Predecessor of Post Office Telecommunications, British Telecom, BT...

• 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.

Post Office Telephones History

The name, Post Office Telephones was used until about 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 a separate part of the Post Office.

Telephone Kiosks

	A look at the changing face of telephones on the street. In the first decade of 2000, it is likely that mobile phones outnumber fixed lines, so that the need for public payphones is ever diminishing... Photo: KX kiosks with curved red tops. Light Straw Archive.