alcramer [Alfredo Cramerotti]

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/end-era-llandudno-post-office-12240188

As postal services move to a new venue in the town, former workers share fond memories of the Vaughan Street site

The mail being wheeled along the road outside Bunneys Corner in Mostyn Street Llandudno

For more than a hundred years the grand post office on Vaughan Street served the people of Llandudno.

Its closure just weeks ago marked the end of an era for the seaside town – now customers will have to use the service in WHSmith on Mostyn Street.

The old post office was opened in 1902 next to MOSTYN art gallery.

Following its demise the gallery has put on an exhibition about the postal service, with workers sharing their stories alongside work by contemporary artists.

Ken Jones, one of the last telegram boys in the town took part in the We’ve Got Mail III exhibition.

He became a postman just as the seven-week strike began in 1971 – part of his job was to help clear the huge backlog of mail when the protest was over.

Items on show in Mostyn from the old post office

Ken told the Daily Post: “I’d left school when I was 15 and followed my dad John Henry Jones into the Royal Mail.

“He also started as a telegram boy in Llandudno, and when he was older he was transferred to Llangollen.

“He used to tell us stories about how he was given a dozen eggs and cups of tea on his rounds.”

Ken clearly enjoyed working for Royal Mail for 42 years.

When a telegram arrived from the Queen for a 100th birthday, postmen had to phone Buckingham Palace to confirm it had been delivered to the recipient.

“I had a telegram for an address in Craigside, Llandudno, which was strange as I knew the house was empty,” remembers Ken.

Ken knocked at the door and an old lady answered.

“She told me that she’d asked her residential home to let her wake up in her own bed for her 100 birthday.” said Ken.

Another memorable day for Ken was when he was driving around Penrhynside a little too fast.

Gwyn Hughes (pictured) learnt to ride a bicycle on the one used by his uncle Thomas Ieuan Hughes when he was a telegram boy. Gwyn remembers riding on the red bike through the cornfields near Llanrhos

“The thing with Penrhynside is that it’s a small village with many chapels and a couple of pubs.

“Whenever one of the chapels went on one of their annual day trips to Blackpool or somewhere those that went wrote postcards to the rest of the village so I was stuck delivering all these postcards even though they’d only been to Southport for the day.

“One Saturday I was in the Royal Mail van and was speeding a little too fast around the narrow lanes of Penrhynside as I wanted to get home to play football.

“I lost control and ended up putting the van on top of somebody’s roof.

“The owner was in the bath at the time and had a bit of a shock.”

Post office whist drive and dance at the St Georges Hotel in 1937

Ken said he enjoyed the camaraderie of working for the service.

He said: “One of the funniest days was when we had a damaged packet that turned out to be full of live locusts, they were destined for an owner of a snake.

“And even though all the locusts had gone, I still had to deliver the package.

“When the person asked what had happened to them, I told him he was very welcome to come down to the sorting office and catch them, as they were hanging off the ceiling lights and jumping all over the place.”

Coverage of We’ve Got Mail III Exhibition in Print: