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The Surrey woman believed to be the UK's first postwoman

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TrueBlueTerrier
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The Surrey woman believed to be the UK's first postwoman

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https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/nostal ... t-20425669

Nora Willis was the first British woman to work in postal delivery, during the time of World War I

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Early 20th century Epsom resident Nora Willis is believed to be the first postwoman the UK had ever seen.

Living from 1870 to 1944, she was the second eldest of seven children of Henry and Emmeline Willis.

The Willis family line had first moved to the Epsom and Ewell area in the 1840s – they lived in the Horton Lodge Estate, which would later be renamed the Hollywood Lodge.

It was December 27, 1915 that she became the first postwoman from Epsom, and the whole of the British Isles.

But even though it was a new concept, she was by no means an anomaly. By December 29 of that same year, Miss Hamilton Pott, of Bentham Lodge on The Parade, Epsom, had joined her as a colleague.

At the time of the First World War, women went into many roles in the workforce that were once thought to be male-dominated industries, due to the absence of many men who were off on the battlefields.

Miss Willis never married or had children of her own, but throughout the war women from all backgrounds – both single and married, both with and without children – would work as postwomen.

One image of Epsom Head Post Office's staff in 1916 shows the extent to which women grew to dominate the workforce in a brief period of time - out of 54 staff pictured, there were 33 women and just 21 men, unthinkable only a few years before.

Epsom and Ewell History Explorer explains: "Miss Willis arrived at the Post Office each morning shortly before 6.30am and commenced preparations for the first delivery, leaving the office at about 7.00am.

"She returned to the office at about 10am ready for the second delivery. Miss Willis continued with this work for about 4½ years when she resigned from the Post Office."


After her time as a postwoman, Nora went on to achieve more firsts. She also became involved in local politics after the war, and was the first woman to be a local councillor, voted in to the Epsom Urban District Council as representative for the Stamford Ward.

In December 1940, she retired from being a councillor due to a fall.

She died before the end of the Second World War, a time which she lived at 10, Meadside, Epsom.

But there's no denying she died having left a legacy she would have been proud of – Royal Mail reports that by November 1941, around 100,000 women were either permanently or temporarily employed by the Post Office.

Thank you to Epsom and Ewell History Explorer and Royal Mail’s 500th anniversary website for information for this piece
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