FOR 14 years, Bill Picking helped the children of St Sampson’s C of E Primary School cross the road safely. But in August 1986, at the ripe age of 80, he decided it was time to call it a day on his job as a lollipop man. 

“I really enjoyed it. At least it stopped me becoming idle,” he said.
Often helped by his wife Phyllis (60), Bill was a familiar sight in Cricklade High Street throughout the years.

Starting at 8.20am, Bill would finish his first shift at 9am, before returning for 12 to 1pm and then again at the end of school at 3.15pm.

“I was never late and never missed a day,” Bill boasted. 

His latest retirement came just 10 months after he finished work at Bunsdon House Hotel where he was head porter. 

He was already 68 when he joined the hotel and was seen carting suitcases up and down the stairs. 

“I have always enjoyed working, particularly when I got to meet and talk to people,” Bill explained. 

“When I reached retirement age I didn’t want to sit back and potter about in the garden. I felt the same as I did when I was younger.”

Crossing patrollers (aka lollipop people) are a rare sight now, with numbers much reduced through years of council cut backs.