St Minver postmistress receives royal recognition

St Minver postmistress Maureen Rickard has been recognised by the King for services to her rural Cornish community.

The long-serving postmistress, who has served her community for 53 years, has been awarded a British Empire Medal for the important difference she has made in her community over the last half century.

At the age of 16, Maureen went straight to work in a Post Office in Rock. Then in 1971, with the planned decimalisation, the previous long-serving postmistress at St Minver decided to retire as her eyesight was not good and she didn’t want to handle the new currency. Nevertheless, Maureen has worked at St Minver Post Office, at various locations, ever since.

Recognising Maureen’s dedication to the community, in 2017 a local charity, The Perceval Institute, mounted a fundraising appeal to save St Minver Post Office as the old branch premises were to be sold by the landlord. The Institute which owns the village hall, released space to accommodate the Post Office and helped Maureen to raise more than £26,000 towards relocating the branch through community donations and fundraising events.

Unphased by the pandemic, Maureen made sure St Minver Post Office stayed open as an essential retailer with a wide variety of products and services. Maureen’s Post Office helped people to keep in touch, with people sending letters and parcels to loved ones that they could not meet.

Postmistress Maureen Rickard said: “I’m honoured to receive a BEM for a job I love doing. What I have enjoyed most about the role of postmistress is meeting all of the people. It’s a real community hub and very important to this rural community where people can get easily isolated. I might be the only person that they see for a long time so many of my customers come in for a chat as much as coming in to use the branch. This is a community Post Office through and through."

Post Office Area Ebony Perryman: “We want to sincerely thank Maureen for running St Minver Post Office for more than 50 years. She plays a vital role within the community which has a high ageing population and is a tourist hotspot. The post office is the hub of the community and a lifeline for many who live here all year round. Big congratulations from all of us on being recognised by the King for her decades of service.”