Barbados Postal Service

When World War II occurred, Barbados was not unscathed and as a result of the War, a special department known as the Censor Office was created in 1939. This office was located in a room under the Senate in the Parliament Buildings, and there all incoming and outgoing overseas mail, which showed no sign of being censored, was intercepted. Letters and packets were opened to determine their content. Any reference to the movement of ships was blotted out to protect ships traveling in the region from espionage and then the mail was resealed with a special Censor Label.

The migratory periods during the 20th Century were very profitable periods for the Barbados Post with records showing that in the 1950s, British postal orders paid to Barbadians exceeded $3 million.

In 1958, Robert Clarke, became the first local Colonial Postmaster of Afro-Caribbean ancestry, had the foresight to introduce a shift system and extended business hours in order to better manage the increased business activity of the Post Office.

In an effort to contribute to the personal and professional development of postal workers, departmental training courses for clerical staff, Postal Assistants and Postmen were introduced in 1961.

On 11 November 1967, after earlier being represented as a British territory, Barbados became a full member of the UPU as a sovereign nation.

The Barbados Philatelic Bureau within the Postal Service was established in 1968 for the purpose of promoting the sale of postage stamps in the very lucrative market worldwide.

Following exposure to international developments in the postal service as a result of participation in conferences around the world, a highly specialised International Postal Affairs branch was introduced. This division was to be headed by a knowledgeable and experienced senior postal official. In 1971 therefore, a post of Assistant Postmaster General responsible for international postal affairs was established and Mr. Lloyd Weekes was appointed to the position on August 16, 1971.

As a result of involvement in the UPU, Barbados was able to host its first international postal conference, the pre-Congress Commonwealth Conference of Postal Administrations (CCPA), from September 2 to 5, 1979. This meeting served as preparation for the 1979 Postal Union Congress in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during September and October.

In 1984 the Barbados Government, for the first time, authorised the Postmaster General to sign the Acts of the Hamburg Congress “ad referendum” in addition to the Minister with responsibility for the postal services. Prior to this Congress, only the Minister was authorised to sign the Acts of Congress.

Another significant development in Barbados’ postal services was the introduction of the Express Mail Service to the USA and the United Kingdom from October 1, 1984.[6] The idea to develop this service to attract new business and retain old customers came as a result of a Barbados delegation’s attendance at an International Express Mail Service Conference in Washington in 1983. This prompted Barbados to negotiate its first Express Mail Agreements with the USA and the UK during 1984.

Today, in spite of competition from commercial delivery services, the Barbados Post boasts of door-to-door delivery to 90,000 households in Barbados; thus contributing to a reputation for highly developed postal service for all citizens.

This reputation made Barbados one of the region’s leaders in postal policy.

It was reported in April 2019 that the BPS would embark on a USD$40,000 Integrated Postal Reform and Development Plan (IPDP) in collaboration with the UPU.[7]

Jackie Opel Amphitheatre

On September 24, 1979, the then Minister of Communications and Works, the Hon. Lindsay Bolden turned the sod at the Cheapside location to signal the start of construction of the GPO's new headquarters. At a cost of $16 million, the complex, which was designed by Barbadian architect Mervyn A. Awon initially, was awarded by contract to Sir Robert McAlpine Limited, a British company. However, that contract was terminated and a new one was awarded to a Guyanese company, A. Nabi and Sons Limited.

After completion, the government of Barbados opened the General Post Office (GPO) complex at Cheapside, Bridgetown; for business on October 29, 1984. It was not however officially opened until March 29, 1985 by Minister of Information and Culture, Senator the Hon. Nigel A. Barrow. The GPO complex includes an open-aire amphitheatre which is dedicated to Barbadian musician and creator of Spouge music, Jackie Opel. At the center of amphitheater a wall plaque which was unveiled on August 29, 1998 by the then Minister of Home Affairs, the Hon. David Simmons to commemorate this dedication.

In September 2014 the Caribbean Postal Union in collaboration with the Universal Postal Union (UPU) established the Caribbean Postal Training Centre, located in the General Post Office building at Cheapside, Bridgetown. It serves as a training nexus for international postal administrations from across the Caribbean.[10]