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Experience the atmosphere in a typical 1960s manual telephone exchange. In those days, some areas had operators who answered you when you picked up your ‘phone and connected your call. Some of these areas were quite small. My local exchange in those days was in a converted semi-detached house and employed about thirteen operators - usually girls during the day and males overnight. Other manual exchanges covered a much bigger area: Northampton would be an example. Where a large, automatic exchange covered the area, they would also usually have a manual suite (operators) in the building and subscribers (for that was how customers were referred to in those days) could dial 100 for an operator-connected trunk (long-distance) call, most of which couldn’t be dialled direct - or 192 (free!!) for information about a number in another part of the country. The girls were monitored by hawk-eyed ‘supervisors’ who ensured they didn’t make personal calls or chat up any male caller they might fancy - and if they needed the loo they had to put up their hands and ask a supervisor for a ‘casual!’
Ah, how things have changed! Walk into an automatic exchange in the 1950s/60s and the noise was amazing! This was generated by the electro-mechanical switches - called selectors - which moved up and down to establish a call. In these days of electronic switching, you would be greeted with complete silence! ….