West Glamorgan Postmistress Beryl Jones to retire after reaching 30 years at the helm of Ynys-Y-Darren Post Office
Popular postmistress, Beryl Jones, has reached two major milestones in January, firstly marking 30 years’ service at the helm of Ynys-Y-Darren Post Office and her retirement from her branch near Ystalfera.
Beryl has really loved serving her community for three decades, but she has now decided that this is the right time for her to retire.
Beryl’s beloved husband, Alan, who was suffering from Parkinson, sadly passed away, nearly two years ago. Her community, that she had served so well for so long, rallied round to support her. She will forever be grateful for the kindness that she received.
Ynys-Y-Darren postmistress, Beryl Jones, said: “This is such a small village that I know everyone. They helped when my husband had a fall and they really cared for me when my husband died. My customers were absolutely marvellous and so was the support that I received from Post Office area managers.”
Continuing to work helped Beryl, but now she wants to have more time to spend with her family including four grandchildren.
Beryl started work at Lloyds Bank, then when she met her husband and started a family she stopped work. The opportunity came up to take on her local Post Office at their home and she successfully applied, making it easier to juggle her work life balance, raising a family and then caring for Alan.
Alan had worked for Royal Mail as a postman in the area. Beryl and her customers would jokingly call Alan “teasmade” as he would kindly bring her cups of tea whilst she was working as his job started and finished earlier in the day.
Beryl said: “I have always loved being a postmistress. I have never complained about my job or not wanted to turn up to work, even when there was an attempted armed robbery for which I received a bravery award.
“I love the variety of the role. I love solving problems and serving my community. I have really enjoyed really getting to know my customers and our chats hearing about their lives. I have made many friends.”
Post Office Area Manager, Ryan Leonard, said: “Beryl really cares about the community that she has served for the past 30 years. Despite her husband not being well, she continued to serve customers throughout the pandemic. Customers really appreciated being able to stay local and for Beryl’s long service. They then took the opportunity to support Beryl when she most needed their care and support. I wish Beryl a well-earned retirement.”