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Last updated 2^nd May 2012

The Post Office Vehicle Club celebrates fifty years since its foundation in the summer of 1962. It was originally formed purely as a society devoted to the recording of current operations in the fleet of the General Post Office (GPO). Over the years, it has recorded events associated with the demise of the GPO and the emergence of The Post Office Corporation; the demerger of British Telecom from the Post Office in 1981 and a myriad of other changes in recent years that have impacted on vehicle operations. To mark this milestone, and with the kindness of The British Postal Museum & Archive (BPMA), we are holding a Vehicle Gathering at its Museum Store at Debden, near Loughton in Essex on Saturday 15^th September 2012.

Debden houses most of the large Royal Mail collection of preserved vehicles (28 trucks and vans, 8 motor cycles/mopeds, one electric bicycle, two electric trucks and a large variety of bicycles, tricycles and a pentacycle), as well as postboxes, postal mechanisation machinery and other memorabilia. We hope with a good turnout of visiting preserved vehicles to assemble the largest gathering of preserved Post Office vehicles at one event. Only limited light refreshments will be available during the rally, and there are no recommended catering establishments in the immediate vicinity of the Museum Store. There is no admission charge to the event but a small donation to the BPMA to support its work in preserving Britain’s postal heritage will be welcomed.

In addition to the vehicles, there will be a number of presentations on horse-drawn vehicles, GPO vehicles from 1962, memories of a postman-driver and a viewing of some of the archives held by the Club, throughout the day. The Museum Store is at Unit 7, Imprimo Park, Debden Industrial Estate, Lenthall Road, Loughton, Essex, IG10 3UF. It is adjavent to Transport for London’s Underground Station at Debden on the Central Line (Central London 30 minutes). It is close to junction 5 of the M11 and there is limited free parking adjacent to the store.

The vehicle entry forms are now available from our Archivist Mark Skillen on markskillen@btinternet.com or by telephoning 01433-670200.

The June issue of Diecast Collector includes a sixteen-page supplement on models of Post Office Vehicles. The Club stocks models of Post Office vehicles, please e-mail POVehClub@aol.com for our current models sales list. During 2011, the Club assisted Royal Mail and Corgi to produce four authentic 1:43 scale models of Post Office mailvans over the years. They comprise:

1967 Ford Anglia van SMG 887F, 1970 Morris Minor van SLJ 430H, 1963 Austin A35 prototype and 1952 Morris-Commercial J LUU 804.

They are available direct from Royal Mail by phoning 08457 641 641.

Our latest book is entitled PRESERVED VEHICLES of the General Post Office and successors: Sixth edition - 2011, it lists all known surviving vehicles in preservation. Detailing over 1,500 such vans, lorries and two=wheelers in preservation, they are detailed in a 128 page A5 perfect-bound book with a further twenty pages of colour photographs of some of the more interesting such vehicles. Available at £12.00 (including postage and packing) from POVC Sales at 124 Shenstone Avenue, Norton, STOURBRIDGE, West Midlands, DY8 3EJ or from the Club stand at Amberley at £10. Please make cheques payable to the “Post Office Vehicle Club”.
POSTBUSES 1998-2009 details all the postbuses supplied since 1998, the current position with the withdrawal of postbus routes and much other information. 60 pages including 29 colour photographs of all the types of 2005-2009 postbuses. Priced at £5 from POVC Sales at 124 Shenstone Avenue, Norton, STOURBRIDGE, West Midlands, DY8 3EJ. Please make cheques payable to the “Post Office Vehicle Club”.
The earlier books on postbuses are also available: British Bus Publishing has published the POSTBUS HANDBOOK. 136 pages with details of vehicles and routes at £12.50. In addition, we have published two earlier updates, POSTBUSES 1998-2004 and POSTBUSES 1998-2006. Each update is priced at £5. All four (Handbook and three updates) together are priced at £22 from POVC Sales at 124 Shenstone Avenue, Norton, STOURBRIDGE, West Midlands, DY8 3EJ. Please make cheques payable to the “Post Office Vehicle Club”.
A recent publication is titled Royal Mail Network. 64 pages in A5 format with 21 colour photographs, it lists and illustrates Royal Mail’s current trunking operation known as Network. Available at £5.00 (including postage and packing) from POVC Sales at 124 Shenstone Avenue, Norton, STOURBRIDGE, West Midlands, DY8 3EJ. Please make cheques payable to the “Post Office Vehicle Club”.
“G.P.O. Vehicles 1946-1969: A Concise Guide”, this book now in its third edition summarises Post Office vehicles in the period from the end of the Second World War to the creation of the Post Office Corporation in October 1969. This was the period when GPO vehicles were registered in complete registration series. The book has 148 pages (including 20 pages of contemporary colour photographs) in A5 perfect bound format. Available at £10.00 (including postage and packing) from POVC Sales at 124 Shenstone Avenue, Norton, STOURBRIDGE, West Midlands, DY8 3EJ. Please make cheques payable to the “Post Office Vehicle Club”.
Now available is the reprint of POST OFFICE STORES AND TELEPHONE VEHICLES. The third edition includes an extra eight pages of colour photographs bringing the story up to date to 2005. Available at £9.95 (including postage and packing) from POVC Sales at 124 Shenstone Avenue, Norton, STOURBRIDGE, West Midlands, DY8 3EJ. Please make cheques payable to the “Post Office Vehicle Club”.
Still available is ROYAL MAIL in the Trucks in Britain series. This hardback book is a photographic history of the mailvan in the United Kingdom from the late 19^th Century through to its publication in 1995. Eighty pages including a colour section. Available at £13.95 (including postage and packing) from POVC Sales at 124 Shenstone Avenue, Norton, STOURBRIDGE, West Midlands, DY8 3EJ. Please make cheques payable to the “Post Office Vehicle Club”.
To bring the story up to date, we have the MAILVAN HANDBOOK published by British Bus Publishing. 112 pages of photographs of mailvans between 1981 and 2005. Available at £13.25 (including postage and packing) from POVC Sales at 124 Shenstone Avenue, Norton, STOURBRIDGE, West Midlands, DY8 3EJ. Please make cheques payable to the “Post Office Vehicle Club”.
Other publications are available, please e-mail POVehClub@aol.com for our list.