In the first decade of the 20th century, the telephone came to Badsey and a Telephone Exchange established. The Badsey Exchange covered Badsey, Aldington, Bretforton, Offenham, Wickhamford, South Littleton. Badsey 1 was the number for the Badsey Call Office, Badsey 5 was the Wickhamford Call Office, Badsey 21 was the Bretforton Call Office. When calling, callers were advised to give the name of the exchange and then the number.
By 1933, in addition to the Call Offices at the Badsey Telephone Exchange and Post Offices at Bretforton and Wickhamford, there were now Call Offices at the Post Offices in Aldington, Honeybourne and South Littleton, also at Honeybourne Railway Station, and a place identified as “Car Park, Badsey”. The number for Badsey Post Office, which had been Badsey 1, was now Badsey 201.
The first person in Badsey to embrace the new technology was William Pethard, fruit and potato salesman, who was given the number Badsey 2 (Badsey 1 being the Call Office at the Post Office), which he advertised in Smith’s Household Almanack from 1904 onwards.
