Objects Database

Ben Nevis Telephone + Phone Cable Plaque

Accession Number

1720.2023.1

Object Name

Ben Nevis Telephone + Phone Cable Plaque

Created

27/07/2023

Creator

Hermione Cooper

Accession Date

27/07/2023

Brief Description

Ben Nevis telephone in tin box plus cable plaque

Materials

metal, bakelite

Dimensions

24(L) x 13(H) x 11(W) cms

Number Of Objects

3

Inscription Description

On Plaque "TELEPHONE CABLE JOINT NO 18" "YA 6809"

Colour

black, green

Provenance

We are fairly sure that Ben Nevis is the only mountain in Great Britain to have a permanent emergency radio in situ. Located beside the C.I.C. Hut below the North Face of the mountain, it has been much used over the years, reducing the ‘call out’ time for the local rescue team by as much as two hours, though mobile phones have reduced that time even further, rendering the radio link ‘almost’ redundant.
The link between the hut and the Police Station in Fort William was originally a telephone line put in by the 51st (H) Signal Regiment (TA) in 1966 under the guidance of John Berkeley who was a member of the local rescue team at the time.
The telephone was not a success, mainly because of breakages in the cable and so was soon replaced by the radio. The original cable had marker posts at the various joints, with a little lead plaque attached, one of which we have here in the collection ( there must be more if you fancy ‘rootin about in the heather’
We’ve included an old field telephone which is not the actual one used at the C.I.C. Hut but is very similar.

Acquisition Date

27/07/2023

Condition Check Date

27/07/2023

Rules

Spectrum : UK Museum documentation standard, V.3.1 2007

Modified

27/07/2023

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