearbox lever positions reversed (ie 1&2 where 3&4 should be) whilst I waited for a new van.
Much to my disgust this was another Morris 1000 except this time in yellow!!

Those commer vans. Dear me 

[Nick W]

Call that nostalgia? This was my old bus:

Those headlights are not standard. Nicked from a Frogeye Sprite.

They were on those specially ordered rubber wings. Standard Minor vans used the same panels as cars.

[STEMO]

Call that nostalgia? This was my old bus:

Those headlights are not standard. Nicked from a Frogeye Sprite.

They were on those specially ordered rubber wings. Standard Minor vans used the same panels as cars.

That's just a stock picture I found, not the actual van we used. CBA searching any more pics.

[STEMO]

This was more like it

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Rubber wings?

What is the reason for this?

[Nick W]

An abomination, attempting a gear change was normally more successful from the rear, it was like mixing a bucket of plaster🤣

My Austin 1100 was exactly like that.

That's down to broken mounts for the remote gearlever. Which doesn't do the engine mounts any good either. 1100s with all the fittings in good order have the best gearchange of any gearbox-in-sump FWD A-series.

[TheBoy]

I believe one or two of you were lucky enough to drive round in one of these back in the day? 

Mine was the stiffer sprung 575 variant.  Wider tyres as well IIRC.

Still wore out the mudflaps on corners though.

A complete crock of shite. My final memory of it was one o the mechanics ripping the door mirror off it and throwing it across the carpark in a fit of temper.

Lower geared as well, hence I always lost the countryside races* against my Ital 440 colleagues.


*the rule was you could only use 1st and 2nd gear.

We, of course, didn't have time for stuff like that. On subs maintenance we went straight from the exchange to the cafe for breakfast (caff was about half a mile from exchange and you couldn't move for GPO vans) then a couple of hours work before going to the pub for a pint, (yes, drinking and driving) eating our butties, and a quick game of footie in the park. Didn't matter if the job was 10 miles away, you drove to this park. Another couple of jobs and take the van back. Happy days.

We were young, and keen

Besides, if you were near Waddesdon Exchange and down your first couple of jobs buy 10:30ish, you know the exchange TO would have the bacon on by then.

[Nick W]

Rubber wings?

What is the reason for this?

The vans that were used before Minors had them too. The Post Office was probably fed up with TB's grandad crashing them so much

[wingman]

Oh god - that brings back horrible memories. Wrote that one off when the roof seams rotted away over the cab.
Finally got a Viva van which lasted me until as a Technical Officer on Exchange mtce we were allowed to use our cars with a paid allowance instead of a van. This carried on for me until promotion to the dizzy heights of management.

[YZ250]

.......
Those commer vans. Dear me 

Drove the Commer vans and pick ups when I worked for MoD. They had a bolt under the accelerator pedal to restrict the speed on site, so as apprentices we wound the bolt in to gain the extra few mph. No idea if the bolt was standard fit or an MoD modification. 

[Rangie]

We had Bedford CF automatics in the LAS went extremely well and slammed into reverse gear whilst moving forward had a marvellous wheelspin.

[STEMO]

Oh god - that brings back horrible memories. Wrote that one off when the roof seams rotted away over the cab.
Finally got a Viva van which lasted me until as a Technical Officer on Exchange mtce we were allowed to use our cars with a paid allowance instead of a van. This carried on for me until promotion to the dizzy heights of management.

I didn't like exchange maintenance, UG or OH, subs maintenance all the way for me. United Biscuits had a fickin huge PABX and you could go missing for days in there. They had a subsidised canteen in there and you could get a very decent two course lunch for less than a bob. I should have made TO by the time I was 30, but I decided the Royal Signals was the job for me.

[YZ250]

We had Bedford CF automatics in the LAS went extremely well and slammed into reverse gear whilst moving forward had a marvellous wheelspin.

We had a runway to play on, so you can imagine the silliness that went on behind the wheel 
and the lunchtime wheelie record attempts on our motorbikes. 

[Rangie]

Saturday nights in Croydon were the best a race from casualty to see who could return to base the quickest, daft really mind I was just a youngster then.

