On this day in 1959, the UK's first trunk dialling system from a public call-box was inaugurated in Bristol. It was the start of a countrywide service that was eventually going to replace the Button A and Button B system. The Deputy Lord Mayor of London dialling the number himself.
The new streamlined coin phone boxes had slots for 3d, 6d,and one shilling pieces. Money could not be put in until the call was answered. A series of pips indicated when the time paid for was running out and the caller had to insert more coins to carry on talking.
Subscriber Trunk Dialling was introduced in the Bristol area the previous December which meant that 18,000 subscribers were then able to make trunk calls without the aid of the operator.
The system was launched by Her Majesty the Queen on 5 December 1958 during a ceremony in which she made a long-distance call from Bristol Central Telephone Exchange to the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, more than 300 miles (482 km) away. Her call lasted two minutes and five seconds and cost 10d (four pence).
This latest move to introduce coin boxes is part of Ernest Marple's £35 million scheme to modernise the phone system in an effort to popularise use of the telephone. Mr Marples described the new system as "quite revolutionary" and "good value for money."
However, automatic dialling will inevitably lead to job losses. The GPO employs 50.000 operators and the number will be halved by 1970, saving an estimated £15 million a year.
The button A and Button B pay phones, first introduced in 1925, connected callers via an operator on insertion of the call fee. The called then pushed Button A to deposit the coins and make the connection. If a call could not be connected for some reason, or if there was no reply, Button B was pushed and all the coins were returned.
In 1976 the last manual exchange in the United Kingdom at Portree in the Isle of Skye closed making the British telephone system fully automatic.
