Description:Telephonists are pictured operating switchboards in a section of the extension to Stafford Telephone Exchange, which was part of a £100,000 development scheme at the Post Office, inaugurated by the Mayor, Councillor L Dobson, on the afternoon of Thursday 28 September. Please contact us if you recognise anyone in the photograph.
During his visit the Mayor said he would be making a call to the new telephone number Stafford 2000, which was the exchanges 2000th subscriber, who was Mr A L Pendleton of Charnley Road, Stafford. In making the call from the exchange the Mayor expressed the good wishes of himself and the Mayoress, who accompanied him. The civic party included the Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire Mr H Wallace Copeland, the Deputy Mayor and his wife, Alderman and Mrs C E Fowke, the Post Office Deputy Midland Regional Director Colonel J F Darby and the Post Office telephone manager for the Stoke on Trent area, Mr E A Mavnel, were conducted around the building by the Head Postmaster Mr W F Cavill, who said that the growth of a Post Office could be regarded as a sign of a town’s commercial prosperity and development. It spoke well for the town’s progress when telephone communications were taken over by the Post Office in 1910; there were only 96 subscribers in Stafford, now a telephone has just been installed for the exchanges 2000th subscriber (Mr A L Pendleton).
The extensions carried out almost doubled the size of the Post Office. A whole new wing had been added at the rear to provide new offices, increased accommodation for engineering staff, exchange operators and the telegraph department and new welfare rooms. Which were all required as more workers were needed to deal with the growth in business. The switchboard room had been almost doubled in size to accommodate the 13 new switchboard positions, mainly intended for new subscribers. Each board had 180 subscriber numbers on the respective boards. During an average day 17,000 calls were made through the Stafford Exchange mainly between 9.30 am and 11.30 am, with 21 women operators dealing with the thousands of calls. After 6.00 pm there was an all-male staff at the exchange. There were about 40 day telephonists and 17 at night and eventually it was hoped that there would be 50 telephonists available for duty during the day and 20 at night.
This photograph was published in the Staffordshire Newsletter on Saturday 30 September 1950. Reproduced by kind permission of the Staffordshire Newsletter who retain copyright.