[STEMO]

An abomination, attempting a gear change was normally more successful from the rear, it was like mixing a bucket of plaster🤣

My Austin 1100 was exactly like that.

That's down to broken mounts for the remote gearlever. Which doesn't do the engine mounts any good either. 1100s with all the fittings in good order have the best gearchange of any gearbox-in-sump FWD A-series.

Yes, the engine used to try and rotate 45° when you dropped the clutch.

[YZ250]

Oh god - that brings back horrible memories. Wrote that one off when the roof seams rotted away over the cab.
Finally got a Viva van which lasted me until as a Technical Officer on Exchange mtce we were allowed to use our cars with a paid allowance instead of a van. This carried on for me until promotion to the dizzy heights of management.

I didn't like exchange maintenance, UG or OH, subs maintenance all the way for me. United Biscuits had a fickin huge PABX and you could go missing for days in there. They had a subsidised canteen in there and you could get a very decent two course lunch for less than a bob. I should have made TO by the time I was 30, but I decided the Royal Signals was the job for me.

Crikey, that takes me back. I remember when my mrs used to buy a big box of cheap broken biscuits when she worked for them.    That was some years back.

[STEMO]

Oh god - that brings back horrible memories. Wrote that one off when the roof seams rotted away over the cab.
Finally got a Viva van which lasted me until as a Technical Officer on Exchange mtce we were allowed to use our cars with a paid allowance instead of a van. This carried on for me until promotion to the dizzy heights of management.

I didn't like exchange maintenance, UG or OH, subs maintenance all the way for me. United Biscuits had a fickin huge PABX and you could go missing for days in there. They had a subsidised canteen in there and you could get a very decent two course lunch for less than a bob. I should have made TO by the time I was 30, but I decided the Royal Signals was the job for me.

Crikey, that takes me back. I remember when my mrs used to buy a big box of cheap broken biscuits when she worked for them.    That was some years back.

If only I knew what a great time I was having at the time. But we don't, it's only when we look back. Life was so simple. Have fun at work, get paid, have fun at the weekend. Repeat. Sigh.....

[Rangie]

Oh god - that brings back horrible memories. Wrote that one off when the roof seams rotted away over the cab.
Finally got a Viva van which lasted me until as a Technical Officer on Exchange mtce we were allowed to use our cars with a paid allowance instead of a van. This carried on for me until promotion to the dizzy heights of management.

I didn't like exchange maintenance, UG or OH, subs maintenance all the way for me. United Biscuits had a fickin huge PABX and you could go missing for days in there. They had a subsidised canteen in there and you could get a very decent two course lunch for less than a bob. I should have made TO by the time I was 30, but I decided the Royal Signals was the job for me.

Crikey, that takes me back. I remember when my mrs used to buy a big box of cheap broken biscuits when she worked for them.    That was some years back.

If only I knew what a great time I was having at the time. But we don't, it's only when we look back. Life was so simple. Have fun at work, get paid, have fun at the weekend. Repeat. Sigh.....

. 


Like you Steve I often think I've had a charmed life , certainly couldn't get away now with a lot of the things that were said & done , fun times indeed.

[Doctor Gollum]

We had Bedford CF automatics in the LAS went extremely well and slammed into reverse gear whilst moving forward had a marvellous wheelspin.

Manual diesel LWB Mk3 Transits were very good for that, especially on wet greasy concrete. All fitted with nudge bars too Used to race Servisair baggage tugs around Pier 2 at night.

Can't do that with the modern electric ones... Progress 

[Varche]

My favourite Post Office Telephones stories relate to vehicle radios.

Fleet vehicles didnt have a fitted radio so my friend used to take his transistor radio with him on the passenger seat.ne day he was fiddling with the tuning and ran off the road. Official accident report read swerved to avoid animal.

I remember well going out “ on business” to Hungarton exchange for the first time in my mini fitted with an 1100 engine. We all had all initialled a decree saying you wouldn’t listen to a radio whilst out on official business as “ it interfered with thought process”. Needless to say I had the windows open with something belting out of a tadged up radio and speaker from a scrapyard.

My first boss started life as a PO delivery at Burton on Trent. One day going over the bridge his packages jolted off his motorbike. A following lorry ran over them, including a fresh chicken. In those days poultry just had an address label attached to a leg. He delivered it by feeding it through the customers letter box and then scarpering….

