GEC TELEPHONE No 312, 1955

Standard Telephone produced for the GPO in the 1950's known as the 'Cheese Dish' Telephone. Used from 1938 to 1965.
Fitted with a plastic curly cable, which was replacing the cotton cables, as the new plastic telephones came into use.

Your comments:

• Not a GPO phone! If this was a GPO Tele 312, it would have a 'Call Exchange' label mounted below the 'Call Exchange' button. Plus the GPO's Tele 312 was not introduced until 1949 when it replaced the Tele 310 with its Bellset 41A combination. (which see) The relay in the latter was replaced when the Thermistor 1A (which could be incorporated into the telephone) was introduced in 1949 doing away with the need for the extra bell set. This telephone judging by the dial label is from a PAX and versions used on PAXes in my experience didn't always have labels - whereas it was part of the GPO spec for a telephone to have labels for the buttons fitted.
  .......... Ian J, North Wales, 18th of December 2015
  
  

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