My father was the senior engineer at Centre Area, Post Office Telecoms, London and he took me up the tower when it was being built. We went up in a powerful hoist. The revolving restaurant hadn't yet been added. He also took me to Big Ben clock, House of Commons chamber, the hot line US Soviet comms to avoid nuclear war, the Post Office underground mail railway. I was aged around 11.
johncarden, you lucky chap, The PO infrastructure was supreme and certain systems your Dad would have been involved with were top class tech and hush hush.. Sadly we have neglected the fall back communication relying too much on digital systems and we have lost the local government control bunkers. Ahhh never mind we won't need them who is going to mess with our communications. ?. steer you to; RingwayManchester YT
I'm Australian but I went to London in 1973. I celebrated my 6th birthday in the revolving restaurant with my mother, while down below in University College Hospital, my father was recovering from a fall with two broken legs. The fall was not from the tower.
I'm pleased that your Dad's fall was not from the tower! Last night, I walked up Wardour Street, in Soho, and the BT Tower looked fabulous in the distance.
That was 1960's "art" documentary at its finest. The weird backing music, the people who look like they're doing something important, but they're not... For example, the man climbing on the antenna at 5:15 was clearly someone who wasn't doing anything useful. Wearing ordinary street clothes, no belt or lanyard to tie off with, and no tools in his pockets or in a bucket below him and climbing on the side of the antenna where there there is nothing that might need attention or adjustment --he was there for the camera and nothing else. But it was fun seeing switching equipment that is exhibited in the Smithsonian Institution, in operation with people discussing it as if it were state of the art. I do remember seeing this sort of thing in working condition as a young man. It was weird, and wonderful. Thanks for posting it.
Today you would have and two hour induction, one hour tool-box talk, one hour filling out risk assessment, another getting a permit to work then lunch only to have a work order change or the job called off because a nesting pigeon has a protection order posted....
Visited the Tower a number of times in 1966- as a young man in my 20's! Had a meal in the restaurant, and mailed a postcard there to my home in NZ. It has franked on it "Posted at the Post Office Tower, London" ..Sad times when the public access was stopped.. We were told this was due to the threat of possible terrorist action there. [a bomb etc:]
I USED TO LIVE IN LONDON AND AFTER SCHOOL I USED TO WATCH THE TOWER BEING BUILT THEN IN 1965 MY SISTER AND I WENT TO THE VIEWING GALLERY, PURE MAGIC !!!!!!!!!
Been up the tower twice; once in 2004 when I was my local areas broadband champion, BT allowed people to volunteer to raise enough signatures from locals, at which point BT would install ADSL hardware in our exchange. We were successful and as a thank you, BT put on a tour and dinner at the top of the tower. The view at dusk is superb!
An amazing building and still in use today? Good shout to Dollis Hill. Tommy Flowers was a GPO engineer from there, and was seconded to work on Colossus during the second world war. You can see Colossus at Bletchley Park museum.
Great period footage from a bygone era. That 60's electronic music really make it! :-D I never knew there was a restaurant and bar at the top of the tower. I bet that was awe inspiring at the time (though perhaps not in stormy weather!
I worked in the carrier/transmission rooms in South Africa. I distinctly remember the FDM (frequency division multiplexing) and PCM (pulse code modulation systems) and numerous visits to the Telkom Tower in Hillbrow to conduct tests. Wonderful memories!
It is special, isn't it! Here's some of the tracks and timestamps that got copyright claimed so I could find out what they are: Strange Planet - APM Music | 10:02 - 10:56 The Clang Maker - APM Music | 8:47 - 9:49 Sound Collider - APM Music | 16:31 - 17:27 Electronic Rhythm - Eric Peters | 0:03 - 1:30 Musique Concrete 3 - De Wolfe Music | 13:11 - 13:55
I really had to laugh at the GPO guy at the top of the tower climbing over the structure without any form of safety harness whatsoever. BUT especially for the Look At Life cameras. he IS wearing a GPO approved hard hat which will really protect him while Rank gets a few close ups as he plummets to his doom.. Priceless.:D
When I worked in The Post Office PR Department I rescued a ton of booklets about the Post Office Tower from the skip. Fascinating stuff about its construction. My favourite section was about the uniforms of the various staff, including the kepi style hat with a badge on the front which was in the shape of the tower itself. Having looked at other videos about the tower, it seems the badge was never implemented and the usual GPO Crown was substituted… Happy days!
