by Alan Johnson
Gillard, Ian 198
Girobank 292
Givens, Don 198
Glad and Del 116
Glasgow, and IWM 279–80
Gopal, Charlie 175
Graham, Pam, Slough telecoms rep 154–5
grammar schools 233
Grant, Duncan 310
Gray, Thomas
bicentenary 117
‘Elegy …’ 117, 200
Great Train Robbery, and HVPs 141
Green, Brian 36, 37, 40
Gregory, Ron 142
and Ivy Benson Band 110–11
and QPR 110–11
Griffiths, Les
and Fleet Air Arm 25
and UPW 29, 61
Grosvenor Square riots 19
Grunwick dispute, UPW and 222–4
Hall, 2nd Viscount 85
Hamlet Gardens, Hammersmith 1, 4–5, 31
Hammersmith Bridge, and Andrew 31, 34, 39, 40, 296
Hammersmith register office, AJ and Judy marry at 20–1
Hardman committee, Post Office pay/productivity inquiry 105–8
Hardy, Thomas 175
Tess of the D’Urbervilles 211
Hassard, Jack, NI district organizer 282
Hastie, Jock, and literature/art 174
Hayes, Billy 242, 306
and Militant 305
Haymill school rescue campaign 234–5
Healey, Denis, UPW supporting 242, 243
Healy, Gerry 145
‘Heart of My Hearts’ 113
Heath, Edward 82
government 1970 85
Mike on 46
Henry’s Radios 4, 136, 180, 184–5, 189
Herbs, The 77, 128
Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush 88
Hewitt, Les 260, 278
and Postal Cadet Scheme 307
Hicknaham Farm, Littleworth Common 206–10, 228
Higginbottom, Bill 133–5, 162
Highway Code 122–3
Hill, Jimmy 78
Hodgson, Derek 300–2, 304, 305
Höfner Verithin guitar 13, 127
Hogan, Mike 306
House of Prayer, Green Lane 203
housewives, seductive, and postmen 26–7
Housing Act 1980 270–3
Hughes, ‘Digger’, Slough UPW chair 149–52
Hughes, John, representing UPW on Hardman 106
Humperdinck, Engelbert 113
Idi Amin 131
Idris and Doreen 112, 114, 221
immigration, Powell’s ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech 46
In-Betweens 1, 13
Incredible String Band, The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion 81
International Socialists 93, 146
Inverness, journey to 298–9
Ireland, Troubles 143
Irish post delivery sacks 26, 65
Isle of Skye, Portree sorting office 300
It’s a Wonderful Life 7
Ivy Benson Band, Ron Gregory and 110–11
Jackson, Joe 237
Jackson, Tom, UPW leader 98, 99–101, 105, 107, 151, 155, 156, 168–9, 173, 224, 304
and Improved Working Methods agreement 249–50
and Len Rigby’s honorary membership 274–8
and TUC general council 244–6
and Willoughby dismissal 266–9
announces early retirement 268–9
encourages AJ to stand for executive 225–6
retirement plans 277
Jacobs, Mr (maths teacher) 262
Jagger, Mick 61
Joel, Billy 237
John, Elton, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road 237
Johnson, Alan
and education 169–71
and family see under specific names
and flirtation with hippydom 81
and male lifestyle 110–15
and music 173–4
acoustic guitar 136–7
Area, the 13, 31, 45, 52
In-Betweens (band) 1, 13
songs 5, 52, 88–9
Spanish guitar 5, 127
and UPW/UCW see Union of Communication Workers; UPW Slough
becomes postman 14–17
acting PHG 142–3
PHG training 140–2
resigns PHG acting list 161
and sleeping 228–9
cycling to work
Judy’s Moulton bike 21, 31, 37, 65, 67, 74
Post Office bike 66, 67, 72, 73
driving tuition 53–5, 118–23
Croydon sorting office 53–5
Slough Post Office 118–23
late for work 54–5
moped test, failed with Mr Brewster 121
overtime working 72–3
seven-day weeks 109–10
