Eric the postman

A number of people asked “Why don’t you make Eric the postman one of the Unsung Heroes?” It’s typical of Eric that the first thing he did was to write a brief article telling us of the people he would nominate! More of them later . . .
There are two recurring comments about Eric, from just about everybody on his round. First, that no matter how busy he is, or whatever the weather, he’s always smiling. The second is that in an age of job’s-worths (“Can’t do that. It’s more than my job’s worth”) he’ll do just about anything to help anybody.
He tells – after quite a bit of prompting – of the day he saved somebody’s life: though of course Eric doesn’t see it like that: “I just called the ambulance. Other people did the rest.” But the fact remains that if he hadn’t seen the lady who’d fallen at home after a heart attack, gone into the house, dialed 999 and waited with her ‘til the ambulance came, she might very well not have survived.
“You get used to what’s normal and what’s not when you see people’s houses every day. You know what to expect. So without even realising it you’re making mental notes, and when something’s not right you just know,” says Eric, proof if any were needed of the vital role such people play in our community.
His surname is Walker – not a bad name for somebody who’s walked every inch of Wensleydale on rounds that over the years have covered every district – and he’s a proud dad of two sons aged seven and 14, and a nine-year-old girl. He was born in Leyburn, where he lives with his long-term partner, Penny.
Among the many ‘extras’ he does for those he meets on his round, Eric nobly delivers about a quarter of the copies of Oswald’s Outlook. And here’s what Eric wrote about his own “unsung heroes”:
“During my time as a postman I’ve met some of the nicest people you could ever wish to meet. People Like Allen Kirkbride and Martin Empsall who help me so much through the winter months. Mrs Webster who bakes me cakes! And Mr Hammond, the butcher from Bainbridge, who when my van broke down just gave me the keys to his own van, no questions asked, so I could finish my round.
“Also a special mention to people who never seem to get thanked, our local councillors Yvonne Peacock and John Blackie who I regularly see doing a lot of ‘un-thanked’ work for the people of the Dales. If it wasn’t for people like all those I have mentioned I believe the Dale would not be such a nice place to live and work. And finally I’d like to thank everyone on my round for all their help and kindness over the years.”