South Yorkshire Times, February 23rd, 1934

First Postman

Kilnhurst Veteran to Retire

Councillor W. H. Rix

Councillor Walter Herbert Rix, of 66, Charles Street, Kilnhurst, the veteran village postman, will shortly give his last “rat-tat.” After 24 years faithful service he is to retire in May.

Mr. Rix is a native of the district and has lived in Kilnhurst nearly all his life to date.  He left Swinton for Highthorn when a child.  He attended the Kilnhurst National School, and left at the age of twelve to start work at Kilnhurst Colliery.  In March 1892, when 18 years old, he joined the York and Lancaster Regiment.  He retired in 1904, after considerable active service.  He left England in Dec. 1899 with his regiment for South Africa, and was in the Boer War till peace was signed.

Mr. Rix showed a “South Yorkshire Times” reporter his souvenirs which include African cheroots, Kruger African coins, passports, hatbands, and a medal with bars for service in the relief of Ladysmith the battle of Tugali Heights, the African War, 1901-2 and Cape Colony.   The Boers, says Mr. Rix, “like the yanks, they are born with revolvers.  The Boers could get their breakfast on the wing and bottle you off whenever they liked.” His regiment were under the handicap in that they were fighting an enemy mounted, while they were on foot, though this sometimes turned to advantage especially when fighting was in the hills. But their greatest fear was of water shortage.  Shaving was out of the question and he never used a razor throughout the campaign. His splendid war record gained him promotion to the rank of sergeant in 1898.  Though over military age, he enlisted for the last war, and in Feb. 1917 entered the post office section of the Royal Engineers, in which he stayed till de-mobilisation in 1919.

Returning home from the Boer War Mr. Rix found employment as a labourer at Ellison and Mitchell’s Chemical Works, Kilnhurst, and later at Baker’s Steel Works. In June 1910 he was appointed postman for Kilnhurst, which duties hitherto had been carried out by an auxiliary postmaster. So Mr. Rix can claim to be the first postman of Kilnhurst. He has been closely identified with the Post Office Workers’ Union and is a past Chairman of the Rotherham branch, and one of the originators of the Mexboro’ branch, which was formed several years ago by Mr. Rix and Mr. J. Jolley, then head postman at Mexboro’. They were Chairman and Secretary respectively, and Mr. Rix is still “in office.”

For the last twelve years, Mr. Rix has been prominent in public life.  After an unsuccessful contest in the Kilnhurst ward in 1921, he was elected to the Swinton Urban Council in 1922.For the last twelve years he has represented Kilnhurst ward conscientiously, and only on two occasions has he been opposed. He was Chairman of the Council in 1926-27, and has been Chairman of the Health Committee ever since. In 1931 he had the honour of opening the new sewage disposal plant at Swinton and to mark the occasion was presented with a gold key.

At present Mr. Rix is one of a special committee dealing with slum clearance.  Among his numerous connections are membership of the Swinton Library Committee, Swinton Education Sub-Committee, Wath Joint Hospital Board and its House and Finance Committee, Old Age Pensions Committee and Montagu Hospital Joint Ambulance Committee.  For a considerable time, he has been chairman of the Swinton and Kilnhurst Labour Party.