West Midlands telephone exchanges 1950s

[Clarebclm]

Hi

I am looking to create a list, for a K6 phone box set in the 1950s, which would have shown users how to call a subscriber on the following exchanges, which would then be listed - for the West Midlands area, specifically the Black Country. I'm especially interested to know if places like Dudley used the first three letters, e.g. 'DUD' or whether they used numbers. I know that, e.g., Halesowen, on the Birmingham exchange, was 'HAL'. I've looked in local phone directories and can't see any letter codes for places like Dudley, Stourbridge, Kingswonford, Cradley Heath, etc.

Thanks

[Hartley118]

One memory snippet which may help.
My Grandfather lived in Quinton, on Halesowen Road, and I remember distinctly that the exchange was WOOdgate. It was my first encounter with a phone on director exchange and never understood what WOOdgate had to do with Quinton.

Martin

[Pellseinydd]

Originally Posted by Clarebclm

Hi

I am looking to create a list, for a K6 phone box set in the 1950s, which would have shown users how to call a subscriber on the following exchanges, which would then be listed - for the West Midlands area, specifically the Black Country. I'm especially interested to know if places like Dudley used the first three letters, e.g. 'DUD' or whether they used numbers. I know that, e.g., Halesowen, on the Birmingham exchange, was 'HAL'. I've looked in local phone directories and can't see any letter codes for places like Dudley, Stourbridge, Kingswinford, Cradley Heath, etc.

Thanks

I have a huge database of both National & Local codes for most exchanges going back to the 1920's so will be able to help. The codes would depend on the exchange you were calling from. They weren't necessarily the same from each exchange. as they are these days. I also have templates for most of the notices used in GPO kiosks and on Renter's backboards for both automatic and manual exchanges.. Been gathering those for many years.

I'm about to go out to a meeting so will contact you when I get back. Which exchange are you interested in the codes from? I also have all the lists of GPO exchanges back to the mid 1920's so know what type of exchange it was and hence the numbering scheme etc.

regards
Ian

[Pellseinydd]

Originally Posted by Hartley118

One memory snippet which may help.
My Grandfather lived in Quinton, on Halesowen Road, and I remember distinctly that the exchange was WOOdgate. It was my first encounter with a phone on director exchange and never understood what WOOdgate had to do with Quinton.

Martin

There wasn't a 'Q' on the telephone dial untilmuch later on when International dialling appeared.

Hence 'QUInton' couldn't have existed.

Thus the GPO would pick another local name that had no clash with other names.

[Hartley118]

Of course…….

I remember well Grandad’s candlestick phone at the bottom of the stairs with its separate receiver. He was always cautious about it, as though it could turn hostile at any moment.

Martin

[Pellseinydd]

Originally Posted by Pellseinydd

I have a huge database of both National & Local codes for most exchanges going back to the 1920's so will be able to help. The codes would depend on the exchange you were calling from. They weren't necessarily the same from each exchange. as they are these days. I also have templates for most of the notices used in GPO kiosks and on Renter's backboards for both automatic and manual exchanges.. Been gathering those for many years.

I'm about to go out to a meeting so will contact you when I get back. Which exchange are you interested in the codes from? I also have all the lists of GPO exchanges back to the mid 1920's so know what type of exchange it was and hence the numbering scheme etc.

regards
Ian

The exchanges which used the first three letters of the exchange name as the code were in what was known as the Birmingham 'Director' area which eventually became the 021 and later 0121 exchanges. The exchanges underlined in red on attached may were those exchanges. They only dialled the first three letters to reach each other followed by the four digit number. To reach other exchanges within the local call area, they dialled a mix of letters &/or numbers in the 1950's. Eachanges not underlined in red, dialled numbers to reach other exchanges charged at the local rate. In those days there were four separate local call rates - bear in mind that local calls were untimed - in four distances from the calling exchange, up to 5 miles - 1 meter pulse, over 5 up to 7.5 miles 2 meter pulses, over 7.5 and up to 12 miles 3 meter pulses and between 12 and 15 miles had 4 meters pulses sent at the start of the call. This system was changed to timed calls shortly before Subscriber Trunk Diallig was introduced in 1958. At this time many local dialling codes changed.
Each exchange outside of the 'Director' area exchanges had different local codes - for instance at the end of the 1950's Dudley, Brierley Hill and Cradley Heath had no code between themselves but to get the Directorareaexchanges they dialled -
130 MIDland
131 BLAckheath
133 JAMes Bridge
134 WEDnesbury
135 WESt Bromwich
136 WOOdgate
137 SMEthwick
138 ASTon Cross
147 BROadwell
148 HALesowen
15 CENtral
1678 STOne Cross
18 TIPton

Whilst Wolverhampton was 19 and Kidderminster was 85

By 1961 all the above codes had changed!

