Hull postie James Hardbattle praised by Prince Charles for 50 years of service

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A postman has been praised by Prince Charles for giving more than 50 years' service to Royal Mail.

James Hardbattle started working his route as a postie as a mere 15-year-old.


Now aged 68, he is still going strong and shows no sign of hanging up his postbag.

He was invited to Merchant Taylor's Hall in London for the 500th anniversary of the company, where Prince Charles and Camilla were on hand to commemorate Mr Hardbattle and other long-serving members.

Mr Hardbattle, of Sutton Park, said: "I was a bit of a nervous wreck, but it was fantastic to meet Prince Charles.

"It turned out there was no need to be nervous at all, because he was a very pleasant guy and he put me at ease straight away.

"He said to me, 'You must be as old as me,' and it turned out we were the same age as we were both born in 1948.

"It was a lovely way to celebrate 50 years and I thought he was a smashing bloke."

Mr Hardbattle started his career as a postman in 1963. He loved the outdoors and wanted a job where he could be outside most of the day.

But after starting the job, he also fell in love with talking to the people of Hull on a daily basis.

"I got so much satisfaction from my job," he said. "Especially with the opportunity to talk to lovely people on a day-to-day basis.

"The job and the people have become such a huge part of my life that I couldn't imagine giving them up really. Everyone always asks me when I'm going to retire, but I just can't answer that. I think I'll want to keep doing this till the day I drop."

Mr Hardbattle also spoke of the huge changes he has seen in his time as a postman, from making deliveries in a Morris Minor to adapting to having a hand-held electronic device dictate all his deliveries.

Despite his many experiences, he said meeting The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall was one of the highlights of his career.

At the London reception, Prince Charles said: "I can only offer my heartfelt thanks and warmest congratulations on a job conspicuously well done by you all.

"You are, as they say, a national treasure."