Child holding a painting for the competition ‘Protect your payphone’ (1989)
New payphone kiosk models in the 1980s were designed to be more resistant to damage. However, telecommunications companies continued to involve the public in vandalism deterrence campaigns. This photograph was part of publicity for British Telecom’s 1989 competition, ‘Protect your payphone’. It shows a primary school pupil in East Kilbride, Glasgow, Scotland in front of three KX100 kiosks that are used to display posters. The child holds what could be their own entry for the competition: a poster featuring a drawing of an early human sending a smoke signal, with a speech bubble asking, ‘How do you spell ambulance?’. The poster’s message relayed the importance of communication technologies over time in emergency situations.
BT Group Archives: TCC 474/HF 28V
