Moses James Nobbs

Born in 1817, Moses James Nobbs is remembered as the author of Old Coaching Days: Some Incidents in the Life of Moses James Nobbs, the Last of the Mail Coach Guards. The book was published in 1891 and presents his own memories of working in the British mail service during a period of major change.

Contemporary material published with the book describes him as the last of the Mail Coach Guards and says he had served the Post Office for fifty-five years. He began as a mail guard on the old coach routes, later worked in railway mail service after coaches were replaced, and eventually supervised the receipt and dispatch of mail bags at Paddington Station in London.

What makes Nobbs interesting today is the way his life bridges two worlds: the dramatic age of horse-drawn mail coaches and the faster, more industrial railway system that followed. His writing offers a direct, readable glimpse into the working life behind Victorian communications and transport.