THE Post Office has suffered a lot of criticism in the press lately and rightly so. I feel sad for some of the very nice young postmen and women who have delivered my mail. I have met a lot because we never seem to have the same one for long.

I wish they could have joined the post office when I did in 1960. We had the best postal service in the world. Why? Because we were civil servants - the Royal Mail. The postman was reliable, trusted and respected in the area he delivered. Letter boxes were emptied three or four times a day, depending on the location, with the time they were to be emptied clearly displayed. First deliveries had to be completed by 9.30am and if you posted a letter early it could be delivered locally the same day.

Most of the inspectors were ex-telegraph boys who had worked their way up and knew the job inside out. It started to go downhill when they took away our civil service status, reduced our pay and split the Post Office into telephones, parcels and letters. Then they brought in whiz-kids as managers and everyone became a number not a name.

When I worked for the Post Office, I was called Mr and treated with respect. We had a welfare officer; a sick club, children's party fund, a tramway fund (to pay for our bus fares) and everyone looked after each other. But we also had discipline. A uniform, tie and hat were compulsory. We had to look smart. Everyone knew you were a postman and I was proud to be one. I worked with a great crowd and made lots of friends. Some of the young ones are still there but not so happy. When you have a happy staff you have an efficient staff who will go beyond the call of duty.

Maybe if we brought some of the old ways back we would have a service that we could be proud of.

STAN FITZ-GERALD, Thornhill, Southampton.