01/02/2019
Portadown Post
Post Telephones - Part 2
We continue our research into the WWII Telephones used by the Observer Corps.
Although not in chronological manufacturing order, the AD1542 is the next ‘well known’ model of Observer Telephone.
For the rest of the article we will refer to it as the 'wartime economy phone'.
Wartime economy was a tactic of government during WW2 to simplify factory production to improve speed of output, and to save material by using cheaper /inferior woods and metals etc in order to save material that was in short supply for the war effort.
The wartime economy phone has a slightly simplified circuitry compared to the AD163, but it is essentially the same internally, just powered by different batteries. The construction is vastly different though. For a start it is smaller, and is made of pine that has then been painted blue. The wood is not nicely finished, and has a rough texture. There are no nice joints, rather it is crudely constructed using butt joints and nails. The metal hardware is also far simplified, there is no nicely finished metal locking cover over the headphone jack point - just a simple metal disc screwed directly into the wood. The hinges and catch on the door are also crude (but effective). The internal mechanism is held in place by a screw rather than a machined sliding bolt and there is no stamped name plate, instead it is simply stencilled with the designations. Also gone is the handle made from leather, its now made from canvas.
So far Ed and I have found one phone with a date on it of 'FB43/1' which signifies it was made in 1943, during production run 1 at the GPO factory in Birmingham. The phonetic alphabet label inside was also a clue as it was of the format that was in use after 1942, whereas the AD163 'early' phones have phonetic alphabet labels that were of the format used from 1921-1942.
There is also photographic evidence of the AD1542 'wartime economy' phone being used in the underground protected posts - so it is safe to assume it was used after the war, and probably up to the introduction of the AD3460 'teletalk' that was designed specifically for the underground monitoring posts in the nuclear age.
See the photos for details of the AD1542 'wartime economy model' post telephone.
Look out for part 3 at 1pm next friday, which will be published on the Cuckfield ROC Post Museum pages, where we look at the AD599 - a phone that up until recently we never even knew existed!
The Cuckfield ROC Post Page can be found here, give them a like/follow so you dont miss part 3!
www.facebook.com/cuckfieldnuclearbunker
Carved into the natural sandstone cliffs, the intriguing network of underground tunnels offers visitors an unparalleled insight into life in wartime Britain in the 1940's.
