...The Seventies: Troubled Times
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The early Seventies in the Tower were not without a few dramas...
On 13th April 1970 the Apollo 13 service module (SM) Odyssey was crippled by an explosion from an oxygen tank, causing the mission to be aborted. It took all of NASA's ingenuity to return the crew safely to Earth.
A Technical Officer who worked in the Tower remembers...
"When the Apollo 13 mission was on we had a request from the US Embassy to turn off transmitters within certain frequencies (I can't remember whether it was in the 4 or 6 gig band) because the signal from the ship was so weak terrestrial stations were swamping the Apollo signals especially when it was near the horizon. This happened all over the world, that was the first indication of how dire things really were."
Bomb explodes on 31st Floor 4:30 a.m. 31st October 1971
A Post Office Technician recalls...
"When the bomb went off the pair on shift that night started to rush down the stairs in the core, but they could hear debris falling (not sure if it was in the cable duct or outside) and half way down decided they were probably safer inside the Tower. The explosion punctured a water tank and the top of a horn aerial which promptly filled up with the water and I think that was the only system we lost that night."
The topofthetower restaurant, accessed from its own separate ground floor reception, re-opened on 25th November 1971 and continued serving diners throughout the 1970s.
All other public access, including reception, the shop and viewing galleries ceased from 31st October 1971. On the Jimmy Young radio programme of 20th December 1978, the Post Office chairman, Sir William Barlow affirmed...
"I would like everybody to realise the Post Office Tower is closed to the public for viewing and I'm afraid it's closed for good."
"...there's no way you can go up unless you have arranged to have a meal at the restaurant at the top."
Film and TV
The Tower often features in film and TV productions, such is the fascination of the structure and ethos of London.
A Job Worth Doing
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Back in 1973, the BBC made a series of films entitled, "A Job Worth Doing". One such film followed the training of Southend apprentice Ian Talbot and Grimsby postal officer Wendy Robinson. Both 'stars' were invited to have lunch at the Post Office Tower by CHQ Public Relations Division to celebrate the completion of filming. |
"Watching a 'New Avengers' DVD recently, I was pleased to see a scene shot in the cocktail lounge. This was in the mid-'70s - was that still open as part of the restaurant then? It looks a little grubby in the film, but perhaps that was due to too much cigarette-smoking back then."
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Season One: Patrick Macnee (John Steed); Gareth Hunt (Mike Gambit); Joanna Lumley (Purdey) |
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The Goodies (BBC TV) comedy featured a giant white kitten (Twinkle) attacking the Post Office Tower. |
"The Post Office Tower London" 36 page booklet PH1676 12/70 Designed by Banks and Miles, photography by Mike Peters, printed at the Shenval Press, London and Harlow.
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