IN 1942, Harold Wood helped to protect York’s main post office in Lendal from Hitler’s bombs.

Today, he’s trying to defend it from Post Office Ltd.

Last year, the Post Office announced plans to close the branch and move the service into WH Smith in Coney Street instead. Mr Wood, 95, from Copmanthorpe - who in 1942 was part of the Home Guard team which protected the post office from incendiary bombs - isn’t impressed.

“The Luftwaffe couldn’t destroy it,” he said. “It would be sad to see the Post Office do it.”

In the early hours of April 29, 1942 - the night of the York Blitz - Harold, then just 18, was part of a five-man Home Guard team on duty at the Lendal post office.The unit consisted of a sergeant and four men. They were armed with a rifle and five rounds of ammunition.

At 2.38am, German bombers appeared in the night sky and began raining bombs - both explosive and incendiary - down on the city. “The incendiaries rained down with a terrific clatter as they ricocheted off roof-tops and buildings, spitting fire,” he recalled.

Harold and his team first used buckets of water and a stirrup pump to put out a fire at a shop opposite the post office. Then they rushed to do the same at the telephone exchange, which was also on fire.

Then it was back to the post office in Lendal, where the regular night cleaner, Charles Bartle, had appealed for help.

“Armed to the teeth with two stirrup pumps and as many buckets of water as we could carry, we followed him to the top of the building,” Harold recalled. They dashed from one rooftop to another, up ladders and down wooden steps, extinguishing fires wherever they found them.

By the time the All Clear sounded at 4.30am, 72 people were dead or dying, the Guildhall was in ruins, and 9,500 homes had been destroyed. But the post office had survived.

Harold - who, after wartime service with the RAF, spent the rest of his working life as a salesman for Heinz - sees no reason for it to close now.

He joins a growing list of people - among them York Central MP Rachael Maskell - who are opposed to the move.

The idea of moving York’s main post office to WH Smith is “ridiculous”, he said.

“That building is more than a hundred years old,” he said. “It was built as a post office, it is fit for purpose, and it is just right where it is. I’m sure they wouldn’t be able to offer the same level of service at WH Smith. It’s just unnecessary.”

A Post Office spokesperson said: “We have the greatest respect for Mr Wood’s efforts during the Second World War to protect the Post Office and the wider community in York.

“We do of course understand his concerns about the proposed changes – but we’d like to reassure both him and the community that our proposal to move the branch aims to ensure that these vital services remain in the city centre.

“The Post Office is not immune to the challenges facing retailers on local high streets, and we must adapt to changing customer needs by making our services more accessible, for instance through longer opening hours. In York, the plans for the new branch mean it would be open 7 days a week, making it easier for customers to visit at a time that suits them.”