Wreningham has paid a special tribute to a well-loved local postman – Pat Maidment – with a community meal and his own special postbox erected at the village hall.
Known, of course, as Postman Pat, he lived in the village for over 30 with wife Jill. Pat worked for the Post Office his whole career from the age of 16, until he died last March, aged 60, from a brain tumour.
After a community Sunday lunch in the village hall on March 4, around 40 family and friends gathered together outside the hall to watch Pat’s brother Mark unveil the special black postbox, which had been erected on the wall of the hall by some of Pat’s many friends in the village.
Friend Trevor Wadlow said: “There was a strong feeling in the village that we wanted to do something to recognise what a truly memorable and well-loved character Pat was and a postbox seemed a fitting tribute. We hope it will help preserve fond memories of Pat for us all for many years to come.”
Pat and Jill moved to Wreningham in 1986 and Jill said Pat worked for the Post Office since he left school at the age of 16. He started as a messenger boy and then became a postman, based at Thorpe Road in Norwich.
Commenting on the tribute, Jill said: “It means a lot to me and the family. I knew he had a lot of friends in the village, but it is great to know that so many people genuinely liked and thought well of him. It is comforting to know he is well thought of and people still think of him now. A postbox is an entirely appropriate memorial.”
Pictured above are Pat Maidment’s wife Jill, brother Mark and other close family members with the new postbox erected in his memory at Wreningham Village Hall. Picture by Michael Hill.
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