Beloved Upton village postman Nigel Papworth retires after 44 years with the Royal Mail
A village’s beloved postie has delivered his last letters — with an outpouring of generosity from the community.
Postman Nigel Papworth took up the round in Upton in 1995 and has continued to deliver the village’s post ever since, until he retired on Saturday.
A well-known and friendly face in the community, he has received cards and well-wishes from residents, and has even been invited as guest of honour to the village fete in July where he will be presented with a collection of more than £1,000 raised by residents.
Nigel first took up work with the Royal Mail in 1981 while living in Southwell, when he was offered a temporary job at the town’s sorting office.
“The post lady knocked on my door and asked if I wanted a temporary summer job,” he said.
“It was in the sorting office which was then in the back of the Post Office on Queen Street. It was great, it was easy for me to get to at the time, I just biked up.”
In 1982 Nigel took on a full time contract and spent the next decade working with a small team of eight in the Southwell branch, before it was centralised and combined with Newark’s sorting office on Pelham Street.
He’s also seen a lot of changes over the years — a decline in letters, a huge increase in parcels, privatisation, and changes to the early-morning starts.
The postman added: “It’s very mixed emotions. The community in Upton and Hockerton have been so generous. It’s brilliant to have been invited to the fete.
“The whole of Upton especially, they’ve been really kind, the things people have said — I’ve only been doing my job.”
The job also lead Nigel to meet his wife, Helen, when he had a round in Southwell and delivered to the Diocese’s offices at Dunham House, where she worked as a typist.
The pair became firm friends, before getting together a few years later — and they were married in 1988.
“It’s the best thing that’s ever come out of being a postman,” Nigel added.
While he won’t be pounding the pavements with people’s parcels anymore, Nigel, who now lives in Bleasby, certainly won’t be idle — and, being a fan of maps, has plans to explore Nottinghamshire’s vast network of footpaths with his cocker spaniel Walter.
However, his work community is what he says he will miss the most.
“You’ve got two communities, the work colleagues you sort with and banter with in the morning, and the community you deliver to,” Nigel said.
“That will be the biggest part of it.”