[Hermitcrab]

This page lists all the local codes used from Birmingham 021 (now 0121) numbers at various points in time (1965, 1968, 1987 and 2002):
https://telephonesuk.org.uk/birmingh...phone-history/
Scroll down until you reach the section "List of local codes to be used when dialling from the Birmingham telephone area".

Many of the old local codes were based on letters, e.g. Dudley was 38 from "DU" and Walsall was 92 from "WA"

Local codes were phased out in the 1980s in some areas, and by 1995 throughout the country.

[Pellseinydd]

Originally Posted by Hermitcrab

This page lists all the local codes used from Birmingham 021 (now 0121) numbers at various points in time (1965, 1968, 1987 and 2002):
https://telephonesuk.org.uk/birmingh...phone-history/
Scroll down until you reach the section "List of local codes to be used when dialling from the Birmingham telephone area".

Many of the old local codes were based on letters, e.g. Dudley was 38 from "DU" and Walsall was 92 from "WA"

Local codes were phased out in the 1980s in some areas, and by 1995 throughout the country.

Not all the local codes are listed - see attached and note the missing codes for
Brownhills 5 digit numbers
Cannock 5 digit numbers
Cradeley Heath 6 digit numbers

Also the local codes that could be dialled in earlier years varied from exchange to exchange in the Director area.

In the early years the Birmingham Director area had two 'area' dialling code cards 'District 1' and 'District 2'.

It takes a lot of work to log them all. Some Director exchanges had their own dialling code cards such as PRIory in 1956! Hence my thousands of pages of data for dialling codes for each exchange and the dates they were in use.

Sadly GPO Archives and their successors didn't keep copies of Dialling Code Cards and the Dialling Code Booklets which replaced them. They only kept directories as they were issued.

I've been gathering them or scans/photocopies/ photos of them for years. Amounts to over 3500 plus several hundred code books ranging from 1960 through to 1988.

I've acquired all sorts going back to before WW2 including a dialling code card for a UAX5 ! It was for the UAX5 at Llanfair*pwllgwyngyll*gogery*chwyrn*drobwll*llan*t ysilio*gogo*goch later replaced by a UAX13 in the remaining wooden building now a private garage.

[Pellseinydd]

Whoops forgot to add the list of some of codes from the Birmingham 'Director' area that are missing from the website referred to in #7

[Oldcodger]

Possibly a tad OT, but history as applied to Coventry and Birmingham. It could be a bit of tongue in cheek cynicism on the partof our lecturer at Coventry Tech ( ex BT Sys x engineer), but it concerned the introduction of Meriden and Fillolongly exchanges.
At one time, calls from adjacent exchanges were local calls. At the time Coventry and Birmingham were starting to thrive and GPO saw an opportunity. Add in an intermediate exchange and the local call now became dearer.

[Pellseinydd]

Originally Posted by Oldcodger

Possibly a tad OT, but history as applied to Coventry and Birmingham. It could be a bit of tongue in cheek cynicism on the partof our lecturer at Coventry Tech ( ex BT Sys x engineer), but it concerned the introduction of Meriden and Fillolongly exchanges.
At one time, calls from adjacent exchanges were local calls. At the time Coventry and Birmingham were starting to thrive and GPO saw an opportunity. Add in an intermediate exchange and the local call now became dearer.

I'm afraid that's not quite right.
Meriden & Fillongley were around a long while before most exchanges were automatic -
Meriden opened on 18th September 1925 as a CBS2 manual exchange . It went automatic as a UAX5 in early 1933 but without the facility to dial nowhere other than the operator. It had just over 70 lines on it when it was converted to a UAX13 c1938 parented on Coventry. However no code is show as late as 1955 as how it was reached from Coventry to which t was an adjacent exchange!

Fillongley opened on 18th October 1920 as a CBS manual exchange. By late 1937 it had 70 lines on it and a year later in 1938 it had been converted to automatic as a UAX13. It was reached by dialling 78 from Coventry by the 1960's but no code is listed before 1955.

