大象传媒

I started in the Civil Service on my 17th birthday to train as a GPO telephonist for The London Telecommunications Service.

14.4.1940

We had strict training from the word 鈥榞o鈥�. It was verbal tests, mental arithmetic, a medical examination, including eyes, hearing and good teeth. We had to be 5鈥�6鈥� or over in stockinged feet, right handed, English and no intonation in your speech. This was because some of the switchboards that we had to work on were extremely tall, there was a metal trim near the base of the seats which was wide enough for us to stand quickly on to get the plugs in the holes which were called Jacks. If we had been any smaller, it would have caused trouble having people to help you when you were busy, which of course, we in time had plenty of telephonists but it was always extremely busy all the time. Then it was on to the Burlington Arcade to sit for the Civil Service Exam. When we finally got to Temple Bar/Terminus Exchange Two Exchanges in the one Exchange, situated in Covent Garden Area, not too far for me to walk as I lived with my parents in Guildford Street, WC1. There were caretakers for an Estate Agent. My brother was 20, so had been called up and was in the Army.

My training was very strict, had plenty of homework in those days everything had to be written on tickets, each call, we wrote the destination and the subscribers number and we had hundreds of calls so the destinations were in code such as HC for Hornchruch, and SI for Staines. WE had to memorize all the codes, but it made sense we were so busy that if everyone knew the codes and the clerical workers who did the statements to charge the subscribers, it was so much quicker. Then more pages to memorize regarding the expressions, it was all set expressions for different procedures.

We trained on Dummy Switchboards, then it was on to Welbeck Exchange, near Harley Street, just the one Exchange, very nice, handy to get to by bus, to finally finish my training and receive a written card to say I was a qualified GPO Telephonist.

My next exchange was Mayfair, Langham, Grosvenor and Regent, which was 4 exchanges in one building, quite big and near Berkeley Square. One evening I was on a late duty, working until 11 pm in the evening, got home quite tired and as I didn鈥檛 have to go in the next day, being Sunday and my day off, decided to stay in bed a little longer than usual. I was woken by an Air Raid Warning, (War had been announced on the radio, but we completely missed it although we knew times were worrying. My father immediately called me to get up saying, 鈥渄on鈥檛 worry, but hurry, they鈥檙e here鈥�, trying to dress quickly, still half asleep, wondering what was up. I felt very nervous. My father was busy getting flannels and was making sure they were all wet. I asked him why? (He鈥檇 been gassed during the first War and was busy getting the flannels for the dog, we鈥檇 already been issued with a gas mask and helmet and he was thinking about the dog, as a very strict father, he had a very caring streak, fortunately we soon heard the 鈥渁ll clear鈥� but after that we always had clothes, etc ready for dressing quickly.

I worked at Mayfair Exchange for 6 months, when one evening as we were undressed and ready for bed, but was aware the bombing that evening was especially bad, we didn鈥檛 have a shelter, but had a very thick wall in our kitchen. They say you never hear the bomb that is meant for you, I know it to be true. This night they were dropping basket bombs which always contained 10 bombs, we were crouching by this thick wall and heard this particular dropping counting the bombs and counting 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 getting nearer all the time, when after counting 9 all hell happened. I grabbed my mother and screamed, everything went black, rubble and walls crashing on us, aware of dust, smoke, gas leaking and water running somewhere. Our exit was completely blocked, but we knew if we could get to some stairs to go up, there was another door we could get out of, it was used by the Estate Agent so we felt with our hands, not knowing what we walking on and eventually managed to get to some fresh air, shaking with shock and dazed by the experience. It was such a bad night for bombing that there wasn鈥檛 anyone of the rescue people about, fortunately a neighbour came to us and took us in to his home, his wife soon made us a strong cup of tea. Fortunately I had an Aunt in Doughty Street and only could spare some chairs for us to sleep the night, as she didn鈥檛 have a lot of spare space, so we went to another Aunt and Uncle who lived in Hornchurch and a bungalow opposite was empty for rent, so we quickly lived there.

