Mr. Palmer rubbed his chin as he sat down over the form. As a postman, he was used to paperwork, of course, but this situation had him puzzled. Certainly, he had seen the deliveries of items and parcels refused, but in his years of service to the Royal Mail in London, this situation was indeed unique.
Earlier that February day in 1909, Mr. Palmer had been tasked with making two deliveries to 10 Downing Street, the residence of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. It took Mr. Palmer about an hour according to the paperwork to make his way from the Post Office to the Prime Minister’s residence and back. Now, the delivery itself was something that the Royal Mail indeed offered. No, the delivery wasn’t Mr. Palmer’s issue (although the delivery was somewhat unique). It was the refusal of delivery rather than the nature of the delivery itself that made Mr. Palmer take his time in writing his paperwork explaining the situation to his superiors.
We can see his report today in the archives of the Royal Mail, and, reading between the lines, it’s clear that Mr. Palmer struggled to make it clear that he had made every effort, that he had done all he could within his power to make the delivery as was his duty. He had even entered Number 10 and told the staff that he was only the delivery person; the delivery itself was not his responsibility. Yet, the delivery was flatly refused.
You see, the addressee was none other than the Right Honorable H.H. Asquith, the PM himself. Palmer attempted delivery for ten minutes, which was the required amount of time, and then returned to the post office to sit down and begin his paperwork. Because the delivery was refused by Number 10, the delivery was officially labeled as “dead letters” according to Mr. Palmer’s report.
Mr. Palmer finished his paperwork and handed the report to his manager. “So, what do we do wif them then?” Mr. Palmer asked the manager, motioning towards the delivery. The manager turned to the two young women who had asked to be delivered personally to the Prime Minister and told them, “You cannot be delivered. You are officially dead letters, and, therefore, you are free to leave.“
So, having been unsuccessful at trying to get themselves delivered by post to the Prime Minister, the two women’s rights advocates and suffragettes walked outside the post office, and went to their homes.
The Rest of the Story 