My parents took me here around 1966. Too young to appreciate the importance of the place, but I definitely remember the view. (P.S. love the 'Forbidden Planet' sound effects).
Was lucky enough to go up in the early 2000's while working for a government agency. As I joined the tour group at the last-minute, I didn't have a camera. The tower doesn't look quite as good now that the microwave receivers/transmitters have been removed.
This us a very good commentary on this tower this actually makes london i thought it was better than other high points in the sixties i use to. Go up to the viewing galleries once a week i truly enjoy this to think you were higher than the aerial galleries to very good from mervyn Gloucestershire.
I worked for the GP0.There was a sponsored event for charity at the tower that I took part in.....a run from ground floor to the top.I managed a time of just over four minutes.I dont know what was worse,the fatigue or the dizziness from the spiral staircase.Ps, the tower is now going to be turned into a hotel.
@@tonycoxall7370 it has never been called the British Telecom Tower it's been called the GPO Tower, The Post Office Tower, Telecom Tower and BT Tower. It has now been bought by MCR Hotel Group
A revolting restaurant to make it into a total joke at the expense the underdog. God bless you Anthony Wedgwood Benn for erecting your fascist totem. What a disgraceful eyesore.
Great film, thanks for posting. Did the BBC’s Radiophonic Workshop do the soundtrack though? It wouldn’t have sounded out of place on an episode of Dr Who from the same era.
I was waiting for a comment about WOTAN ! And here one is. I was going to Put a comment about that, but here we are. I dont think I need to now. The tower was in Dr Who TWICE.
There were lots of 'secret government' installations round the country that weren't even shown on any maps, yet they were there for all to see! Typically Fylingdales early warning radar on the North Yorkshire Moors, and Chatham Dockyards!
My parents took me up there to the revolving restaurant when I was a child - totally AWESOME sitting there eating watching all of London. SUCH A WASTE that BT stopped people going up it and shut the restaurant! It would raise MILLIONS in tourist revenue! Considering how much debt BT now owe I would think they would open it up again!🤣😂
Funny how the sounds of the elecro-mechanical Strowger apparatus clattering away is dubbed into the film when only modern, silent electical/electronic equipment is in view. I suppose silence doesn't 'sound interesting'!
It was ours, it belonged to the British people, it is now being sold off to become a luxury hotel. Why is it not being turned into luxury apartments for the nurses, doctors, street cleaners that cannot afford to live in this part of London?
You could eat in a revolving restaurant even! Sadly, that came to an end when an (alleged) IRA bomb attack took place on 31st October 1971 & public access was finally closed in 1981...still, who wouldn't want to be exposed to microwave radiation whilst eating prawn cocktails?
I'm sure you'll be glad to know it's still owned by the great British Telecom and continues to play a vital role in telecommunications and broadcast to this day.
John 3:16-21 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Mark 1.15 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
Got to love the guy climbing the antennas @5.13 with no harness, wearing dress shoes and a tie. At least he has a hard hat.
Standards have dropped 😂
Yorkie in pocket...
In the days before men could get pregnant
@@paulcruseAnd when roles were gendered too don't forget....😂
My father was the senior engineer at Centre Area, Post Office Telecoms, London and he took me up the tower when it was being built. We went up in a powerful hoist. The revolving restaurant hadn't yet been added.
