BRITISH POST OFFICE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22790, 27 January 1936, Page 10

BRITISH POST OFFICE

ALL RECORDS BROKEN (From Our Own Correspondent) (By Air Mail) LONDON, January 4. The British Post Office beat all previous records in every department this Christmas. In spite of the competition of the telephones, the number of telegrams dealt with was the greatest since the Central Telegraph Office was opened in 1870. On Christmas Eve the office received 325,000 telegrams, compared with 104,000 last year—an increase of 66.3 per cent. Telephoned telegrams showed an increase of 103 per cent.

The previous record for telegrams was in 1902, when King Edward’s coronation was postponed. Then 314,000 telegrams were handled. In those days, of course, there were no cheap telephone calls as there are to-day. In the Telephone Department the cheap one shilling calls to all part of the United Kingdom again proved amazingly popular. Records were broken before Christmas Eve, but on Christmas Eve itself the London Trunk Exchange, between 5 p.m. and midnight, received 10,000 calls, compared with 7500 a year ago and 1500 on a normal night before the introduction of the shilling call. London’s experience was repeated throughout the country, calls going up by 300 and 400 per cent, for the Christmas period. 286 MILLION LETTERS.

The figures for mails also showed a big increase. ' It is estimated that about 286.000. letters and 10,000,000 parcels were delat with. This •was an increase of 9.5 per cent. on last year’s 260.000. letters and of 12.7 per cent.over last year’s 9,000,000 parcels. Postal orders issued this Christmas numbered 26,500,000, compared with 20,500,000 last year. Withdrawals from the Post Office Savings Bank during December to meet the extra spending amounted to £10,000,000 —£1,000,000 more than last year. A sum of £750,000 was drawn out by slate clubs and societies in connection with Christmas shareouts.