Dodging Bombs to Move the Mail
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As early as February 1937, the British Post Office began to prepare for war, so there would be as little disruption to the mail as possible. Staff were trained and prepared to take on extra duties.
Many things delayed the mail: bombed-out sorting offices, working in the dark of the blitz, damage to the roads and railways. The bombing of houses and offices often meant there was nowhere to which mail could be delivered.
On 18 June 1943 the parcel section of the Mount Pleasant sorting office, London (at the time the largest in the world) was completely destroyed by a single bomb. A fierce fire soon had the whole building ablaze. Despite the flames being fought for four hours, the entire building was gutted, and some 77,000 parcels went with it. Two members of staff were killed and another 34 were injured.
