Earlier on today we learnt of the death of former radio studio manager Tricia Baldwin (pictured above).
Tricia joined the BBC in 1951 as a secretary in the typing pool based in Broadcasting House. When she retired from the BBC some 25 years ago, she was working as a studio manager. Whilst retirement gave her the time to look after her invalid mother, she still continued to make regular trips back to various London BBC buildings armed with her retirement pass and a bag-full of postage stamps which she would sell to former colleagues and other staff around the organisation.
Over the past eight years, Tricia's familiar gait and oft-repeated gently enticing battle cry "Anyone for any stamps today?" could be heard as she nimbly walked the floors of the Broadcast Centre, Media Centre and White City building. She became a familiar face to a new generation of BBC staff who smiled when she visited, often wondering what exactly her backstory was. BBC staff magazine Ariel picked up the story last year.
Those regular visits also gave rise to her own dedicated hashtag on Twitter: "#StampLady!" alerted a network of fans further along her route of her imminent arrival. For newcomers, her monthly presence was a charming idiosyncracy. For those who used to work with her when she was a studio manager, it was like having an old and reliable friend to visit.
Tricia was a familiar part of daily BBC life in London. You can read more about her story on the BBC's staff magazine website Ariel.
The black and white picture in this post - Trainee Studio Managers c.1964 - was sourced from the OldSMsBeta website. Tricia is seated on the front row third from the right.
