A short essay on PODS

Contemporary records indicate that Post Office Direction Signs, or PODS, were introduced in the 1930s. This is an example of the most common POD. The LBSG has classified this as a POD 1000, the salient features of which are: Cream Plate, 2 cast Arms,4 Feathers at 45 deg, POST OFFICE, Narrow Shaft and Tip This one adorns our George VI PB35/1

A second POD 1000 is fitted to our George V pillar box. It is in much better condition than the other one. These signs suffered from the attention of vandals who tried to bend the signs and frequently broke the brackets. Cream Plate, 2 cast Arms,4 Feathers at 45 deg, POST OFFICE, Narrow Shaft and Tip

One of our latest additions is this rather nice POD 1200. This has only one feather, and a rather condensed 'S' Technical details: Cream Plate, 2 cast Arms,1 Feather, POST OFFICE, Narrow Shaft, Narrow Tip, Serif Font These PODS are nearly always associated with cast brackets having two fixing points to the box rather than the usual one. This one is attached to our Victorian PB 15 which came to us with the two holes already in situ

This is our own special version of the standard POD. It was made using a metal blank matched to a real POD, painted cream (colour matched paint). The lettering is then produced electronically and comes as self-adhesive vinyl. It looks quite convincing and sits astride our Guernsey PB42/1. The LBSG, of course, has a way of categorising even such oddities as this: POD 8500 Unique POD

This is what LBSG call a POD 3000. They are cast aluminium and were initially designed for the Gibbs K Type (PB48) pillar. Since then, they have appeared on all sorts of other boxes from EiiR D type pillars to G types and some completely non-standard boxes, especially, it would seem, in the Torquay area! Special POD for use with PB48 Red two part box, no arms, No feathers, Post Office, in Yellow lined font. Thick lined shaft, 70 degree tip

Standard GPO Telephone POD. There is still one empty bracket left on the street somewhere on Teesside! A very attractive and distinctive feature of the British street POD 9000 Telephone Direction Sign

Two dedicated PODS for Great Portland Street on display at Amberley for the first time. The one on the right is ours, the one on the left is in a private collection in Harrow.

We also have a very rare hand-painted version of the POD1000.