see also specific post offices
neighbours, socializing with 112–16
poem ‘Youth’ 48, 51–2
political development 40–4, 46–7, 82–4, 96, 142–7
joins Labour Party 142–7
UCW handbook: The Step-by-Step Guide to IWM 261–2, 279
Johnson, Emma Jane (AJ’s & Judy’s daughter) 45, 69, 209, 237, 239, 251, 312
birth 38–9
AJ and, during strike 103–4, 106
and secondary school 234, 235
at Lynch Hill primary school 109
watching TV with 77
Johnson, Judy 50
and British Legion Sundays 114
and Britwell Carnival 109
and family visit to Whitakers 45–7
and AJ’s union work 161, 250–1
and literature 174
and music 173
and St George’s Church 80–1
children and secondary school 233–5
Emma’s birth 38–9
home-made wine 236
housework burden 102–3
reading 105
rejects right to buy 272–3
studying yoga 311
work with children 109
parting 311–12
see also Cox, Judy
Johnson, Jamie (AJ’s & Judy’s son) 237, 239, 251, 312
birth 88–9
and secondary school 234
at Lynch Hill primary school 109
football 261
learning guitar 295
meets Foot and Blair 281
watching TV with 128
Johnson, Lilian May (Lily; AJ’s & Linda’s mother) 3, 6, 10, 11–12, 59, 202, 254, 285
Johnson, Natalie (AJ’s & Judy’s daughter) 8, 17, 20, 35, 38, 45, 209, 237, 239, 251
AJ’s formal adoption 178–9
and London underground 136–7
and secondary school 234–5
at Lynch Hill primary school 109
back story about 68–9, 71
married 312
told about Beppe 178
watching TV with 77
Johnson, Sandra (Steve’s & Vera’s daughter) 180
Johnson, Steve, AJ’s father 10, 17–18, 114, 115, 230
Linda and 179–80, 188
music 113, 160
Johnson, Vera (Steve’s second wife) 180
Jolly Londoner pub 115
Jolly Woodman pub, Littleworth Common 202, 210
Jones, Brian 61
Jones, Harry, ‘indoor secretary’ UCW House 254, 256, 257, 278
and mechanization 256
and no-confidence vote 288–9
Jones, Tom 113
Kenny, Mrs (landlady) 1, 4–5, 31
Kensal Green cemetery 3
Khan, Mr, trains AJ 65–7
Kim McKinley 275
Kinnock, Neil 243, 291
denounces Militant 305
Kuts, Vladimir 97
Labour government, 1960s social legislation 81
Labour Party
AJ joins 142–7
AJ on southern regional executive 287
Labour Party conferences
1982 281
1985 305
trade unionists and 291–2
&n
bsp; Ladbroke Grove Library 35
Larkin, Philip 127, 174
Lawlor, Dickie 43–4, 145, 156, 257
and 1971 strike 95–8
and UCW Humber Snipe 275–6
Lawson, Nigel 288
Lee, Laurie, Cider with Rosie 209
Leninists 146
Lestor, Joan MP 86, 238–9, 243, 287
and education 233
Lindisfarne 127
literature lovers 174–5
Littleworth Common
village school 205
wolfhound’s house 206
delivery 134, 162, 200–12
unofficial customer services 200–1
Liverpool, and IWM 280
Livingstone, Ken 277
London postal service, Improved Working Methods agreement 246–50
London Postal Training School, King’s Cross 15
Lutyens, Sir Edwin 202
Lynch Hill primary school 109
Lynchpin pub 115
Man From U.N.C.L.E. 4
Manchester shuttle 254, 255
Maoists 146
Markham, Charlie 174
Marquee club 297
marriage bar, civil-service 259
Mars factory 58
Marsh, Rodney 111–12
Marx, Karl, Das Kapital 143
Masson, Don 198
McCready, Margaret 283
McCready, Tommy, NI assistant district organizer 282–3
McGahey, Mick (NUM leader) 292
McKinley, Kim, secretary for telephonists, UCW House 258–9
Menzies, ‘Big Joe’ 279
Metcalfe, Robert and Kathleen (AJ’s neighbours) 69, 70, 110, 115
