We haven't had a telephone thread for a while, so here are some pictures of an old G.P.O. type 332 telephone which has just come to me for a cleanup and rewiring to work on a modern jack.

The 332 was the standard G.P.O. desk phone from the 1930s right up until the modern plastic-cased 700 series displaced it in the 1950s. Black was the most common color, as seen here, but ivory, red, and green versions were also made.

Some had a pull-out plastic tray fitted in the base, which was used to contain the dialing instructions and local routing codes. This particular unit doesn't have the tray, hence the blanking plate you can see on the front.

The dial on this phone is the type with just figures. Dials fitted to the 332 for use in London and the other director cities, as well as some other areas when STD arrived had letters as well.

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[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 04-19-2005).]