Frederick Wilkinson has written the first history of Royal Mail Coaches for over 30 years.

Although they were operational for little more than 60 years the Royal Mail Coaches left behind an indelible romantic memory. Surely no Christmas would be complete without cards showing a mail coach with cheerful, festive passengers trotting through a snow covered landscape?

Journeys on the coaches were probably not the happy-go-lucky events often depicted. The seating inside the coach was hardly luxurious. For the driver, guard and passengers perched outside the journey was likely to be even more uncomfortable and, on occasions, dangerous.

Based on Frederick Wilkinson’s extensive research at The Royal Mail Archive, this is the first history of Royal Mail coaches based almost exclusively on contemporary records. It offers a unique and detailed insight into the mark that they left on British postal and social history.