and right to buy 272
Militant (Labour Party group) 242
Kinnock denounces 305
military service, lives defined by 25
miners’ strike 290, 307
Mitchell, Joni 127
Monopolies and Mergers Commission, and Post Office 246–7
moon landing 67–8
moped delivery experiment 73–7, 118, 129
Morgan, Cliff 22
Morris vans, learning to drive 118–23
Mosley, Oswald 34, 81
Murdoch, Rupert, and print unions 290
Murray, Mike’s & Linda’s foster son 178, 181–2
Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition 173–4
Nashdom Abbey, Benedictine order 202–3
National Association for Freedom 171, 223
National Front 143, 265
National Union of Mineworkers
leaders 291–2
strike 290, 307
Nationwide 100, 104
New York Times, on Jimmy Reid’s ‘Alienation’ 144
Newbolt, Henry, `Vitaï Lampada’ 174
News International, and print unions 290
newspaper deliveries, Littleworth Common 200–1
Newsweek 41–2
Newton Abbot, and IWM 279
Nicky, Mike’s & Linda’s foster son 177, 253
night shift, BPO 35–8
Norrell, Ernie 129, 130–1
Northern District Office 13
Northern Ireland
John Taylor and 309–10
trade-union movement, non-sectarian 282
UCW 281–3
Notting Hill, atmosphere 33–4
nuns
Congregation of the Servants of Christ 203
Littleworth Common, misdelivery to 203–5
O’Callaghan, Des 174
Oakham, Barbara 198, 273
Oakham, Fred, and QPR 198, 199, 273
Old Pennanians rugby club, training at 131
‘On Moonlight Bay’ 113
Only Fools and Horses 199
Orkney, ‘ferrylopers’ 300
Orwell, George 143
Animal Farm 83, 220
Osei-Tutu, Frank 265
Oxford Book of English Verse 174, 297
Pallai, Mr (history and economics teacher) 82, 83
Parker, Dorothy 312
Parkes, Phil 198
Parliament, Queen’s postmen at 23–4
Patel, Prev 131–2
Paternoster, Pat 78–9
Payne, Joe, UPW secretary 149–50, 193, 219, 220, 225, 226, 235, 240, 259–60, 266–7, 268, 274, 306
and rules revision conference 166–7
and UPW anti-apartheid boycott 171–2
full-time release for union work 196
on overtime 150
Pearson, Mick (AJ’s neighbour) 69, 70, 110, 112, 243
and Labour Party 142–3, 147, 221
on right to buy 272, 273
Pearson, Susan (AJ’s neighbour) 69, 70, 110, 114, 272
Pedell, Ted (Burnham postman) 131
Perth, and IWM 279
Philpott, Ted
and OTW strike 44, 49–50
snooker player 24–5, 41
Pickley, Bill 79–80
Pied Bull pub, Islington 13
pirate radio stations 2
Poland, Solidarity 288
political magazines 41–2, 46
Post (UPW magazine) 42
Post Office 13–14
and IWM 294–5
and UPW wage claim 86–7, 89–108
annual leave 20
as employer 154
Austin vans 200
Barnes, daily routine 15–17
bike 66, 67, 72, 73
Central Control Services drivers 79
customers 137–40
driving school 53–5
high value packets (HVPs) 141–2
incremental wage scales 36, 86, 90, 92, 107–8, 213–15, 226
IWM, AJ and 248–50, 254–64, 279–80
handbook 261–2
management style 1980s 284
monopoly, Thatcher and 246–7
postmen higher grade (PHG)s 13–14
training 140–2
privatization speculation 293
recruitment issues 246
reorganization 292
strike 1969 42–4, 46–9
strike 1971 89–107
return to work ballot 106–7
vital services maintained 92
uniforms 128–9
Western District Office, and Willoughby dismissal 265–9
Post Office Act 1969 82
postal services, private sector 101
postal workers, NI, targeted by terrorists 282
Postal Cadet Scheme 307–8
postcodes, and mechanized sorting 256