He also took me to Big Ben clock, House of Commons chamber, the hot line US Soviet comms to avoid nuclear war, the Post Office underground mail railway. I was aged around 11.
johncarden, you lucky chap, The PO infrastructure was supreme and certain systems your Dad would have been involved with were top class tech and hush hush.. Sadly we have neglected the fall back communication relying too much on digital systems and we have lost the local government control bunkers. Ahhh never mind we won't need them who is going to mess with our communications. ?. steer you to; RingwayManchester YT
Can't see this without expecting to see a giant kitten climbing up it 😂
GOOD one keefsmiff ohhhhhh what fun times when dogs asked for sausages and you could park a car for a tanner.
@@Woffy. very true
meow
Now you really are showing your age. Didn't the kitten push the Tower over?
@@SolveEtCoagula93 🤣 yep
I'm Australian but I went to London in 1973. I celebrated my 6th birthday in the revolving restaurant with my mother, while down below in University College Hospital, my father was recovering from a fall with two broken legs. The fall was not from the tower.
I'm pleased that your Dad's fall was not from the tower! Last night, I walked up Wardour Street, in Soho, and the BT Tower looked fabulous in the distance.
@@Ross.Cavendish It's a pretty nice building, that's for sure.
Not so formidable without it's horns@@Ross.Cavendish
That was 1960's "art" documentary at its finest. The weird backing music, the people who look like they're doing something important, but they're not...
For example, the man climbing on the antenna at 5:15 was clearly someone who wasn't doing anything useful. Wearing ordinary street clothes, no belt or lanyard to tie off with, and no tools in his pockets or in a bucket below him and climbing on the side of the antenna where there there is nothing that might need attention or adjustment --he was there for the camera and nothing else.
But it was fun seeing switching equipment that is exhibited in the Smithsonian Institution, in operation with people discussing it as if it were state of the art. I do remember seeing this sort of thing in working condition as a young man.
It was weird, and wonderful. Thanks for posting it.
Today you would have and two hour induction, one hour tool-box talk, one hour filling out risk assessment, another getting a permit to work then lunch only to have a work order change or the job called off because a nesting pigeon has a protection order posted....
Visited the Tower a number of times in 1966- as a young man in my 20's! Had a meal in the restaurant, and mailed a postcard there to my home in NZ. It has franked on it "Posted at the Post Office Tower, London" ..Sad times when the public access was stopped.. We were told this was due to the threat of possible terrorist action there. [a bomb etc:]
I USED TO LIVE IN LONDON AND AFTER SCHOOL I USED TO WATCH THE TOWER BEING BUILT THEN IN 1965 MY SISTER AND I WENT TO THE VIEWING GALLERY, PURE MAGIC !!!!!!!!!
everyone shouted back then as well.
That was bonkers, the soundtrack was incredible, I couldn't concentrate on the program.
"One of the tallest buildings in London and a popular tourist attraction."
At least until destroyed by Kitten Kong one fateful afternoon.
On the Goodies! I remember that episode.
Been up the tower twice; once in 2004 when I was my local areas broadband champion, BT allowed people to volunteer to raise enough signatures from locals, at which point BT would install ADSL hardware in our exchange. We were successful and as a thank you, BT put on a tour and dinner at the top of the tower. The view at dusk is superb!
An amazing building and still in use today? Good shout to Dollis Hill. Tommy Flowers was a GPO engineer from there, and was seconded to work on Colossus during the second world war. You can see Colossus at Bletchley Park museum.
Yes he made the theory into reality. A true engineer!
There is a chap at Porthcorno Museum of World Telegraphy who is in his 80's he has some wonderful recollections if you show interest.
Great period footage from a bygone era. That 60's electronic music really make it! :-D
I never knew there was a restaurant and bar at the top of the tower. I bet that was awe inspiring at the time (though perhaps not in stormy weather!
Great soundtrack recorded by John Baker from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
The tower was sold to MCR Hotels last week and is being turned into a hotel. They say they will reopen the rotating restaurant.
I worked in the carrier/transmission rooms in South Africa. I distinctly remember the FDM (frequency division multiplexing) and PCM (pulse code modulation systems) and numerous visits to the Telkom Tower in Hillbrow to conduct tests. Wonderful memories!
love the 60's organ music
It is special, isn't it!
