Carluke postie’s surprise delivery at Camp Bastion

Image of Sergeant George Cairns (45) and Captain Iain Macdonald (49).

An Army Reserves postman from Lanarkshire, who deployed to Afghanistan earlier this year, has

just discovered that he is delivering post in Camp Bastion to one of his Carluke neighbours.

Sergeant George Cairns (45) was born and raised in Carluke where he works as a postman. He

lives just a few miles from Captain Iain Macdonald (49), another reservist and Senior Computing

Technician at Glasgow University who moved to Carluke from Glasgow seven years ago.

Both men drink in the same pub as each other and even completed elements of their predeployment training together but until a few days ago they hadnt actually met.

That was, until Iain went to the Camp Bastion Post Office to send a parcel back to his wife in

Carluke. George took one look at the postcode and, immediately recognising it, declared:

I deliver your mail in the UK!

George deployed to Afghanistan in March this year as a postal courier with the Royal Logistics

Corps — Image of Sergeant George Cairns (45) and Captain Iain Macdonald (49). An Army Reserves postman from Lanarkshire, who deployed to Afghanistan earlier this year, has just discovered that he is delivering post in Camp Bastion to one of his Carluke neighbours. Sergeant George Cairns (45) was born and raised in Carluke where he works as a postman. He lives just a few miles from Captain Iain Macdonald (49), another reservist and Senior Computing Technician at Glasgow University who moved to Carluke from Glasgow seven years ago. Both men drink in the same pub as each other and even completed elements of their predeployment training together but until a few days ago they hadnt actually met. That was, until Iain went to the Camp Bastion Post Office to send a parcel back to his wife in Carluke. George took one look at the postcode and, immediately recognising it, declared: I deliver your mail in the UK! George deployed to Afghanistan in March this year as a postal courier with the Royal Logistics Corps

Army Reserves postman Sergeant George Cairns (45), was stunned when he spotted Captain Iain Macdonald (49), in Camp Bastion Post Office, sending a parcel to his wife 3600 miles away in Carluke.

George took one look at the postcode and, immediately recognising it, declared: “I deliver your mail in the UK!”

Fellow reservist Iain, a senior computing technician at Glasgow University who moved to Carluke in 2006, drinks in the same pub as George and they completed parts of their pre-deployment training together.

Iain, who helps the Afghan National Army in his role as second in command of the Labour Support Unit, said: “I couldn’t believe it when George said he was my postman in Carluke.

“As reservists we do a fair bit of pre-deployment training to ensure we’re operating at the same level as our regular colleagues.

“George and I must have been on the same courses without realising we lived in the same town!”

George, a postal courier with the Royal Logistics Corps (RLC), maintains troops’ morale in Afghanistan by ensuring they receive messages from loved ones.

When back in Scotland he lives with his wife, Elaine, a care worker, and his daughter, Isla (3).

For full details, pick up a copy of this week’s Carluke and Lanark Gazette.