Popular postman Gorakh Singh collapsed suddenly, aged 54
THE brother of a “much-loved” postman who died after finishing his shift at Mount Pleasant Post Office has warned others to check their health.
Gorakh Singh left his Clerkenwell workplace – where he had worked for 25 years – at 9.50pm on December 7 and was walking towards Farringdon Station with a colleague when he suddenly collapsed and died from a heart attack in Farringdon Lane.
Members of the public, drinking in The City Pride pub opposite, came rushing out to help and the pub closed immediately.
Mr Singh’s brother, Kuldeep Singh, said he only found out later that his brother had spoken to other people about experiencing pains in his arms and legs in the days before he died.
He warned others that they should take notice of any changes to their health and get checked out.
“He was perfectly healthy,” Mr Singh said of his 54-year-old younger brother.
Popular postman Gorakh Singh collapsed suddenly, aged 54
THE brother of a “much-loved” postman who died after finishing his shift at Mount Pleasant Post Office has warned others to check their health.
Gorakh Singh left his Clerkenwell workplace – where he had worked for 25 years – at 9.50pm on December 7 and was walking towards Farringdon Station with a colleague when he suddenly collapsed and died from a heart attack in Farringdon Lane.
Members of the public, drinking in The City Pride pub opposite, came rushing out to help and the pub closed immediately.
Mr Singh’s brother, Kuldeep Singh, said he only found out later that his brother had spoken to other people about experiencing pains in his arms and legs in the days before he died.
He warned others that they should take notice of any changes to their health and get checked out.
“He was perfectly healthy,” Mr Singh said of his 54-year-old younger brother.
With ‘the boys from The Mount’
“He never took minor aches and pains seriously. He never thought he was suffering from anything serious.”
A makeshift shrine remains at the place he fell – just opposite the City Pride – with flowers from family and friends paying tribute to a man one described as “my one and only”.
This week Kuldeep, also a postie at Mount Pleasant for 36 years, remembered Gorakh as a “family man” who loved his wife and four kids, his work colleagues … and Liverpool Football Club.
He recalled his brother as a “bubbly” guy who was quick with a joke and who loved to sing Bollywood songs – but would lose his shine should his team lose a match.
“The day they would lose he would be so sombre,” Kuldeep said.
“You couldn’t say anything against Liverpool. His favourite player was Mo Salah. He watched so many games at the Kop. He supported Liverpool even when he was in India, that was his childhood thing.”
Known for his speciality pork dinners, Gorakh was a “well-loved guy” with many friends both inside ‘The Mount’ and among the businesses along his postal route.
The Mount is the moniker given to the dozens of friends who had worked at the Rosebery Avenue site over the years – once one of the largest of its kind in the world.
“Everybody loved him, everybody,” said Kuldeep.
“Black, yellow, white. Everybody was his friend. He was a very friendly personality who never did anything wrong to anyone.
“He was always helpful. He liked having a laugh and joke, and he wouldn’t miss any outings if we organised something. He loved to go out.”
He recalled how Gorakh would revel in going on day trips to Calais and the river Thames with the “boys from The Mount”.
Gorakh, whose nickname was Gokul, meaning “loving”, came to London from India in 1976 on a spousal visa through an arranged marriage with a British-Punjabi woman.
He first lived in Dalston with his wife before later moving to Clissold Park. They eventually settled in Enfield with their four children.
Initially working at the North London Delivery Office in Holloway, he moved to The Mount in 1998 as a mail sorting worker.
After 10 years in the mail room he was given the keys to a post van and never looked back.
“Basically, he wanted freedom. He was really excited about that,” joked his brother of Gorakh’s job upgrade, which also saw him receive better benefits and pay.
Since his shock death just weeks before Christmas, businesses he spent more than two decades collecting post from have contacted colleagues to pass on their condolences, including a Chinese insurance agency that collected £220 for his family.
More than 400 people attended his funeral, held in Southgate in December.
Mr Singh said the loss of his brother had hit him hard after spending decades working side by side and sharing meals, and at first he was unable to return to work.
“It was so difficult to come to this place to work after he passed away,” he said.
After taking five weeks off work, he said it became “unbearable” to stay home as thoughts of Gorakh tormented him.
He decided to return to his other “brothers” – the Boys from the Mount – which, he said, gave him “some comfort”.
Mr Singh said he had a clear message for others: if there is a history of premature death in the family, take it seriously and get yourself checked out.
Like Gorakh, their father also died young, aged just 45 from a heart attack while in prayer.
“Since my brother passed away, we are more cautious now,” he said.
“I had been ignoring myself for quite a while but after that my first priority was to go and get myself checked.
“When you come to certain age, or if it runs in your family, you must make sure that you get yourself checked regularly.”