• The origins of the General Post Office (GPO) can be traced back to at least the 17th century when in 1661, under the Postmaster General, Henry Bishop, the first British postmark was introduced.
• The first postage stamps went on sale on 1st May 1840.
• The Telegraph Acts of 1868-70 gave Her Majesty's Postmaster General the right to acquire and operate the existing inland telegraph systems in the UK.
•  From 1st January 1912 the General Post Office became the monopoly supplier of telephone services with the exception of the remaining municipal services in Hull, Portsmouth and Guernsey.
• Throughout the 1960s, the Post Office was still a government department, part of the Civil Service.
  

GPO/Post Office Telephones

The name, GPO/Post Office Telephones used until October 1969 when the Post Office ceased to be a government department. This new division in  the 'Post Office Corporation'  became Post Office Telecommunications with the trade mark yellow Commer vans. The change from mid-bronze green vans was mainly for safety (visibility) reasons, but the new image branding helped to reflect the changed identity and to show that the telephone business was now a separate part of the Post Office.

Post Office Telecommunications

From 1st October 1969, Post Office Telecommunications operated as a division within the Post Office Corporation (a nationalised industry). The telecoms part of the business was still very much under Post Office control, but the separate divisions of  Post Office Telecommunications and Post Office services had their own headquarters, THQ and PHQ.

British Telecom

On 1st October 1981, Post Office Telecommunications officially became 'British Telecom' a separate corporation, but was still designated: 'British Telecom-part of the Post Office'. British Telecom had a separate budget, but was still under Post Office control. This changed after vesting day on 1st April 1984 as British Telecom became the trading name for the privatised company British Telecommunications plc- entirely separate from the Post Office.

BT

In April 1991, to reflect its potential worldwide market, BT became the new trading name of British Telecommunications plc. The government no longer has any (significant) financial holding in BT, but the company has to trade within the guidelines set out by the regulatory body OFTEL ( OFfice of  TELecommunications) which is appointed by the government. The familiar 'Piper' logo symbolised the 'listening and speaking' concepts of communication.

In April 2003, BT's 'Connected World' logo, previously used only by BT Openworld and developed by Wolff Ollins, replaced the older 'Piper' logo company wide.

	Visit the TEC for more vehicle and logo details.

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