Olive Knight

Faraday Telephonists: Olive Knight

Miss Knight recalls... "I went into the Telephone Service in 1938. Started at Royal Exchange and was transferred to Trunks (Faraday) in 1940 where I remained through the war years sometimes having to walk through the burning streets to get to the exchange.

Photo: Telephonists (left to right) on the roof of Faraday Building circa 1945 are Olive Knight, Stevie Stevens and Olive Lanchberry. The background is framed by the ironmongery of the fire escape and St. Paul's Cathedral © LSA.

In the Public Service

Miss Knight's first job (circa 1936) was with a well known dressmaker (Worth of Paris & London) to the late Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother. However the work was seasonal and there were periods when staff were laid off. During one of those lay offs the GPO advertised for telephonists and the rest is history.

Miss Knight recalls... "I went into the Telephone Service in 1938. Started at Royal Exchange and was transferred to Trunks (Faraday) in 1940 where I remained through the war years sometimes having to walk through the burning streets to get to the exchange. I was promoted to the Telephonist Training School at Cornwall House near Waterloo station in 1949. In 1954 I moved to 'PBX control' in Centre Area from where I transferred back to Faraday in 1962, this time at International Exchange (2A). I transferred to Wren House when it opened in 1964 and took early retirement in 1976 but I still meet up annually with my colleagues who were at Faraday during WWII."

Rg. 45 Auxiliary Trunk Services

	Here is the training book used by Miss O.W. Knight when she joined Post Office Telephones. The title reads... AUXILIARY TRUNK SERVICES OPERATING AND MONITORIAL INSTRUCTIONS MAY, 1937 Rg. 45 (54280/36)

All Passes Must be shown

Emergency bus passes were issued to GPO staff at the outbreak of war; Miss Knight's is dated August 1939 and is signed by herself and (facsimile) the Director of LTR (London Telecommunications Region).

After the War

There were no restrictions on staff using the roof of Faraday for relaxation and there were park benches laid out as a recreation area for people to sit and eat their lunch. Normal access was 'internal' from floor 8; they didn't have to use the fire escape. The practice was stopped in the mid-1970s when too many apple cores etc found their way on to the heads of passers by (below) in Queen Victoria Street. However, it is thought that the official notice said it was a safety issue, because the parapet had no safety railings.

Design, images and text compiled by © Light-Straw. Scans by M.Knight, with special thanks to Olive Knight.
Page last updated 22nd January 2012. Checked May 2021.

All logos and trade marks are the property of their respective owners and are used on the Light Straw site(s) for review only. Students and researchers are recommended to make their own independent enquiries as to the accuracy of the information contained therein.