Here's some of the tracks and timestamps that got copyright claimed so I could find out what they are:
Strange Planet - APM Music | 10:02 - 10:56
The Clang Maker - APM Music | 8:47 - 9:49
Sound Collider - APM Music | 16:31 - 17:27
Electronic Rhythm - Eric Peters | 0:03 - 1:30
Musique Concrete 3 - De Wolfe Music | 13:11 - 13:55
Fascinating video of a bygone era.
I really had to laugh at the GPO guy at the top of the tower climbing over the structure without any form of safety harness whatsoever.
BUT especially for the Look At Life cameras. he IS wearing a GPO approved hard hat which will really protect him while Rank gets a few close ups as he plummets to his doom.. Priceless.:D
When I worked in The Post Office PR Department I rescued a ton of booklets about the Post Office Tower from the skip. Fascinating stuff about its construction. My favourite section was about the uniforms of the various staff, including the kepi style hat with a badge on the front which was in the shape of the tower itself. Having looked at other videos about the tower, it seems the badge was never implemented and the usual GPO Crown was substituted…
Happy days!
This is ace! The music reminds me of the era of 'The Prisoner'.
My parents took me here around 1966. Too young to appreciate the importance of the place, but I definitely remember the view. (P.S. love the 'Forbidden Planet' sound effects).
Amazing to see how London's changed over the 60 year's or so. Still needs to start building quality not quantity.
Loving the eerie background music. Great video!
Was lucky enough to go up in the early 2000's while working for a government agency. As I joined the tour group at the last-minute, I didn't have a camera. The tower doesn't look quite as good now that the microwave receivers/transmitters have been removed.
I was waiting for the daleks to show themselves
Well, it could make a good Doctor Who episode! lol😂 Unless you were thinking that this tower reminds you of Satellite Five?
Loved every minute of this! One of the wonders of London. I wonder If the restaurant will open again?
Very unlikely. BT kicked Butlins (who ran the restaurant and cocktail bar) out as soon as their lease expired and ended public access to the tower.
@@cjmillsnunNow to be a hotel.
This us a very good commentary on this tower this actually makes london i thought it was better than other high points in the sixties i use to. Go up to the viewing galleries once a week i truly enjoy this to think you were higher than the aerial galleries to very good from mervyn Gloucestershire.
Went up on 29th March 1996 for an evening do. I remember drinking a fair bit which was made much worse due to the revolving restaurant 😂
I worked for the GP0.There was a sponsored event for charity at the tower that I took part in.....a run from ground floor to the top.I managed a time of just over four minutes.I dont know what was worse,the fatigue or the dizziness from the spiral staircase.Ps, the tower is now going to be turned into a hotel.
The 60s “futuristic music “ tickled me 😂 quite a revelation of its time and still in use today, just massively updated since its first installation.
Sounded like tbe clangers ...
@@johngellard1187😂😂
Fantastic always wondered what was inside 👍
I still call the Post Office Tower...the Post Office Tower.
So do I, it sounds better - at least to me - than the GPO tower or the British Telecom tower. I suppose I’m just old fashioned.
To me it will always be the Post Office Tower. It's even shown on the old Thames TV emblem.
@@tonycoxall7370 it has never been called the British Telecom Tower it's been called the GPO Tower, The Post Office Tower, Telecom Tower and BT Tower. It has now been bought by MCR Hotel Group
A revolting restaurant to make it into a total joke at the expense the underdog. God bless you Anthony Wedgwood Benn for erecting your fascist totem. What a disgraceful eyesore.
@@charlesachurch7265 revolting or revolving?
Can't wait for the new incarnation
I wonder how much space in the building is still occupied by functioning equipment today?
Always looked like something designed by the Soviets to me. A lot of the electronic music was used in the film The London Nobody Knows.
I used to work for BT, and my last job was based in the BT Tower until I retired in 2018.
Really so were you there in 1969?
@@miggy78 no I only worked at BT Tower in the 2010’s.
