Thousands of postal workers who died in the First World War were remembered in Clerkenwell – 100 years after the conflict began.
A service outside the Mount Pleasant sorting office in Farringdon Road paid tribute to the 75,000 employees of the General Post Office who mobilised for the war effort and the 8,500 employees who lost their lives fighting.
Dr Adrian Steele, Director of the Birtish Postal Museum & Archive lead the service while representatives from the government and the Post Office Ltd, delivered readings and joined workers in observing a two minute silence for the fallen.
The Post Office Rifles, a Pals Battalion, was made up entirely of postal workers from across the country. Of the 12,000 of its soldiers that sailed to France, 1,800 never returned and nearly half were wounded.
The regiment fought at the Somme, Passchendaele and Loos and one of its number, Sgt Alfred Knight, was awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery.
Earlier this year, Royal Mail published a searchable database of the more than 300 First World War memorials in its and the Post Office’s care.
For searchable information about each individual memorial, go to www.royalmailmemorials.com
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