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Telephone history: Telephone Service in Birmingham

Granville House in Birmingham housed the offices for West Midlands Telephone Area, which covered Worcestershire and parts of Shropshire including some far flung rural areas. I worked there 1972-1977. Some of the exchanges were very small with a few hundred subscribers and some did not yet have subscriber trunk dialing, but rang the operator to be connected. I think direct dialing was complete by 1979.

It was better to have the national dialing codes in the directory, but the booklet was handy. You obviously don't need the code if you are ringing a number on the same exchange. The GPO had been a civil service dept and things moved slowly. The budget was calculated by hand as well as entered into a computer as computer accounting systems were not entirely trusted.

So having two sources of exchange codes was a fail-safe. People in Quatt would give their phone number as Quatt xxx, the area code is now 01746 xxxxxx, but before 1995 used to be 0746. Phone numbers have got longer with more subscribers and Quatt is in the Bridgnorth exchange area.
 
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Intelligentman said:
When I started working in Birmingham in 1974 I was surprised to see that dialling codes were included in the preface to the telephone directory. However, this seemed like a good idea. At that time codes were listed in separate dialling code booklets and not in the directory in most telephone areas but these small A5 size code books usually got misplaced, and the GPO even tried providing them in public phone boxes where they only survived a day or two before being pinched!

However, I was then equally surprised to see that dialling code booklets were issued for Birmingham as well, there was one in my office. This seemed like pointless duplication, having the same dialling code information in both the telephone directory and in a dialling code booklet.

In the 1980s dialling code booklets were phased out, and all codes were shown in telephone directories throughout the UK.
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Back in the late 1960s was the first time I had a telephone on my desk as previously at other companies where I had worked there was just one internal phone and one GPO phone in each department. To me this was luxury especially as I could dial out without going through our internal switchboard. We were all issued with a Birmingham telephone directory and a dialling code book. The telephone directory was no use to me and was a complete waste as all my customers were based in the East Midlands, particularly, Derby, Nottingham and Leicester'.
 
Richard Dye said:
People here in the US like them and have paid dearly to get them, unfortunately they cost a small fortune to pick up and move!
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Yes, I can imagine!
Still some around in London, mainly central so the tourists can take photos next to them.
I've seen a couple of them turned into little coffee kiosks here too.
 
This was the telephone exchange in Newhall Street in the 1950s. Still a very structured office with an obvious hierarchy like the earlier office shown in post #346. The supervisors appear to have high stools running down the centre of the switchboard office (handy for resting the handbag on !) Plenty of clocks - don't know why there're so many. The telephonists seem to be sitting very close to each other. Must have been quite distracting while at the same convenient for the occasional quick chat between calls (and provided you were out of earshot of the supervisors).

V8v

Screenshot_20231030_054614_Chrome.jpg
 
interesting photo viv and from the clocks i can read i dont think they are all set at the same time...maybe to do with international call times...just a guess

lyn
 
Vivienne14 said:
This was the telephone exchange in Newhall Street in the 1950s. Still a very structured office with an obvious hierarchy like the earlier office shown in post #346. The supervisors appear to have high stools running down the centre of the switchboard office (handy for resting the handbag on !) Plenty of clocks - don't know why there're so many. The telephonists seem to be sitting very close to each other. Must have been quite distracting while at the same convenient for the occasional quick chat between calls (and provided you were out of earshot of the supervisors).

V8v

View attachment 185807
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The reason the operators were so close together was that each operator had access to both her own board and the boards each side. Women worked the day shift, men took over for the night shift. Years ago, I served on a committee where the chairman was a night telephone operator so meetings always finished on time!
 
Vivienne14 said:
This was the telephone exchange in Newhall Street in the 1950s. Still a very structured office with an obvious hierarchy like the earlier office shown in post #346. The supervisors appear to have high stools running down the centre of the switchboard office (handy for resting the handbag on !) Plenty of clocks - don't know why there're so many. The telephonists seem to be sitting very close to each other. Must have been quite distracting while at the same convenient for the occasional quick chat between calls (and provided you were out of earshot of the supervisors).

V8v

View attachment 185807
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If I remember correctly the right hand side of they photo is were operators helping other operators from other exchanges connect trunk calls. that they have had problems with. The telephonists on the very left side are helping callers to make local or trunk calls. The Central line telephonists enquiry operators and are trying calls for people having trouble connecting calls they test the telephone number for fault, if faulty they report the number. These operators are also trained emergency operators and take 999 calls. they connect to Fire,Police or Ambulance. Also picture calls are connected at this far end. I worked in this exchange from 1967 when I left school till around 1971/2 when the Sheldon Telephone Exchange opened. I loved my job as a Telephonist. I was trained as general telephonist, Fault enquiry operator, and a Directory Enquiry operator too. I also did work as an assistant supervisor for a short time at Sheldon.Hope I am looking in the right direction down the exchange haha
 
That's very helpful and informative Wendy. Thanks. It's always good to get someone's first-hand experience about photos. Must have brought back many happy memories of your job.

was the pay different for the ladies in the centre, given their responsibilities? Viv
 
Vivienne14 said:
That's very helpful and informative Wendy. Thanks. It's always good to get someone's first-hand experience about photos. Must have brought back many happy memories of your job.

was the pay different for the ladies in the centre, given their responsibilities? Viv
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It did bring back memories I loved my job . I must admit I loved Telephone house switchboards with the pull out plugs you had to stretch out to connect for the calls rather than the new switch boards which were just small desk type switchboard with switches in front of you.
 
history of the party line
What is a telephone party line? Back when phone lines were more expensive the phone company would run a single phone line to multiple houses. Each house shared the same dial tone and if someone called them phones at all the houses rang.
telephonesuk.org.uk

Shared Service - Telephones UK

telephonesuk.org.uk telephonesuk.org.uk
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On the same subscriber lines, one party used the tip side of the line and ground for ringing, whilst the other party on the same line used the ring wire and ground for ringing, to achieve full selectivity for two-party lines, in which only the selected station would ring.
 
When we first had a phone in the house, in the 60s, we were on a party line for a while - I don't think we had many problems with it!
I don't remember that it rang for the other people though.
 
My parents had a party line with a neighbour half way along the road. Only very occasionally did we pick up the phone and the other party was on the line. We had different numbers so our phone never rang for their calls. We never had occasion to ring each other but I believe we might have had to go through the operator for that. Eventually the lines were separated.
When I moved into my own flat I had a party line with my next door neighbour. Twice I had a problem in that our numbers somehow got switched and I would get their calls and they would get mine. They never reported it but I did and got it put right. My silly neighbour just gave her friends my number to ring instead of reporting it so I had unwanted calls when I got it put right.
 
I have to say that I was surprised a few weeks ago to receive my Birmingham South West 2023/2024 directory. I did not think that they were still issued.
For years now I have not been able to do my party trick of tearing one of the old-style directories in two.
 
Used to like the paper they were printed on. The early ones were like a thin paper. You'd lick your finger and flip through the pages in no time. It made a satisfying sound too. Oh simple pleasures !
 
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