I had a few weeks off work being treated for shock by the doctor, eventually resumed work, travelling from Hornchurch each day to Mayfair. The train lines kept being out of order, due to bombing but the authorities were very efficient and they鈥檇 arranged clean Army Lorries standing by outside the stations which we quickly jumped onto to get to another station along the line then at Charring Cross I had to dash out of the station to get a bus to Green Park, get off and dash round Berkeley Square to get into Mayfair Exchange by 8 o鈥檆lock, and they were cross if you were late so after a few months of this I asked for a transfer to another exchange. (I knew I couldn鈥檛 get a transfer to Hornchurch, once you are in the London Region they don鈥檛 like you out of the area, especially after all the special training, so I put in for Wood Street, which would cut out the extra time getting a bus, lovely exchange. I was there 10 days, when London and especially the City was hit by a night of Incendiary Bombs, we could see the sky aglow at Hornchurch in Essex so we knew something was wrong. Next day, when I went to work the area was cordoned off and a supervisor was standing by ticking our names off and sending us off to different Exchanges. I was sent to Avenue Exchange which is near the Tower of London. The firemen were there busy putting fires out in the Exchange, the blinds were on fire and all the windows shattered, but we just had to man the boards and get calls through. Most exchanges have a generator of their own in case of power cuts, which they were using but the small lights on the switchboards were very dim, we had to use our personal torches in those days you had switches on the board to time each long distant call, in the meantime the supervisor was busy lighting candles on top of the switchboards to help us, but the window kept blowing them out, it was funny to see, but too serious to laugh about, we just kept doing the best we could. In the meantime the Post Office Engineers were everywhere working flat out trying to sort out the muddle and bring some order back into being. And as time progressed a Senior Gentleman came into the exchange and just said, 鈥淚 want you, you and you out of the City Area, me included, then went to Central Control and got some Central Telephonist, took us all to an Italian Bank in the City that had been commandeered and the Post Office Engineers had been busy putting lines in for us where the Tellers Position normally sit and a big bell by the side of each position so we had to answer as if we were in an exchange taking messages but not any figures in case someone in their haste might put an 0 in the wrong position, they could cause a lot of damage money wise. When we finished taking messages, we pressed the bells and a stream of telegram boys came from below and delivered all the messages on their bikes all round the city for several weeks, I must say it was excellent work done by the engineers, this service was all free to the subscribers to repay them for the inconvenience for not getting through to a proper exchange. From there I was sent to Faraday Building near St Paul鈥檚. It was the tallest building then in the whole of the city. A huge exchange several lifts to take telephonists to staff each floor and a huge restaurant at the top of the building which if my memory serves me correct, it was on the 9th floor. I started on the 1st floor, opposite the trunk telephonist and I was on the City and Central boards for a while, later I was sent to the top floor, the 9th on a PBX board, which stands for Private Box Exchange not an exchange switchboard, but like a private switchboard, it was the engineering switchboard for the whole of Faraday, different working and we did our Sunday duties there too!

Our shifts were until the night men telephonists came on, then we relieved them in the morning. The bombing was still very bad so it was decided by the Authorities that 500 telephonists had to sleep the night at Faraday, so there was enough staff to man the boards in the morning. Felt very strange going to the basements to sleep with a crowd of girls I didn鈥檛 know, but we were in the same boat and all fitted in with one another, there was never any trouble with anyone, quite decent girls altogether. Being a PBX Operator, still GPO, but we came under another control which was in Cannon Street. We had to ring them as soon as we staffed the board, say our name and duty and they made a note of it, I found out later why!

On the 4th Floor of Faraday was another PBX which was staffed by 3 senior telephonists, they each had done 20 years on this switchboard, Sundays too, which meant they did a 7 day week for 3 weeks then the 4th off. No other telephonists were allowed on this Switchboard for it was for the Regional Directors for the whole of the country, very, very important work.

One day my Supervisor had a call from the Supervisor of this switchboard if she could spare an operator for a while, so yours truly was sent, all nervous knowing the seniority of these girls I was going to work with. I was aware I had to go through a huge office of clerical workers, all civil servants, men and women, who started at this junior going into this very exclusive switchboard I just kept quiet and did as I was told, the Senior Telephonists were very kind to me and once you sit in a switchboard the working is all the same and we are trained to keep alteration to extensions up to date wherever you go so that your colleagues know instantly where everywhere is, it鈥檚 a very good system! I only went that day, but they started to ask for me to go more and more, then they put in for me to go permanently so my control put me on 3 months trial, to se how I coped, which I did, so I was (sic) stayed. The first Sunday duty was quite an experience. I was entirely on my own. The Clerical people didn鈥檛 do Sunday duties so huge bulling, but quite away from the hundreds of other telephonists on other floors, but I was engrossed in trying to work, then the door opened and this man came in, he was big and well made, more like a boxer, he was carrying a tray of tea for me. I said, 鈥淚鈥檓 sorry, but I haven鈥檛 ordered any tea鈥�, he replied, 鈥渋t鈥檚 all arranged鈥� and left, came Monday morning when the rest of the staff came in, I asked what was that all about, but was told it was very hush, hush, I mustn鈥檛 tell anyone and I never have, not even my parents, but at the bottom of Faraday was a suite of offices for the directors of the Region who had maps of the areas of London and surroundings which they staffed at night so if any Exchanges got bombed, like Wood Street they could call out the Engineers for help, also Winston Churchill had a private suite containing sleeping quarters and this man that had brought my tea was his Batman, so I suppose my control ordered it for me, I know I didn鈥檛 have to pay for it, that鈥檚 why they had these Senior Telephonists, and I was always so engrossed in my work, they knew I wouldn鈥檛 say anything. That鈥檚 where the training comes in handy.

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