The old Cambridge Post Office
The insignia of King Edward VIII on a building is rare. He only reigned for 10 months.
Friends of Methil Heritage Centre in Fife, Scotland in front of the old Post Office with, from left: Norman Myles, Elizabeth McGuire, Margaret Hunter, Mary Reilly, Dominic Currie
The former Cambridge Post Office – now Alpino – is one of them and thanks to some Scottish sleuthing, another one has been revealed.
Mary Reilly of Methil Heritage Centre in Scotland wanted to know more about the King Edward VIII insignia link.
“She wanted to confirm a long-standing rumour that she had first heard in 1992 that there was a post office in New Zealand with the rare insignia of King Edward VIII,” said Elizabeth Harvey, manager of Cambridge Museum.
King Edward’s insignia became a rare sight after his abdication.
The Methil Heritage Centre is housed in the former Fife Post Office building built in 1936, the year of Edward VIII’s short reign. Methil was the second busiest port in Scotland 1920/30s shipping mainly coal.
The heritage centre was created by the local community association in 1991 who were all volunteers.
“It has Edward VIII insignia and Friends of the Centre had always thought it might be the only one of its kind in the world.”
The constitutional crisis Edward’s abdication caused – he gave up the throne for the twice-divorced Wallis Simpson “the woman I love” – saw many insignia removed from buildings across Great Britain and the Commonwealth.
Reilly could find no evidence of the Cambridge-Fife link in the 1990s but not long ago a visitor approached her and claimed to have eaten in a restaurant in Cambridge where there was a Edward VIII insignia.
Methil Heritage Post Office, Fife, Scotland.
“We were delighted to confirm the connection and sent Mary photos of our own post office building here in Cambridge,” said Harvey.
Cambridge Post Office was built in 1908, with an arched metal grille above the door bearing Edward VII’s insignia. When it was extended in 1936, a second matching grille was added for the new king, Edward VIII.
“It’s a grand reminder of how history connects us all,” she said.
The old Cambridge Post Office with the Edward VIII insignia. An illustration by local artist Kay Walsh from 1974. Photo: Cambridge Museum
Cambridge Post Office 1908. Photo: Cambridge Museum
