By CHRIS HASTINGS

Published: 00:28 GMT, 28 December 2025 | Updated: 00:34 GMT, 28 December 2025

Postman Pat and his ilk have been given their marching orders.

The Royal Mail is advertising for 'postpersons' to deliver the nation's letters and parcels.

The company is using the gender-neutral term to make the point that the job is not just open to first class males.

Its new job ad states: 'We are reinventing Royal Mail for the future and now is a perfect time to join us on that journey.'

The term 'postman' dates back to 1883 when the job was a strict male only affair.

Ironically that term replaced the more gender sounding title of 'letter carrier.'

Women's association with the UK's postal service dates back to 1870 but back then most women worked as telegraphists.

Their conditions of service were not as progressive as they are now, and they were often segregated from their male colleague.

The term 'postman' dates back to 1883 when the job was a strict male only affair. Pictured: Postman Pat

The new job ad states: 'We are reinventing Royal Mail for the future and now is a perfect time to join us on that journey' (file photo)

In 1876 the service even introduced a marriage bar which forbade the employment of married women in any role other than that of the sub postmistress.

Although female delivery staff were not unknown in Britain at the beginning of the twentieth century, they became a far more familiar sight during the First and Second World Wars when millions of men were fighting on the front line.

In 1940 existing postmen were even urged to bring their 'wives, sweethearts, sisters and lady friends' to help with the Christmas mail delivery.

Applicants for the current vacancies are promised a full range of benefits including an hourly rate of £13.60, paid overtime, a uniform, a competitive pension and an 'excellent' family package including maternity and paternity leave.

But perhaps the greatest perk given the sky-high cost of postage is 'free stamps at Christmas.'