The 5,000,000th telephone was officially opened on 7 September 1949.
Mr H M Hawkins of Wildage Farm, Stelling Minnis, near Canterbury applied for a telephone in March 1946. However there was a long delay to his application as British telephone equipment was a good selling line overseas, and export markets were given priority on the nation's available output of telephone equipment to help build Britain's economy after the second world war.
Mr Hawkins (right in photograph) was presented with a specially inscribed telephone by the Postmaster General (left) who said: "It is indeed a very great achievement, this five millionth telephone. In the past four years, that is, since the end of the second world war the Post Office has provided as many telephones as it did in the whole of seven preceeding years."
The person in the middle is Mr W H Scarborough, telephone manager.
[Story from Post Office Magazine, November 1949]
Picture location: 7 September 1949
Date: 07-SEP-1949
Sent by: Sian Wynn-Jones
Category: Communication instruments
