76 years of service came to and end last Saturday (29th October 2011) when West Coast Motors delivered their last load of mail to Mid-Argyll and Campbeltown from Glasgow.
Royal Mail have decided to operate the contract in-house, using their own vehicles but with existing West Coast staff transferring to them under current TUPE (transfer of undertakings for personal employment) regulations.
Back in 1935, the late William Craig persuaded the Post Office, as they were known at the time, to award the company a contract for the overnight carriage of mail by road.
This was a change from the previous system of mail coming in by water from the Broomielaw in Glasgow, on the steamers Davaar and Dalriada, running on alternate days. These arrived in Campbeltown in mid-afternoon, with deliveries stretching into the evenings.
A further ground breaking development came a year later in 1936, when Craig obtained permission from the Post Office to carry daily newspapers along with the mail.
This was conditional on the mail being given priority and a reduction in cost passed on to the Post Office.
The arrangement was highly unusual as the PO were pretty paranoid about security and normally would never have countenanced anything couriered in the same van as the mail.
This initiative lasted right into the mid 1990s, when the contract for the carriage of Islay mail was also awarded to West Coast, with the van having to catch the early ferry at 7.00am at Kennacraig.
This meant that the van couldn’t wait for the English newspaper titles to come up to Glasgow, so reluctantly that part of the operation had to go.
Colin Craig, West Coast’s current MD and grandson of the originator of the system, says it was a very sad day to lose the contract after so many years of good service to Royal Mail – and especially in the present economic climate when all sources of income are under pressure.
However, the overall effect on the company will be more sentimental than financial since, by this stage, the Royal Mail contract was a fairly small part of its overall operations.
Mr Craig also pays tribute to the ‘first class’ drivers down through the years who have operated the service; and to the maintenance staff who had kept the vehicles reliable and well serviced. He says that this service was so good that West coast can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times the mail had failed to get through – and on time, on a fairly tight running schedule.
Colin Craig says: ‘We are particularly pleased that, after a lot of persuasion, Royal Mail agreed to meet their obligation to take on current affected staff – which will safeguard their immediate and future employment with them’.
West Coast’s management of this change, as a company with a marked ethos of corporate social responsibility – and a (disciplined) family atmosphere in its operations – has been exemplary.
First and foremost it has looked after its staff.
Pictured top is what is believed to be the first custom built van to accommodate the mail and newspapers in 1936; and, above, driver Kenny Mitchell with the current van after un-loading for the last time last Saturday.