In the years prior to the start of introduction of Subscriber Trunk Dialling in late 1958, the method of charge of calls was different to the pre1958 system once STD had started (even if not available on your exchange).
Prior to 1958, automatic exchanges used the 'Multi-Metering System' for local calls where 1, 2, 3 or 4 meter pulses where charged for each local call regardless of the length of the call with different cheaper charges for ordinary phones than coinbox dialled calls. See attached prices. Call charges were based on the direct distance between the two exchanges. Trunk calls were charged in a 'banded' arrangement and were timed in blocks of three minutes.

Prior to STD coming in, exchanges were arranged into 'charge groups' based on distance between the centres of the charge groups. This involved a lot of changes of local dialling codes such that exchanges not in your own charge group were started with the digit '9' followed by further digits. Thus 92, 93, 94 usually went to the 'Group Switching Centres' of the adjacent charge groups with further digits to reach the exchanges dependent on the adjacent GSCs. Calls to an adjacent charge group were usually charged as at local call rate but it wasn't always the case! For instance Bala and Trawsfynydd were adjacent exchanges but it was a trunk call between them! The Lancaster/Clitheroe change groups were adjacent but a call from an exchange in one charge froup to one in the other were charged at a trunk rate!

As time has gone by things have changed and now for instance the whole of the Shetland Islands are a single local call area whereas near thirty years ago there were-as in early 1990's there were four separate charge groups running from north to south with only an adjacent one being charged at local call rate. Plus way out in the Atlantic was the tiny island of Foula with its own STD code but it was so remote that the twenty lines were a trunk call away to/from the rest of the Shetland Islands !!

[Martinez]

I used to live in the Sedgley area during the early 1980s and to call from Birmingham it was 07. I think I only had a 4 digit number too.

[Oldcodger]

Originally Posted by Pellseinydd

I'm afraid that's not quite right.

I wondered if it was a bit of "imiganitive discovery " .Thanks for the explanation, though knowing how "traffic " operated in the old GPO, IT COULD WELL BE TRUE.

[Pellseinydd]

Originally Posted by Martinez

I used to live in the Sedgley area during the early 1980s and to call from Birmingham it was 07. I think I only had a 4 digit number too.

Segley opened 1907 as magneto manual exchange. Converted to automatic working in 1938 as a UAX14 with 370 lines on it parented on Wolverhampton Non Director Group Switching Centre. The digit 9 reached Wolverhampton then numerous other codes gave access to other 'local' call rate exchanges. Digit 5 was a direct route to Wombourne (a nearby small exchange whose traffic justified a direct route and 6 was a direct route to the Dudley, Brierley Hill, Cradley Heath & Stourbridge Linked Numbering Scheme plus with a couple more digits to the smaller exchanges parented on Dudley.

Exchanges in the Birmingham Director Area were reached by dialling 9 followed by codes in the 85X and 86X ranges.

Sedgely had the local code 83 from Wolverhampton and was allocated the STD code 0907 3 with other 0907 x/xx codes being 8x/8xx codes from Wolverhampton to other exchanges that it 'parented'.

Sedgley remained as a UAX14 with four digit numbers in the 2XXX/3XXX ranges. As the number of lines increased, the UAX14 became exhausted in 1963 and the exchange was converted to an infinitely expandable Non-Director exchange still 'parented' on Wolverhampton.

Subscriber Trunk Dialling being introduced in 1966. Just before this time the local codes for exchanges outside the Wolverhampton Charge Group changed to start with a '9' except for 'Birmingham Director Area Codes' which changed to 021-xxx xxxx - the STD code for Birmingham but charged at the local rate.

As the number of lines increased, the numbering range increased to 2XXX to 6XXX and by the late 1960's, five digit numbers 7XXXX had been introduced.

By this time the local routes - 5 (Wombourne) had changed to 9823 by 1963 and to 987 by 1967. And 6 Dudley being an adjacent change group had become initially 989 then with coming of STD in 1966 to 9943 Both new routes via Wolverhampton GSC.

So '07' for Birmingham in the early 1980's is very unlikely as codes beginning with a '0' were STD codes from 1966 onwards and had more than a single digit (except for 01 for London). For instance by 1966 onwards dialling 0782 from Sedgley would reach Stoke-on-Trent until it was changed to 01782.