Two collections, sourced from The Royal Mail Archive at The Postal Museum, have recently been updated on Ancestry, offering insights into the lives of postal workers.
UK, Royal Mail Pension and Gratuity Records, 1834-1970
Pensions were granted to civil servants who served for ten years or more or retired due to medical reasons. If a person died while working, a gratuity was paid to their next of kin. Women forced to resign upon marriage also received a gratuity, a practice that continued for the Home Civil Service until 1946.
These 661,010 records often include a wealth of detail, including name, birth date, age, occupation, length of service, salary, and the date the pension was granted or the date of death. If you don’t find a record, check their service length, as ten years was required for eligibility.
UK, Postal Establishment Books, 1691-1979
This extensive collection of 1,273,579 records encompasses the employment of “established” workers, who were higher-grade employees with salaries, benefits, and pensions, such as clerical staff and postmasters.
Look here for name, date of birth, occupation, employment history, length of employment, and salary. Though women began working for the Post Office in 1870, the “marriage bar” often restricted them from established positions until 1946. Use his database for tracking early and mid-career postal service employment details.