Press release -
St Minver postmistress receives royal recognition for over 50 years of service to Cornish community
- Kings’ Birthday Honours recognition for St Minver Post Office postmistress, Maureen Rickard, for services to the community
- Receives British Empire Medal
- Has served her community for more than 50 years
- Community fundraised to relocate her branch
- Postmistress kept branch open throughout pandemic
St Minver postmistress Maureen Rickard has been recognised by the King for services to her rural Cornish community.
The long-serving postmistress, who has served her community for 53 years, has been awarded a British Empire Medal for the important difference she has made in her community over the last half century.
At the age of 16, Maureen went straight to work in a Post Office in Rock. Then in 1971, with the planned decimalisation, the previous long-serving postmistress at St Minver decided to retire as her eyesight was not good and she didn’t want to handle the new currency. Nevertheless, Maureen has worked at St Minver Post Office, at various locations, ever since.
Recognising Maureen’s dedication to the community, in 2017 a local charity, The Perceval Institute, mounted a fundraising appeal to save St Minver Post Office as the old branch premises were to be sold by the landlord. The Institute which owns the village hall, released space to accommodate the Post Office and helped Maureen to raise more than £26,000 towards relocating the branch through community donations and fundraising events.
Unphased by the pandemic, Maureen made sure St Minver Post Office stayed open as an essential retailer with a wide variety of products and services. Maureen’s Post Office helped people to keep in touch, with people sending letters and parcels to loved ones that they could not meet.
Postmistress Maureen Rickard said: “I’m honoured to receive a BEM for a job I love doing. What I have enjoyed most about the role of postmistress is meeting all of the people. It’s a real community hub and very important to this rural community where people can get easily isolated. I might be the only person that they see for a long time so many of my customers come in for a chat as much as coming in to use the branch. This is a community Post Office through and through.
Post Office Area Ebony Perryman: “We want to sincerely thank Maureen for running St Minver Post Office for more than 50 years. She plays a vital role within the community which has a high ageing population and is a tourist hotspot. The post office is the hub of the community and a lifeline for many who live here all year round. Big congratulations from all of us on being recognised by the King for her decades of service.”
About the Post Office
- With over 11,500 branches, Post Office has the biggest retail network in the UK, with more branches than all the banks and building societies combined.
- Post Office is helping anyone who wants cash to get it whichever way is most convenient. Partnership with over 30 banks, building societies and credit unions means that 99% of UK bank customers can access their accounts at their Post Office.
- Cash withdrawals, deposits and balance enquiries can be made securely and conveniently over the counter at any Post Office; and the biggest investment by any organisation or company in the last decade is being made to safeguard 1,400 free-to-use ATMs across the UK.
- Post Office is simplifying its proposition for Postmasters with a focus on its cash and banking; mails and parcels; foreign exchange; and; bill payments services.
- Research has found that visits to the Post Office help drive another 400 million visitors to other shops, restaurants and local businesses equating to an estimated £1.1 billion in additional revenue for High Street businesses.
- 99.7% of the population live within three miles of a Post Office; and 4,000 branches are open seven days a week.
