The Post Office Fellowship of Remembrance

The PORF is the successor organisation to the Post Office Fellowship of Remembrance. This Fellowship had its origins after World War One in a decision by GPO workers in north-west England to purchase properties for GPO employees and their families to use for convalescence, educational purposes and holidays. Supported by regular contributions from more than 150,000 GPO members, at one time the Fellowship owned some seven convalescent hotels around the UK, as well as operating two family holiday centres.

From the 1990’s onwards an inevitable reduction in membership numbers resulted in the gradual disposal of these properties. The last three, which were by then operating as successful commercial hotels open to all, were sold between 2019 and 2021. The proceeds from these sales made possible the establishment of PORF as a significant grant-making charity.

Remembrance Books

The Fellowship has also left a unique legacy in the form of two Books of Remembrance. These contain the names of 12,830 GPO employees killed in both world wars. They were handwritten, illustrated and bound by a Post Office employee, Mr J A Trezies, over a period of three years, and were unveiled at a dedication ceremony in the presence of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in 1957.

In 2018 the Fellowship donated the books to the Postal Museum in London. In 2019 a grant from the Fellowship enabled them to be digitised and they can now be viewed at GPOWarHeroes.org.uk