"Are police call boxes strictly English?" Topic

Warm Acre cardboard buildings are supplying me with surplus red police call boxes. While they're always noteworthy (especially if they had a blue siren light on top and a Good Doctor stepping out, from time to time), I'm not sure they're exactly appropriate for my current project -- St. Nazaire, a German-held French port during WWII.

Do call boxes make the leap across the channel?

Sounds like these are standard phone boxes rather than police call boxes. These are / were only found across the United Kingdom and in some colonies / former colonies. More details can be found below for those with a thirst for information on British street furniture:

link

Like RWT says, the red boxes are normal GPO boxes, not the lockable blue police boxes.

There are occasional instances elsewhere but these will have been given as some kind of friendship/twinning gift. There is one in Caen (or was about 15 years ago).

Here in Germany they were phased out in the early 80's since they were too expensive to maintain and there were enough phone booths around. A few are supposedly around on country roads. Although they looked different from the British ones.

They were introduced in 1926 (30 models in Berlin) and after the success of the tests came into use in all of the Weimarer Republik. In found no information weather they were used in the occupied territories as well, but I would assume so, especially in places like France were Gestapo activity was high (you can also call you colleagues). I did find a photo of the 1939 model which should suit your needs:

link

You can find some information (although in German) if you search for their nickname "Eiserner Schutzmann".

Cheers,

Burkhard

Before the advent of cell phones and the proliferation of radios with 'beat' cops here in the U.S., you would see these. My recollection is of much smaller boxes rather than enclosures such as one sees on Dr. Who though. Think something the size of a large tire that was locked and used only by U.S. police. I think these were more prevalent in larger urban areas though. I certainly remember seeing these for citizen use along roadways and I believe there are still some on longer bridges.

Public telephone box:

Police call box:

Margard's pictures show the differences. Of course, Guernsey has to go and confuse things:

This is the most common French phone box design, I think:

But I suspect that it may be a post-war design.

This is the earliest French phone booth, apparently:

That's taken from this site, which you may find helpful:

worldpayphones.com/europe/country-france.htm

But beware, one image features a bare-buttocked man in bondage gear!

Police Boxes in Glasgow used to be red.

Phone boxes in Hull were cream, and still are.

Hull was exempt from the UK telco nationalisation and was the only place not served by BT. Hull's phone boxes weren't GPO.

there were police and fire call boxes like this one all over the town I grew up in.

there were police and fire call boxes like this one all over the town I grew up in.

Not the same thing at all though. You'd get wet when it rains.

rain not a overly big problem 94% of the time

25 years ago, I remember seeing green call boxes in Ireland

I remember having a summer job in the mid 70's cleaning something that resemble the ones shown by Ouzel. That was in Grand Rapids, MI

Joe