when did the london telephone xchange start using the first 3 letters of the area code followed by 4 numbers?

Question

i.e FUL 2150

Answer 1

With the introduction of automatic exchanges way back in 1912. The first one was in Epsom.

(1958 was the introduction of Subscriber Trunk Dialling.)

Answer 2

Ancestory.co.uk has released the British Phone Books from 1880-1984. They are searchable online and I have found ancestors telephone numbers listed. I have some from 1906, 1907 and 1909 that are listed for Hampstead xxxx and by the 1970's they are 01- xxx xxxx.

You could try each year in turn until you found what you wanted. Except the directories weren't produced every single year, they were produced on a rolling programme.

Answer 3

In the 1960s

Answer 4

I'll defer to Steve. I just know the last mainland town to use alphanumeric numbers was Abingdon in the mid-70s, and one of the Scottish Isles was the very last in the UK. Incidentally numbers in Bethnal Green were listed as ADVance since people living there didn't want their unfashionable neighbourhood to appear in their numbers, and ADV and BET are both 238.

Answer 5

Around the Mid 1950's Because my older sister became a BT Telephonists. The phones worked better then as well.

Answer 6

when scottish govenment was done london. can think of the men name who strated it

Answer 7

why do you want know?