The Scottish Mountain Heritage Collection
1720.2023.1
Ben Nevis Telephone + Phone Cable Plaque
27/07/2023
Hermione Cooper
27/07/2023
Ben Nevis telephone in tin box plus cable plaque
metal, bakelite
24(L) x 13(H) x 11(W) cms
3
On Plaque "TELEPHONE CABLE JOINT NO 18" "YA 6809"
black, green
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.
27/07/2023
27/07/2023
Spectrum : UK Museum documentation standard, V.3.1 2007
27/07/2023