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‘The Postman Wears Out Fast’: Retiring Sick in London’s Victorian Post Office

Green, D; Brown, D; McIlvenna, K; Shelton, N; (2019) ‘The Postman Wears Out Fast’: Retiring Sick in London’s Victorian Post Office. The London Journal , 44 (3) pp. 180-205. 10.1080/03058034.2019.1662680. Green open access

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Abstract

The Post Office was an extremely important institution and London was the focal point of its operations. Throughout the nineteenth century, London was the main sorting centre and accounted for a third of the mail delivered in Britain. However, London postal workers were relatively unhealthy and the majority retired before they reached 60, mainly because of ill health. Using new evidence drawn from pension records, this article explores the extent of ill health in the London workforce, comparing it to that in the Metropolitan Police. For postmen, orthopaedic conditions were the main problem, relating to the ability to walk long distances. This was similar to the problems encountered in the police. For other postal workers, notably letter sorters, mental illness and poor vision were the main problems, relating to the pressure of having to work irregular hours, often at night-time and in poorly designed and overcrowded workspaces. These problems were exacerbated by the increasing frequency of mail deliveries and the constant shortage of space in the main headquarters building. In response to these issues and workers’ concerns, the Post Office introduced a range of measures including a medical service and generous sickness pay, more offices, new technologies to speed the flow of mail, better lighting, and changed working practices to ease pressures on the workforce.

Type: Article
Title: ‘The Postman Wears Out Fast’: Retiring Sick in London’s Victorian Post Office
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1080/03058034.2019.1662680
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03058034.2019.1662680
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: London, Ill Health, Occupational Health, Retirement, Post Office, Metropolitan Police, Victorian
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health > Epidemiology and Public Health
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10096987
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