Anchor telephone exchange

Anchor Exchange was an underground, hardened telephone exchange built in Birmingham, England in the 1950s. It is located nominally on Newhall St.

It was built together with the Guardian Exchange in Manchester and the Kingsway Exchange in London to provide hardened communications in the event of nuclear war. In common with most civil defence structures of the time it was designed to withstand atomic bombs, although would not have survived a direct hit.

It takes its name from Birmingham's hallmark, which depicts an anchor.

References

• Ballard, Sebastian (2003-03-19). "Birmingham Anchor Telephone Exchange". Subterranea Britannica. http://www.subbrit.org.uk/rsg/sites/b/birmingham_anchor_exchange/index.html. Retrieved 2008-12-02.