I remember a really sensible system whereby you could phone the stn operator and ask for a private call charged to your bar number. Worked at treat pre mobile phone days. Why is it when any system is "improved" the real effect is the opposite!

Natalie, welcome on board. Hope you enjoy it and don't join the movers and plods.

If you don't know what I mean, you soon will ::ok:

An "ADC" call if I remember correctly. (Advise Duration & Charge). Shortly after finishing the call, the operator would phone back with the details and then charge your mess bill as mentioned. Worked a treat.

We were never charged for local calls. Just used to ask for an outside line if we wanted to order some scran. Never tried phoning elsewhere although I heard many stories of 'codes' that could be dialled in that enabled phoning anywhere and bypassing the operator.

Its pooh and dosnt work - how many times - "OK put me through to anyone in section and i will go from there"

I wonder how many got hung up with the operators on the old system?:}

Remember the voice on the line, "Are you still talking?"

I would love to know just how much telephone system we really had. Was it dozens of lines and hundreds of RAF stations where as now it is hundreds of lines and less than a dozen stations (RAF that is).

the Whitehall operators are excellent

I still like to think they are a collection of elderly ladies knitting away between calls, sitting in front of a row of cables and plugs

"Whitehall 1212"
"Connecting you now sir"

Being a civvie and still working closely with the military I have to use the MOD Operators on a regular basis and I can honestly say that around 50% of my calls end up going to the wrong section / station / country!

If it is too difficult for them to try and find the right number I think they just pick one and put your through, and I bet they then listen for a laugh.

PS – Sorry Natalie, you may be one of the good one’s but there are a lot who aren’t.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...rnet/zxzxz.jpg

Yes, them were 't days. No dial-a-mate, no GPO DTMF dialling in the UK, just a collection of dear old biddies who would route your call through places such as 'Central' and 'Rothwell Haigh' and other far flung outposts of empire, with the voices getting progressively fainter as the call progressed.

If you paused for thought, as you say a voice would suddenly screech "ARE YOU WORKING??" as one of the old dears saw the line activity stop! Except for one chap who, on hearing an ominous click and the line go seemingly dead muttered "Bolleaux, this f*cking telephone is b*ggered again!" only for a matronly voice to remonstrate "There's no need to use language like that, young man!".

Wrong numbers were fun; the Taceval team once demanded that the Sqn Ops officer proved that my recall number was correct (I was on holiday in Menorca). Click, beep, click....brrr, brrr. "Tees-side Grain Company". "Err, can I speak to Flt Lt BEagle?" "Nay lad, no-one here by that name!" "Is that Menorca?" "No it's bloody not - it the f*cking Tees-side Grain Company!!". Whereupon the Taceval umpire decided that would do - and went off pi$$ing himself with laughter.

Mind you, at Brawdy in 1975-6, the only phone with a dial on it was the public call box in the Officers Mess. Which still said 'RNAS Brawdy Wardroom' on the little label inside! Everywhere else you had to pick up and wait for 'Jones the phone' to answer, then tell him the internal number you needed. If you got impatient (as Hunter pilots have been know to) and rattled the phone cradle, 'Jones' would enquire "Are you flashing?" - because apparently that was how you used the phone for emergency calls!

For a brief period, before dial-a-mate reached Europe, one trick was to ring the MoD on 86100, sound important and say "Rhein Army please"....click, buzz, click...."Rhein Army". Then "Wildenrath please" - or wherever, before getting the local operator to connect you. Always worked a treat - until I tried it to Decimomannu and ended up with some Italian on the other end who didn't speak a word of English. Fortunately there was a very nice little WRAF ATCO at Wattisham had been a nanny to an Italian family some years earlier, so we grabbed hold of her and had an interesting time relaying requests for the coming ACMI det with her waving her arms like an Italian whilst sorting out Luigi on the other end. It worked though!!

Simple fun - before the days of 't Interweb, e-mail and mobile phones.

In the early days of mobile phones, a Sqn Exec (who I shall refer to as 'Daisy' to preserve his anonymity) was loaned one of the few stations analogue Nokias on the occasion of some visit or other. He paraded around the sqn with the thing, looking so very important before going off to wherever the visit was. "If anyone needs to call me, I will be on my cellphone", he proudly announced.

This was too good an opportunity to miss. I let him get to wherever he was going before ringing the magic number. "Hello, Sqn Ldr Daisy speaking"..."Oh, hello, squire, just to let you know your merchandise has arrived". "Who is that??!!" "Come on, squire, you know who I am, it's Joe from Swedish Love Imports. The magazines you ordered, you know, the hot ones with the little girls and dogs, well, they've arrived. A pony as we arranged?" "THIS IS SQN LDR DAISY - I think you've got the wrong number!" "Err, oh, sorry squire...CLICK"

Wait 2 minutes, then ring again. "Sqn Ldr Daisy speaking". "Hello sir, tried to ring you just now but the phone was busy - just checking that the signal works OK!"

No wonder it took me so long to get promoted! Perhaps it was the note on the board 'Sqn Ldr Daisy, please ring Joe re. your Swedish merchandise' which was really to blame.

"Good morning, Whitehall", no matter what time the call was placed, always answered within a few seconds; was indeed a welcoming sound.

I've only praise for MOD London
 

I've only praise for MOD London, based in Turkey looking after the Kruds (from very large USAF/trukish airbase !!! ???) in 1991 just after the Royal Marines and Dutch counter parts left, drive up to the ATREL (ex air photo/RIC boys will know) pick up a phone, instant answer "hello MOD london how can I help" GOALS line please, give number and you were speaking to family and friends. been out since 1995, intertested too know if its that easily to phone home for free now from far far away.