Post coming aboard

Here in Oz since the events of 9/11 we have to fill a customs declaration with each parcel we wish to post. Present at the post office at time of posting alonmg with driving licence for identity purposes. As far as I know no other country does this.

Went to post a small package to UK two weeks ago. Present the customs declaration and licence for identity to be told no need for licence nay more but now must put a value on the package.
I said if no identity required I can now put any old name on it! Yes replied the lady behind the jump, some RC in Canberra had nothing else to do so one day came up with this.

Now sir do you want ordinary post for $20 on this which will get the parcel there in 12 days or the $28 for fast 8 day service.
No, the $20 will do no rush for this.

The package arrived 6 days after posting!!

A good thing about being on a RFA ship is that your mail went by British Forces Post Office, you got your mail while still at sea, ( delivered by a Royal Navy Helicopter sometimes ). The postage cost was a first class stamp for the family and the same for you to send home.

Extracted from the last part of my Kindle book, LAST VOYAGE AND BEYOND, in which I describe the work at Wick and Portishead Radio Stations (1953-1956).

The typing of SLTs was a job which expanded or contracted according to the season of the year as they, almost exclusively, contained greetings messages. Like the filing of TRs, this was a job from which a man could be taken if there was pressure on other parts of the system and there were seldom more than two men on this duty. SLTs came into the station in the same way as other telegrams, but, because they were sent on to their destinations from Portishead by post, they qualified for a much cheaper rate. In the 1960s, they cost 10/- for twenty words when full-rate telegrams were 1/8d per word. The SLT was typed on a special attractive form which bore the heading SHIP LETTER TELEGRAM in a light green border with appropriate lightning/wireless flashes. On the left of the form was a drawing of radio masts and the words POST OFFICE TELEGRAPHS VIA PORTISHEAD RADIO. On the right there was a drawing of a passenger liner. The typed SLTs were folded to fit into windowed elongated envelopes and placed into batches for posting according to the desired delivery dates contained in their preambles.

Christmas, of course, was a favourite time for SLTs and I remember particularly the batches which came in from the ships of Salveson's whaling fleet, for posting at Christmas, when they set sail for South Georgia in October.

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Originally Posted by Graham Payne

A good thing about being on a RFA ship is that your mail went by British Forces Post Office, you got your mail while still at sea, ( delivered by a Royal Navy Helicopter sometimes ). The postage cost was a first class stamp for the family and the same for you to send home.

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EEh ba Gum, tha daint know tha born

I think those posted to Germany after the war, all their correspondence had to be marked BAOR ( British Army Occupation of the Rhine) seems like yesterday. How world events change at an alarming rate. JWS

#13... Malcolm is Cullercoats Radio Station still in existence. I cannot say have seen in Cullercoats for many years but belief it was shifted to almost in Seaton Delaval. The last time in that area the buildings were still there but don't know if it was manned or not, Cheers JWS

try moon-pig.My wife sends all our cards from spain to uk via moonpig.If you are sending to aussie uk or u.s they have local postage rate try googling moonpig.com

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Originally Posted by j.sabourn

#13... Malcolm is Cullercoats Radio Station still in existence. I cannot say have seen in Cullercoats for many years but belief it was shifted to almost in Seaton Delaval. The last time in that area the buildings were still there but don't know if it was manned or not, Cheers JWS

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John S
Cullercoats radio long gone. The whole of the North East coast up to the Scottish border is controlled from the Humber coastguard station.
Messages regarding navigational warnings come via the NAVTEX system automatically and all distress messages, rescue co-ordination are handled by Falmouth Marine rescue Co-Ordination centre which not only covers the whole of the U.K. but were actually the first station to pick up the El Faro distress signal. The advent of GMDSS was the death notice of all the coast radio stations with only relay stations picking up VHF (and 2182) broadcasts and relaying them automatically.

rgds
JA

Quote:

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Originally Posted by j.sabourn

#13... Malcolm is Cullercoats Radio Station still in existence. I cannot say have seen in Cullercoats for many years but belief it was shifted to almost in Seaton Delaval. The last time in that area the buildings were still there but don't know if it was manned or not, Cheers JWS

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Overtaken by more modern technology, Portisheadradio closed at 1200z on Sunday, 30 April, 2000, and all the other coast stations closed at 1200z on Friday, 30 June, in the same year.

HI All.
Remember those airmail letters, used to write to my Mum and two sisters, only one sister left been writing to her for 67 years. One thing is I can't remember if we paid for post then remembered that they were prepaid. here in Aus pensioners can get a book of local stamps half price, you get a card and every time you run out of stamps present your card for another book, only thing is we seldom write to anyone local, so it's just birthday or Xmas cards.

Cheers DEs