WELCOME TO THE POST OFFICE VEHICLE CLUB HOME PAGE

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Last updated March 2025

Contacting us:

· For membership, information on current vehicles and general enquiries, e-mail our Secretary Frank Weston at povcmembership@btinternet.com or write to him at 32 Waterdell, LEIGHTON BUZZARD, Bedfordshire, LU7 3PJ.

· For preservation matters, including the V765 scheme for reissue of original registrations, e-mail William Staniforth at williamstaniforth136@gmail.com or write to him at Green Bank, Windsoredge Road, Nailsworth, STROUD, Gloucestershire, GL6 0NP.

· Mark Skillen is our Archivist and Chairman. He maintains our register of preserved GPO, Post Office, BT and Royal Mail Vehicles, and deals with enquiries regarding preserved vehicles and their attendance at events. Telephone him on 01433-670200, e-mail at markskillen@btinternet.com or write to him at Ollerbrook Barn, Edale, HOPE VALLEY, Derbyshire, S33 7ZG. Last year, we had vehicle displays at the Bressingham Steam Museum Commercial Vehicle Rally (15^th/16^th June), Buckingham Railway Centre (Moving the Mail event) on 21^st June; Bury Transport Museum (also 21^st June) and the Amberley Communications Day (18^th August). Contact Mark Skillen for more information on 2025 events.

We have set up a Facebook page dedicated to preservation of Post Office vehicles (including GPO, Post Office, Royal Mail and British Telecom). It can be accessed at https://www.facebook.com/groups/190746398148369/ We have now migrated from Yahoo to groups.io and this can be found at https://groups.io/g/PostOfficeVehicleClub and this deals with current and recent vehicles from 21^st Century. Send a blank e-mail to PostOfficeVehicleClub+subscribe@groups.io to join the group; non-members are welcome.

Our latest publications are as follows:

1. Our latest publication is Section 2D. Part 1 gives the history and allocations for vehicles bought by the GPO in the Wartime years 1940 to 1942 (registrations GGH to GUW). And is followed by part two detailing 1943 to 1946 (registration GXK to HGY). Part one runs to 298 pages with 52 photographs and is now available at £22 including postage and packing. Part 2(published 27^th March) covers the registrations issued to the GPO from 1943 to early 1946 (GXK to HGY plus the ex-National Fire Service Austin K2 ATVs loaned to the GPO in 1946 and subsequently transferred). 314 pages with over thirty photographs. Also priced at £22. If parts 1 and 2 are bought together, price is £41.

2. Another new publication is BT2025, a listing of BT/Openreach vehicles recorded up until mid-March. Available only as electronic version on request to markskillen@btinternet.com

3. Post Office Vehicles 1976 detailing the full history of the postal vehicles bought by the Post Office in 1976 with much background history on their deployment and purchase. 167 pages of illustrated text with 8 pages of colour photographs illustrating most of the types of postal vehicle bought in 1976 in perfect-bound A5 format. £20 including postage and packing.

4. Also Post Office Vehicles 1975 detailing the full history of the postal vehicles bought by the Post Office in 1975 with much background history on their deployment and purchase. 172 pages of text with 24 pages of (mainly) colour photographs illustrating virtually all the types of postal vehicle bought in 1975 in perfect-bound A5 format. £20 including postage and packing.

5. The companion volume detailing 1975 telephone vehicles is now available at £20 including postage and packing. 244 pages of text and 12 pages of colour photographs in perfect-bound A5 format.

6. Postbuses – the Final Chapter (56 pages of text, 12 pages of photographs; A5 stapled) available by post from Slough at £9 including postage and packing.

7. Post Office Telephone Vehicles 1978. A5 perfect bound published July 2017. 260 pages perfect bound plus 12 pages of mainly colour photographs. £18 including postage and packing.

8. Post Office Vehicles 2000 detailing the full service history of nearly 13,000 vans, trucks and trailers obtained in the financial year 2000-01. A5 perfect bound, it runs to 352 pages plus 24 pages of colour photographs, it retails at £20 including postage and packing.

Please make cheques or postal orders payable to the “Post Office Vehicle Club” and send to POVC Sales at 65 Laburnham Grove, Brands Hill, SLOUGH, Berks., SL3 8QT. You can also order it by BACS by e-mailing us at povctreasurer@btinternet.com and we will invoice you.

1. A new edition of GPO Vehicles 1946-1969: A Concise Guide was published in 2016; this book now in its fourth 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 photographs) in A5 perfect bound format. Available at £12.00 (including postage and packing) from POVC Sales at 65 Laburnham Grove, Brands Hill, SLOUGH, Berks., SL3 8QT. Please make cheques payable to the “Post Office Vehicle Club”.

· Telephone Service Vehicles since 1906 by Bill Aldridge has been published by Nostalgia Road. 64 pages, A5 format with a good selection of photographs of GPO, Post Office Telephones, British Telecom and BT vehicles over the year. Many of the photographs have been taken by Club members. £7.95 including postage and packing from POVC Sales at 65 Laburnham Grove, Brands Hill, SLOUGH, Berks., SL3 8QT. Please make cheques payable to the “Post Office Vehicle Club”.

· The latest edition of our Preserved Vehicles listing was published in 2014. This is the seventh edition of this popular book, listing all known preserved or surviving former GPO, Post Office, British Telecom and Royal Mail vehicles. 144 pages, A5, perfect bound with 35 assorted photographs of restored vans. Available at £12.50 (including postage and packing) from POVC Sales at 65 Laburnham Grove, Brands Hill, SLOUGH, Berks., SL3 8QT. Please make cheques payable to the “Post Office Vehicle Club”.

A new Concise Guide covering British Telecom vehicles from 1981 to 2006 was published in December 2015. 152 pages, 125 colour photographs in A5 perfect-bound format. This book summarises the vehicles bought by BT in its first twenty-five years (1981-2006). Available at £15.00 (including postage and packing) from POVC Sales at 65 Laburnham Grove, Brands Hill, SLOUGH, Berks., SL3 8QT. 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 five (Handbook and four updates) together are priced at £28 from POVC Sales at 65 Laburnham Grove, Brands Hill, SLOUGH, Berks., SL3 8QT. 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 at65 Laburnham Grove, Brands Hill, SLOUGH, Berks., SL3 8QT. 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 £12.95 (including postage and packing) from POVC Sales at 65 Laburnham Grove, Brands Hill, SLOUGH, Berks., SL3 8QT. Please make cheques payable to the “Post Office Vehicle Club”.
To bring the story more 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 65 Laburnham Grove, Brands Hill, SLOUGH, Berks., SL3 8QT. Please make cheques payable to the “Post Office Vehicle Club”.
Other publications are available, please e-mail POVCmembership@btinternet.com You can also order by BACS by e-mailing us at povctreasurer@btinternet.com and we will send you details of our account.