pound, decimalization 1971 100–1
Powell, Enoch, ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech 46
Presley, Elvis 131, 218
Preston dispute 302–4
Prestwick dispute 302
Profumo affair 202
Proops, Marjorie, on Norman Reid 38
public-speaking skills, development 213–15
Punch 41–2
Queen’s postmen 23–4
Queens Park Rangers 36, 110–11, 142, 197, 198–200
Quincy, Derek 133–4
Radio Caroline 2
Radio Luxembourg 42
Randalls Postal Service 101
Rayburn fires 104
Rayner, Mrs, Hicknaham Farm 206–10, 228
Red Mole 93
Redgrave, Corin 145
Redgrave, Lynn 22
Redgrave, Vanessa 145
Reed, Henry, ‘Naming of Parts’ 174
Rees, Merlyn 210
reform versus revolution debate 96
Regency Press, Spring Poets ’69 48, 50–3, 117
Reid, Jimmy (UCS) 143–4, 146, 147
speech ‘Alienation’ 144
Reid, Norman, and Queen’s Ride walk 37–8
Revolutionary Socialist League 242
Richard (WRP member) 144–6
Richard, Cliff 253
Ricky, Mike’s & Linda’s foster son 178, 181–2
Rigby, Elsie 277
Rigby, Len, UPW secretary 149, 150–2, 219
&nb
sp; and 1971 strike 95, 96
retirement 273–5, 277–8
Slough UPW branch secretary 86–7
UCW District Council honorary membership 274–5, 277–8
Rockall, Sid 90
Rolling Stones
‘Brown Sugar’ 116
Hyde Park free concert 61
Rowley, Ivan 298, 300–1, 304
Ruskin College, Oxford 170
Ruston Close (Rillington Place) 33
Safeguarding the Future of the Mails Business (SFMB) 293–5, 301
Sally (Linda’s neighbour) 216, 229
Saroan, Peter 175
Saunders, Derek, mathematician, and IWM 263–4, 279
Saunders, Karen (AJ’s neighbour) 69, 116
Saunders, Martin (AJ’s neighbour) 69, 116
and Ford Anglias 124
and right to buy 271
harmonizing with 127
Scaffold 101
Scales, Prunella 22
Scargill, Arthur 164, 291–2
Scotland, Highlands and Islands visit 298–300
SDP–Liberal Alliance 288
segregator and letter-facer (Seg Alf) machine 64
‘Serenity Prayer’ 191–2
‘shabbing’ second delivery 30
Sham (of In-Betweens), and Post Office 13, 14
on second jobs 72
Sharma, K. K. 175
Sheers, Ernie 162–6, 168, 174, 193–4, 216, 235, 263–4, 295, 311
and branch meetings 274
and John Taylor 311
and unions 164
as postman 165–6
Shelter, Linda and 125
sick leave, ‘Whitley days’ 132–3
Simon and Garfunkel 127
Simonelli, Peter 25, 55, 61
Sinclair, Upton 143
Singh, Tiger 175
Sir Isaac Newton School for Boys 234
Sirpal, George 175
Sloane Grammar School 82
Slough, migrants to 65–6
Slough College 170
Slough library 80, 83, 117
Slough Post Office
AJ beginning work at 63–7
and Improved Working Methods agreement 248–9
driving tuition 118–23
literature lovers 174–5
overtime working at 72–3, 77
routine, compared with Barnes 63–5
transfer to 59–61
Slough Postal football team 112, 131
Slough Supporters’ Club 142
Slough UPW
and anti-apartheid boycott 171–2, 213
and Militant 305
Smith, Mr (RE teacher) 82–3, 171
Smith, Ron 275–6
smoking 236–7
Smurthwaite, Sheila, ‘Kippers’ 52
snooker, at Barnes PDO 25
social security, UPW strikers and 90–1
Social Contract 1975 215, 244–5
Socialist Workers’ Party 146
South Africa, anti-apartheid boycott 171–2
Spearing, Arthur 129–30, 132, 134, 207
Speight, Darren 261
Sprake, Bill, Preston dispute 302–4
Sprake, Gary 303
Springfield, Dusty 199
Stagg, Norman 259–60
on compulsory retirement 157–8
stamp-cancellers, security 15
Steele, Tommy 253