Quote:
Originally Posted by Sparks
Interesting that the design of the 706 and 746 were arguably influenced by the American Type 500 table phones, but that influence stopped with the 711 and 741 with regard to the handset rest. Instead of a cradle for a vertical handset rest as per the 554 and its successors, the GPO instruments had a horizontal rest on the top. However, I believe there was at least one GEC wall telephone with a vertical handset rest. I remember seeing something similar in yellow on a 1970 Doctor Who episode, but that could have been part of an internal paging system.
I think the 554 and 2554 are among the most stylish of wall telephones but the clunkiness of the 1/706s brings a certain British appeal  . |
There was never a mention of the American 500 type influencing the design of the Tele 706 - that has only appeared with the coming of the Internet. Articles of the time around the introduction of the 706 refer to its design being a combination of Ericssons of Beeston with Siemens Ediswan & GPO input plus some 'mods' made by the Council of Industrial Design who approved it. It was said at the time to have been developed from features of the Siemen Century Neophone and the Ericssons Bakelite 1000 series (that was never adopted by the GPO). Contrary to what Wikipedia says about the public wanting a more modern telephone at the time, the GPO had originally looking for a newer telephone by 1955 when about 5000 Telephone No 700's were ordered for field trial - this more modern version never adopted by the GPO after the field trial (but was adopted as the 400 series by Australian PMG Telephone). Then with the coming of STD, a new telephone with a more efficient circuit was required so the Tele 706 was developed from the circuit types tried out in the different versions of the Tele700. Several were produced for use at the opening of STD but it didn't come into 'mass production' until late 1959. Contrary to what has been written again on the Internet, it did not replace the Tele3XX range. The 3XX range was still the standard telephone until the late 1960's - you paid extra to have what GPO Sales Department called the 'Modern' telephone. Don't believe what you read on the Internet - even Wikipedia has lots of 'false news' - you've only got to read the pages entitled 'GPO Telephones' which is full of errors ' like the' Tele710 with provision for four push buttons was produced but no-one knew what it was to be used for until it was used to convert for telephones to be used on the House Telephone System No 3' !! Obvious whoever wrote that knows very little!