One Moment Please, I Will Connect You....

Another gem found in the Old Pumping Station Museum, Cambridge.
This is the Dolls Eye 5x20 private telephone switchboard from the 1950's  The standard G.P.O. design of a manual type. (General Post Office)  A call would come in to the operator who would be told the number required. The number would be dialled by the operator and the connection plugged in. One such operator who worked in a large exchange with rows of these machines, wrote, "The supervisor used to poke us in the back with a ruler if we were not quick enough or were considered not polite enough."   I can just imagine the uproar if that happened these days, 'elf 'n' safety, human rights, abuse in the workplace and a visit to the solicitor to see how much you could sue for !