TELEPHONIST IN 1960S

I cannot think of anything apart from the Official Secrets Act . I worked in London im the 1960s in the staff branch for telephonists . I did all the HR stuff , wages etc. for two London telephone exchanges . It was an interesting job .I am sure we had to sign the Official Secrets Act .

Hi Floradora9 - thank you for your response and how great it is to communicate with a fellow telephonist! We did indeed have to sign the Secrets Act - I remember that well. I trained new telephonists and remember having to read Statutory Intruments and updating training data accordingly. I remember having to train telephonists to monitor telephone conversations for foul language for example, and how to deal with 999 calls but cannot find any instructions to do so now in any documents. I want to be sure of what I am telling people when I give my talk and would feel happier with some legislative back up!! Thanks for your response. We had an amazingly high standard of training didn't we??!!

No time to properly research this for you, but you may find this film helpful www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbukoDhZ-F0, also BT has an archive that could be useful; www.btplc.com/Thegroup/BTsHistory/Eventsintelecommunicationshistory/index.htm and if all else fails you might want to trawl through the Statutory Instruments list, where I think (not sure about this) the telephony department came under 'Telegraphy'. www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/telegraphs?title=The&page=6. Hope you find what you need.

Bumping this in the hope that callgirl1 sees it.

Many thanks grannyactivist! I will take a look at all your links. I have scoured the legislation lists and looked under Post Office, Telecimmunications, Telephones etc but nothing seemed to be what I was looking for. There seemed to be many Statutory Instruments and suchlike to read through and update the training with in the 60s! I did find several under Telegraph - will look again at the contents of these in more detail. I will enjoy looking at the YouTube videos. Many thanks again.

Not related to legislation, just want to say I wish we still had telephonists ,

I was a GPO telephonist and yes we did have to sign the Official Secrets Act , I think I still have a tiny red or blue book given to me at the time.

Mags - do you remember having to sign in for duty at various odd times e.g 7.20, 7.43, 8.51 not the normal 9 - 5 hours type shifts. If you missed signing in by so much as a minute you were ' late ' and a cross was put against your name and if I remember you had to see the Supervisor.

I loved my old ' Dolls Eye' , tapping for a free line and sitting in front of a full board of connected leads was the most satisfying job I ever had.

I did have issues outside of sitting in front of my board so I left but the job itself was very satisfying.

It was so busy at the time Anniebach but looking back it was all much more efficient and civilised than the horrid helplines we have to endure now! With such long waiting times before you get answered, awful music and having to press numerous button choices before getting to speak to a human!! I think we gave a service second to none and one that cannot be matched today!

I wish I could help as this subject is of great interest to me.
I started my working life as a telephonist in 1953 when I was only 15. But it was at an office in Torquay and I don't remember signing anything official. I only did it for two years as they promoted me to working on huge great ledgers and then sent me to secretarial college to learn shorthand and typing. But I loved my time on the switchboard. Happy memories.
Many years later I did work in a sub post-office and then had to sign the Official Secrets Act.
I hope you find out what you need.

Magsmoments, my car once broke down on a country road, it was after midnight, I walked to a kiosk, the operator put me through to a taxi firm and stayed on the line talking to me until the taxi arrived, that was so kind .

I used to cover for the regular switchboard operator in the office where I first got a job. One day she came back from lunch to find me almost at the point of tears because I had been overwhelmed with callers, many of them being extremely rude, and she gave me her tip for dealing with the board when it all got too much: she gently nudged the plug slightly out of its socket until all calls were lost - counted to ten, then pushed it in again. She told me with a wink that PABX switchboards occasionally had problems with maintaining connection! I confess that there were a couple of times when I actually took her advice.

