999

[memory man]

Dial 999: 75 years of emergency phone calls

When the 999 service was launched in London 75 years ago it was the world's first emergency phone number. What happened when it rang for the first time?

On 30 June 1937, the capital's new emergency telephone line was unveiled. A notice in the Evening News advised the public how to use it.

"Only dial 999... if the matter is urgent; if, for instance, the man in the flat next to yours is murdering his wife or you have seen a heavily masked cat burglar peering round the stack pipe of the local bank building.

"If the matter is less urgent, if you have merely lost little Towser or a lorry has come to rest in your front garden, just call up the local police."



A week later, on 7 July 1937, the press reported the first arrest after a 999 call.

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[Dominic]

Those instructions should be nailed to the head of anybody who dials 999 because they've lost their keys.