Thursday 6 October 2022 12:37 AM HARRY WALLOP confesses to a rather nerdish midlife obsession trends now
Some men, when they hit their mid-40s, buy themselves a sports car or start an affair. My midlife crisis is not as ruinous to my finances, but it could well spell the end of my marriage if I don't watch out.
I am obsessed with the postboxes of Britain. But not just any old letter box, a very particular type that sets my pulse racing and lifts my spirits as only the highest mountain peaks can. They are Edward VIII postboxes and very much the Himalayas of Britain's street furniture.
Let me explain. There are 115,500 postboxes in the British Isles and you have probably noticed that on the front of nearly every single one is a royal cypher, the monogram of the king or queen, embossed in cast iron — a symbol that immediately dates the postbox and roots it to a particular reign.
Soon, we will start to spot the first new cyphers in 70 years — that of our new king: CIIIR.
I am obsessed with the postboxes of Britain. But not just any old letter box, a very particular type that sets my pulse racing and lifts my spirits as only the highest mountain peaks can. They are Edward VIII postboxes, pictured, and very much the Himalayas of Britain's street furniture
But for now, there are just six different possibilities. Over two-thirds of postboxes carry the emblem of the late Queen — Elizabeth Regina or in cypher parlance: EIIR.
Surprisingly, there are still boxes from Victoria's reign — ones with a spidery VR emblem.
The interlocking curlicues of her son, Edward VII's cypher, and the solid, simple GR of her grandson George V can be spotted if you know where to look (for my sins, I do). As can George VI's heart-like monogram, and that of his wayward brother Edward VIII, whose pillar boxes are a rare find indeed, like all things associated with this King Emperor's reign.
There just weren't that many coins, beer tankards or medals manufactured in his honour, given that he was on the throne for only 326 days in 1936 and never actually crowned before he abdicated.
A mere 130 or so boxes with his distinctive William Morris-style EVIIIR cypher remain in existence, which means they represent 0.1 per cent — or one in a thousand — of all postboxes.
There are 115,500 postboxes in the British Isles and you have probably noticed that on the front of nearly every single one is a royal cypher, the monogram of the king or queen, embossed in cast iron — a symbol that immediately dates the postbox and roots it to a particular reign. Pictured: An Edward VIII post box
I cannot remember where or when I discovered this fact, but like all good bits of trivia it lodged in my brain, undisturbed like a dusty piece of Lego under the sofa. Until, one day, I spotted one, by sheer chance, on an early-morning run while staying with my sister-in-law in Stockport, Greater Manchester.
I experienced the same thrill of discovery that, I imagine, Howard Carter felt on entering Tutankhamun's tomb. I then vowed that I would attempt to run to every other Edward VIII letter box in Britain. A task complicated by the fact the Royal Mail refuses to publish their location, worried thieves might steal them. Yes, they are that valuable.
So far, I have made it to 26, many on the roads of 1930s suburban villas, the Metroland that John Betjeman adored. The Covid lockdowns of 2020 to 2021 rather put a dent in my progress. I could not truthfully claim that hopping on a train in order to run three miles to a pillar box was a necessary journey.
They are situated from the Isle of Mull in the Inner Hebrides to Christchurch on the Dorset coast, which may make my challenge the work of a lifetime, not least because my wife increasingly rolls her eyes whenever I start to plot the next trip.
Also, I fear — for the next year — I may become sidetracked by the thrill of Charles III's postboxes. And I am not alone. Robert Cole is a leading light in the Letter Box Study