Hi Magsmoments! I posted on the other thread under my then name of numberplease.
I left school in 1959, aged 16, and went to the GPO training school on Quay Street in Manchester for 5 weeks training, along with several others. After our 5 weeks were up we then had a further 3 weeks training "on the job", at Rochdale Telephone Exchange, on the top floor of the head post office, watched closely by a senior telephonist. Then work began in earnest. I well remember having duties that started and finished at odd times, and working a 42 hour week, for which I was paid just over £4 a week. I liked working on the 2 emergency positions, loved Directory enquiries, not so keen on fault enquiries, hated the duty that included cleaning all telephones first thing with disinfectant, known as prob, short for probationer. I was terrified of our Chief supervisor, Miss Partington, a very tall, thin, white haired and very regal looking lady, with an icy glare. She probably wasn`t as old as we thought at the tender age of 16.
The only document I remember signing was, as others say, the Official Secrets Act, every 6 months. Are we still bound by that, by the way?
I stayed there until October 1963, when I went on maternity leave, went back to work in February 1964 when my daughter was 2 months old, but getting her to my MILs before getting myself to work, then vice versa at night, got a bit difficult, so I left after 3 weeks back. I loved the job though.
As I`m so old now, I think that most of the people I trained and worked with are now long gone, but if not, hello to Jean Duffy, Barbara Banks (supervisors), and some of those I trained with, Thelma Kenyon, Thelma Hassell, Maureen Goggins (she was only 15 so only did 40 hours a week till she was 16). Sadly I can`t remember any more names, must be my age, lol!

PS, thank you Baggs for your pm.

Hi callgirl I noticed Baggs had thought about you.

We used to have all 999 calls directed to ALL the Main switchboards and it used to be a case of who got there first and it was given a 999 call meant we dropped everything . Calls answered in split seconds usually.

I hated Directory Enquiries with a vengeance and didn't last long on that section.

Our emergency positions were 1 and 2. I loved Directory, had to go back to the training school for 3 weeks more training for it.

Magsmoments I was not a telephonist I was a clerical office working in the staff branch . This was in the 1960s and we used to get girls who were pregnant from Ireland to work until their babies were born and adopted. I was shocked when I found that any telephonist falling pregnat outside marriage had it noted on her file as " unsatisfactory conduct off duty " ( in red writing ) Should they do it again they were sacked.
We had to note any accidents on and off duty and one man ( off duty ) fell down stairs with his pipe in his mouth. You can imagine the mess.
If we wanted to go to Yugoslavia on holiday we had to ask permission first.
I got to know a lot of diseases by their correct names triying make out the doctors bad writing.

henetha it was only GPO telephonist who had to sign the official secrets act .

Yes, I think you are right, Floradora9. I certainly don't recall signing anything back then. It was great fun; I made loads of mistakes in the first couple of weeks, cutting people off, putting callers through to the wrong department etc...

As an office junior in a big company in the '60s, I was sent to the switchboard office to be shown how it worked. I was fascinated by the switchboard operators. They were gorgeous and glamorous. I was a 16 year old trying (unsuccessfully) to be the same. These girls would speak with broad Birmingham accents among themselves and I was fascinated at how their voices went 'ultra posh' when they answered a call. Happy days.

Katy K

I had ai broad Somerset accent when I became a GPO telephonist as it was my first job after leaving school and I had sadly had to move to the Midlands.

My careers advisor asked me what job I would like to do. I said a GPO telephonist. She told me I was never going to get a job with my accent and education . I remember my dad saying ' Right get your coat on we're leaving' and off we trotted. Obviously I did get the job.

I soon adopted the GPO voice and I fluctuate between the two to this day.

Fascinating POGS. I never managed the posh voice!

I was, briefly, a telephonist on the International Telephone Exchange opposite St Paul's Cathedral in London. I loved the job but didn't enjoy the working hours so left after a few months. My friends were going to work as waitresses at a holiday camp in Hopton-on-sea near Great Yarmouth and I joined them. It's where I met my husband so I never regretted it! This was 1967.

DanniRae, I always fancied graduating to the International exchange.

I was in the Basingstoke Telephone Exchange and we all looked up to you International Telephonists! Always fancied being in London but travel was not possible for me in those days. Xx