Postmaster duties pass to a new family
Windsor: Jaswant and Deep retire after 33-and-a-half years service
A much-loved postmaster and his wife are retiring after 33-and-ahalf years serving the Windsor community.
Jaswant and Deep Johal, both
71, are stepping away from their family-run Upper Vale Road Post Office and Londis convenience store, more than three decades after they purchased it.
The couple handed over the Post Office to new occupants on Friday, March 8, and hosted a celebratory party outside the store on Saturday afternoon for residents to say goodbye.
Deep said: “Some brought flowers, some brought cards and some were very emotional about us going after that long. It was overwhelming.
“The response was heartwarming and all the customers are happy for us that we’re retiring and at the same time, everybody shared messages that we’ll be greatly missed.
“It’s probably been harder for my husband because he’s been a postmaster for 33-and-a-half years, and it’s like a little village now, the community. It’s like family.”
Jaswant added: “It was a family store before we bought it, and keeping with tradition, we have passed it on to another family. We hope the local community will continue to support them and help them thrive.”
Jaswant has been based in Slough since 1962, having studied at Montem Primary School and Slough and Eton Secondary
School before working at Slough Trading Estate.
After marrying Deep in 1971, the Slough-based couple launched a clothing manufacturing business and clothing brand, Kiltex Fashions which they ran for 26 years.
Jaswant purchased the shop and office on Vale Road in 1990, after it had been closed for 11 months, and relocated with his family to Windsor.
He said: “My initial aim was to get it up and running and to then lease the business out. However, we ended up running it as a family business and for 11 years we ran both businesses side by side.”
The Post Office has since undergone three extensions in 1990, 1998 and 2010 and is now six times the size it was when purchased.
“It has been a family business for us through the years and all my children have worked in the shop and post office over the years,” Jaswant added.
“My mother and father, affectionately known to the whole local community as Grandma and Grandad, were ever present while they were alive and many of our neighbours and customers will remember them well.”
He thanked his ‘wonderful wife of 52 years’ and said they were ‘very sad to retire’ but now want to spend more time with their nine grandchildren.
“When we took over the business, the total stock in the shop was £335 and the turnover was around £50 to £60 per day. With hard work, highs and lows, we have managed to get the business to the shop and post office you see today. It was a big effort from the whole family.
“The sentiment from our neighbours and customers has been very heartwarming, and whilst we will still be living next door, we will miss seeing them all every day.
“We have no intention to move away so will still be part of the local community and of course become customers of the store, and see what life is like from the other side of the counter.”