Chas
Well-Known Member
Happy Birthday to the World's First Emergency Number
London's '999' turned 79 this week. On June 30, 1937
Advertisements in the Evening News advised readers that the number was only to be used for urgent matters, such as if “the man in the flat next to yours is murdering his wife,” or “you have seen a heavily masked cat burglar peering round the stack pipe of the local bank building.”
For less pressing concerns, such as when “a lorry has come to rest in your front garden,” citizens were encouraged to contact their local police station.
The 999 emergency line was established following a fatal 1935 fire that tore through a doctor’s home in the central London area of Marylebone. After a neighbour who tried to alert authorities had trouble getting through to the local telephone operator, five women perished in the fire.
On July 7, 1937, the Daily Mail of Hull reported that the new number had “passed one of its first tests with distinction,” when a Mrs. Stanley Beard heard a noise outside her home at 4 a.m. and dialed 999. Radio patrol cars were dispatched to her Hampstead home and, four minutes later, police had detained a 24-year-old man, who was later charged with attempted break-in.
Initially, 999 was limited to London. Though the service was extended to Glasgow, Scotland, in 1938, other major cities in the U.K., such as Belfast, Bristol, Edinburgh, and Manchester, had to wait until after World War II. In 1976, following the automation of the telephone exchanges, 999 became available nationwide.
The United States didn't get an emergency number, 911, until 1968.
London's '999' turned 79 this week. On June 30, 1937
Advertisements in the Evening News advised readers that the number was only to be used for urgent matters, such as if “the man in the flat next to yours is murdering his wife,” or “you have seen a heavily masked cat burglar peering round the stack pipe of the local bank building.”
For less pressing concerns, such as when “a lorry has come to rest in your front garden,” citizens were encouraged to contact their local police station.
The 999 emergency line was established following a fatal 1935 fire that tore through a doctor’s home in the central London area of Marylebone. After a neighbour who tried to alert authorities had trouble getting through to the local telephone operator, five women perished in the fire.
On July 7, 1937, the Daily Mail of Hull reported that the new number had “passed one of its first tests with distinction,” when a Mrs. Stanley Beard heard a noise outside her home at 4 a.m. and dialed 999. Radio patrol cars were dispatched to her Hampstead home and, four minutes later, police had detained a 24-year-old man, who was later charged with attempted break-in.
Initially, 999 was limited to London. Though the service was extended to Glasgow, Scotland, in 1938, other major cities in the U.K., such as Belfast, Bristol, Edinburgh, and Manchester, had to wait until after World War II. In 1976, following the automation of the telephone exchanges, 999 became available nationwide.
The United States didn't get an emergency number, 911, until 1968.
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