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Post Office Telephones AKA B.T.

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Looking at all the firms listed where employees share happy memories I was rather disapointed not to see P.O.T. so hope to set a ball rolling ! I joined in '56 straight from school and became a "Youth-in-Training" for the wage of £4-5-0, or was it £5-4-0 ? The careers master had been dismayed at my choice as he pushed half the class to Lucas's and the rest to the GEC; I suspected that he had a quota to fill ! Those who followed his advice may well have done well in later life but they only started out on 50 bob. Anyone have yarns to share about the abundant "characters" at the various exchanges; fifedoms of the LTO's...Gerry George; Charlie Foster; Reg Thornton....or the training school at Shirley or Stone. There were hundreds of us, someone must still be alive !
 
I was offered a place at the GEC and the GPO. I was a Youth-in-Training from 1966 and I can remember a payslip which was £4-16-0 IIRC, so yours would be £4-5-0. I remember Gerry George, Billy Bull and Charlie Foster (and others whose names I forget) from my 'Exchange Planning' days.

I remember training at Sheldon, Shirley and Stone. Never spent very long in any exchange location due to the nature of my function, but I did fly through my Director 'A' having been taken under the wing of IIRC Gerry George at Four Oaks ATE??

Long time ago - grey matter now on the decline. I did 35yrs to the day!
 
I joined the GPO in September 1964 as a Y3YC. The first 3 days were spent at a college on the Bristol Rd and there was an intake I believe of 250 of us including Jeff Horner, Jeff Stubbings, Peter Myatt (who i still see) Bob Catley (who went on to be singer with Magnum) Peter Brown, Jeff Commander ( who toured with ELO), Martin Tune etc.
Then I was posted to an exchange at the bottom of Kingston Hill Small Heath (can't remember the name) working on Underground. I remember having to use an empty bucket to clear manholes of any gas. During this time i attended Garretts Green college on block release and went to Nottingham for 6 weeks on A Course. Posted to Sheldon exchange and Tandem and also worked at Lyndon repeater on the Coventry Road which I believe was built to maintain communications in the event of nuclear war. Worked for a time on telex maintenance spending some time at the airport. Worked with fitters from Witton next to Villa Grounds and overhead from Clay Lane Yardley. My first pay cheque was £4.15.5
 
The college on the Bristol Rd is Bournville College/South Birmingham Tech. I'd forgotten my time there. My training oficer was Jack Curtin. I knew a Peter Brown as a control AEE in 74/75. The exchange name you are looking for is Victoria, only the exchange exists now, the other attached bulidings have been demolished and land sold off. Not sure of the current status of Lyndon, I last knew it as a repair centre for exchange PCBs. Most of my time was spent on exchange planning/PABX planning, installation & commissioning.
 
I done it the hard way, after 8 years in the RAF from 48 'till 56 joined PO telephones as an adult (aged 26), 4man gangs, 2man gangs ENG 'card boy' subs mtce whilst spending my evenings at night school studying for my my C and G certs, a few years late passed my intermediate C and G and became a TO in Training, spent time at Aston Cross exchange, Erdington ENG, finally became a TO, initially on 'special faults' and finally on PABX Mtce (mostly in the black country area) where I remained until I took early retirement in 1986 after 30 years service. I remember one of my AEE's George Lambert. Enjoyed my time with them until they were privatised, hence my early retirement. I started of at £8 0s 6d per week basic as a tech 2B but this was enhanced with overtime after a while Eric
 
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Eric, I remember you. From '77 to '82 I was on CWG, installing AC13, AC15 PWs/additional relay sets/selectors/exchange lines on PABX1/3/6/7 in many locations in North Birmingham. Remember GKN in Cranford St? Later 'progressed' to Monarch. Field trialled the 250 at Kenrick & Jefferson in West Brom, the PABX3 extension at the Neurosurgical etc. etc. Remember Keith ?? moaning about Monarch faults, yet despite not been trained escalated to George Powis and Jack Curtin shot him down in flames, he moved from maintenance over to installation and I became his temp lev1....based in Berkley House at the time. 'them were the days! ....Dave.
 
Curly, I certainly remember Keith Scarrett. special faults on Halesowen, a real cushy workload, with his shiny tool kit (because it hardly had any use). I remember you now at GKN Group Head Office installing their PW Exchange, you must remember Ian Parkill GKN's communication officer (had not got a clue!!!) and maybe Mrs Aston the tele supervisor of their PABX 3 down stairs, a right dragon but had a good heart, sadly no longer with us. Them AC 13 and 15 relay sets used to drive up the wall. Happy days. Eric
 
I *can* remember GKN but, was their PW exchange in the same room as the PABX3? I didn't install the PW exchange (wasn't it called the 'Tandem'?) but I did plenty of work on it - often AC15s via the wideband rack.Tones on Idle, Tones off idle! I do remember Ian Parkhill and have a mental picture of him, but cannot place Mrs Aston. If I recall correctly, Mr Parkhill used to source his own relay-sets wherever possible. Keith is no longer with us, either, as is the case with may of our contemporaries of the time. Dave
 
Curly. Sorry to hear about Keith, thats quite a shock.There again he must have been getting on a bit (I am 83 in June !!), it was nearly 30 years ago when I left (1985). Yes I remember now, it was called the Tandem and No it was not near the PABX 3 exchange, it was at the end of the building up some steps by the kitchen. When the BT 'Monarchs' came out it really dated the old strowger PABX's and life became less interesting, thats progress. I never bothered to keep in touch when I left, preferred to make a clean break. GKN gave me a £100 art material voucher when I left as they knew I I was an amateur painter. Nothing from BT (apart from pension), although George Powis did let me keep my van ladders which were due for scrapping, I kept my van at home as I was on 'Emergency call out' outside normal hours, so just left my ladders at home on my last day, still have them. We have another ex Bt engineer on this Forum by the name of Mike from one of the sandwell exchanges, you may know him. Eric Fisher !!
 
Hi all, I joined POT in 1963 at y2yc. Worked mainly in the North Birmingham area exchanges, Streetly( LTO was Vic), Ashfield(Spike Harrison), Sutton (Charlie Foster), Four Oaks (Gerry George), had many happy days there, managing the odd game of whist and cricket during tea/lunch breaks! I met my wife at Four Oaks as she was working in accounts dept. in Richmond House and she came to FOU to read the subs meters...still together after 43 years!
Spent some time in Northern ENG, before leaving the PO and went to work for Plessey for an extra £1 a week.
 
squeezy said:
Hi all, I joined POT in 1963 at y2yc. Worked mainly in the North Birmingham area exchanges, Streetly( LTO was Vic), Ashfield(Spike Harrison), Sutton (Charlie Foster), Four Oaks (Gerry George), had many happy days there, managing the odd game of whist and cricket during tea/lunch breaks! I met my wife at Four Oaks as she was working in accounts dept. in Richmond House and she came to FOU to read the subs meters...still together after 43 years!
Spent some time in Northern ENG, before leaving the PO and went to work for Plessey for an extra £1 a week.
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We MUST have met at some time (I didn't ever go to Streetly tho') - Most of my exchange time was as an apprentice (OK, a youth) preparing for my A, B, C, Director A and TO-in-training courses in these localities. I lived locally, in Orton Avenue, Walmley.
 
Hi squeezy, I knew Gerry George quite well, quite a character, I believe Four Oaks was the last Exchange to go 'auto', still manual when I joined PO Tel in '56. What other exchanges/ areas did Gerry work on, trying to remember where I met him, I was a PABX maintenance TO from '63 until early retirement in '86. Eric (cookie)
 
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