INTERESTING FACT:
During the war, many telephone lines were shot down and destroyed by bombs, shells, and other weapons. This caused the girls to loose connection and shut down in 1920.
Hello, today i'm going to be telling you about a day in the life of a WW1 headset, from an actual WW1 headset. Now you're probably thinking, "This is going to be REALLY boring" but I promise you, there is more to my life than just sitting on some "Hello girls" head all day. Well, before I tell you about MY life, let me tell you the backstory, or at least what I have heard the operator that uses me (I think her name is Grace) talk about.
The Letters
So, It started off when she heard about how they needed girls from america that could speak french and english to come and answer the phone when soldiers and generals called. Tons of women sent in letters, hoping they would get chosen, but only 150 got chosen. Well, the girls went through some basic training, and 223 women went to france to work as telephone operators.
The Setup
Well, of course I know what the setup and home of these girls looks like, so let me paint a picture in your mind: On the desk, there was a HUGE switchboard, were the "Hello girls" would plug in the telephone into wherever the plug in was of who the boy wanted to talk to. On the back on the chair, I can just barely see a gas mask and helmet.
I'm guessing they have these because they work nearby explosives and weapons. If you think about it, I can even see her paycheck! Grace leaves it on the table for me to see. I look every month when the boss comes and hands it to them. Hers says $125, but I looked and some other women only get payed $50 for their hard work.
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Hello Girls Headset
5th grade video: Abigail Stewart