Coronation Carnival Floats

In May 1937, Rugby Radio Station staff created a float to mark the Coronation of King George VI. A Travis and Arnold lorry was decked out with a giant telephone, a globe of the world and a model beam aerial. The staff dressed in the costumes of the countries the station transmitted to. And in big letters on the side of the lorry the message ‘The World’s Telephone Exchange’ was proudly written.

Mr Arthur G. Jones was dressed as John Bull and Miss B. Butler, a telephone operator from the Rugby exchange, was Britannia. On the float, she portrayed a telephone operator connecting John Bull to the rest of the world.