Public lift opens on to the service areas. Naughty 😂
Great film, thanks for posting. Did the BBC’s Radiophonic Workshop do the soundtrack though? It wouldn’t have sounded out of place on an episode of Dr Who from the same era.
I firmly believe that one day every single home in Britain will have their own phone!
We have become less free since we had to stand still (or sit on the stairs!) to make a call.
I thought a giant cat brought down the tower in the 1970s???
People were banned from visiting the upper levels of the tower, on the orders of WOTAN.
I was waiting for a comment about WOTAN ! And here one is. I was going to Put a comment about that, but here we are. I dont think I need to now. The tower was in Dr Who TWICE.
LOL, it was shut down due to constant threats to blow the place up from the Irish in 1980.
1:10 diversity is our strength
Indeed (not).
The sound at 7:27 reminds me of Slipknot’s intro music.
I dont think those lifts have been surfed yet, but i can bet its frequently attempted
How is the BT tower in Fitztrovia supposed to have been a secret when this was out in ‘67 😂
There were lots of 'secret government' installations round the country that weren't even shown on any maps, yet they were there for all to see! Typically Fylingdales early warning radar on the North Yorkshire Moors, and Chatham Dockyards!
At last, sound.
When techology was the future ❤
Very similar to Telstra Tower in Canberra Australia
Before London's skyline was developed to look like Abu Dhabi
Avant Garde music
What will they think of next????..
how do you do that?
My parents took me up there to the revolving restaurant when I was a child - totally AWESOME sitting there eating watching all of London. SUCH A WASTE that BT stopped people going up it and shut the restaurant! It would raise MILLIONS in tourist revenue! Considering how much debt BT now owe I would think they would open it up again!🤣😂
192 views, scandalous.
awwsome
Funny how the sounds of the elecro-mechanical Strowger apparatus clattering away is dubbed into the film when only modern, silent electical/electronic equipment is in view. I suppose silence doesn't 'sound interesting'!
its been sold and going to become a hotel !
Now sold off, soon to be an hotel apparently.
Shame…
It was ours, it belonged to the British people, it is now being sold off to become a luxury hotel. Why is it not being turned into luxury apartments for the nurses, doctors, street cleaners that cannot afford to live in this part of London?
I'm amazed that it hasn't been converted into a mosque 😂
Absolutely no health and safety! Wonderful.
They all have hard hats, and the guy at 15.38 appears to clip on.
And now sold to the Americans .UK is always for sale.
17:32 what did you chop out? "The greatest..." city on earth? How funny... every other city says that about themselves.
You could eat in a revolving restaurant even! Sadly, that came to an end when an (alleged) IRA bomb attack took place on 31st October 1971 & public access was finally closed in 1981...still, who wouldn't want to be exposed to microwave radiation whilst eating prawn cocktails?
LOVE COMMENT 58 YES WHERE ARE THE DARLEKS, HAVE THEY BEEN EXTERMINATED !!
the people in the restaurant were being microwaved more than the food.
Good to no theses people enjoyed their food.
The War machines are up i. That thing
Lovely little tower. I hope they wouldn’t just sell it and demolish it…
It's been sold and is going to be turned into a hotel
Kitten Kong
fascinating but dated - the Dr Who sound effects became increasingly irritating and distracting.
BACKBONE
doesn’t look very secure
Dont the diners look glam! 1st gen feedhorns all gone now just u wave.
The tower does not exist on any map. So noone will ever find it 😂
I'm afraid that's a myth, it's on plenty of maps. The address is 60 Cleveland St.
Interesting video, worst music I ever heard.
Tower, what tower, doesn't exist, not on my map, figment of your imagination.
Great film but ..... NOT BT Herritge Post Office Heritge built by Tax Payers ££
What would you propose as a better solution to the problems it served to solve?
It’s probably owned by a Chinese company now.
I'm sure you'll be glad to know it's still owned by the great British Telecom and continues to play a vital role in telecommunications and broadcast to this day.
There's always at least one idiot.
John 3:16-21
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
Mark 1.15
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
Wrong video mate. Stop spamming. Reported.