[wingman]

My happiest days were as a linesman in a country area and then as a TO on exchange mtce in the same area looking after a couple of UAX13s, a SAX, a small non director and a couple of TXE2s.
In this current weather I well remember as a linesman dropping a pair of 8 inch pliers from the top of a pole into a snow drift at the bottom of it. Despite a clear mark being made where they fell it was impossible to locate them until the next spring!!! I also remember knocking Ice off 70lb copper wires with tree rods to prevent them drooping at a height of 6 foot over the road due to the weight of the ice accumulated on them.
The mechanics at our depot were in general a good bunch with a good sense of humour that I got on well with and as a result got good service and favours from them but it did pay not to get on the wrong side of them as one of my colleagues found out. He had been complaining of having a flat battery on his Moggie van. That may well have been true, but due to his past run ins with the mechanics he returned to his own car one afternoon to find it would not start or even turn over. On lifting the bonnet he found that instead of a battery there was a 8" by 12 " piece of black painted wood about an inch thick with battery terminals and filler caps glued to it to resemble a battery and with the words "FLAT BATTERY" written on it. Only after much winging did he get his own battery back!
He did not annoy the mechanics in future!
Oh happy days 

[cam.in.head]

hi. the sight of that ital van certainly brings happy memories for me too.my dad used to drive one for telecom and he said it was a capable vehicle although not as good as the sucession of viva ha van he used yo use previously. thats a vehicle which i can only dream of owning now as the prices for good ones have gone through the roof like many a classic vehicle.
thanks for posting it up .

[TheBoy]

We had Bedford CF automatics in the LAS went extremely well and slammed into reverse gear whilst moving forward had a marvellous wheelspin.

I ripped reverse out of a (manual) transit doing that at one of our TXE2's, as it was easier than a 3 point turn.  Used to do it every day, right up until the point reverse stopped working.  Surprisingly all other gears remained working.

Fortunately, it was due to be replaced about 4 weeks after, so just made do without reverse

[TheBoy]

Oh god - that brings back horrible memories. Wrote that one off when the roof seams rotted away over the cab.
Finally got a Viva van which lasted me until as a Technical Officer on Exchange mtce we were allowed to use our cars with a paid allowance instead of a van. This carried on for me until promotion to the dizzy heights of management.

I didn't like exchange maintenance, UG or OH, subs maintenance all the way for me. United Biscuits had a fickin huge PABX and you could go missing for days in there. They had a subsidised canteen in there and you could get a very decent two course lunch for less than a bob. I should have made TO by the time I was 30, but I decided the Royal Signals was the job for me.

Crikey, that takes me back. I remember when my mrs used to buy a big box of cheap broken biscuits when she worked for them.    That was some years back.

Mum used to work there, on and off, and also brought home broken biccies and individual pizzas that weren't up to snuff for M&S...

[Rangie]

We had Bedford CF automatics in the LAS went extremely well and slammed into reverse gear whilst moving forward had a marvellous wheelspin.

I ripped reverse out of a (manual) transit doing that at one of our TXE2's, as it was easier than a 3 point turn.  Used to do it every day, right up until the point reverse stopped working.  Surprisingly all other gears remained working.

Fortunately, it was due to be replaced about 4 weeks after, so just made do without reverse

. 


Never ever broke anything on the CFs then they changed to Leyland  V8s went like stink but when it came to stopping your heart was in your mouth !

[Lizzie Zoom]

That lovely green Morris really does take me back to some happy days.

To think of them reminded me when there were only two cars parked in our long road, along with an A30 butchers van.

It also reminds me that my parents didn’t have home phones, and the GPO kept people waiting for up to a year if they wanted one. No competition, and eventually when my parents were able to get a home phone in 1965, they waited 9 months.  Just long enough for my father to retire from the Royal Navy and for there to be little need for the line! But seeing the GPO van outside when they installed it made my parents feel they had arrived!

Great days

[Andy H]

Call that nostalgia? This was my old bus:

Those headlights are not standard. Nicked from a Frogeye Sprite.

Is that one of the GPO specials with rubber front wings? IIRC they couldn't use the normal headlights in the rubber wings