Editing Speaking clock (section)

==== History ====
A speaking clock service was first introduced in the [[United Kingdom]] on July 24, 1936. The mechanism used was an array of motors, glass discs, photocells and valves which took up the floorspace of a small room. The voice was that of London telephonist [[Jane Cain|Ethel Jane Cain]], who had won a prize of 10 [[Guinea (British coin)|guineas]] ({{Inflation|UK|10.5|1936|r=-1|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}){{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}} in a competition to find the "Golden Voice". Cain's voice was recorded optically onto the glass disks in a similar way to a film soundtrack.{{citation needed|date=August 2021}} The service was obtained by dialling the letters TIM (846) on a dial telephone, and hence the service was often colloquially referred to as "Tim". However this code was only used in the [[Director telephone system]] of the cities of [[London]], [[Birmingham]], [[Edinburgh]], [[Glasgow]], [[Liverpool]] and [[Manchester]]. Other areas initially dialled 952, but with the introduction of [[subscriber trunk dialling]] it was changed to 80 and later 8081 as more 'recorded services' were introduced. It was standardised to 123 by the early 1990s.{{Citation needed|date=October 2008}}

The time announcements were made by playing short, recorded phrases or words in the correct sequence. In an interview with Manchester Radio in 1957 Miss Cain said:

{{cquote|The way I recorded it was in jerks as it were. I said: "At the Third Stroke" (that does for all the times), and then I counted from One, Two, Three, Four, for the hours, we even went as far as twenty-four, in case the twenty-four-hour clock should need to be used, and then I said "……and ten seconds, and twenty seconds, and thirty, forty, fifty seconds", and "o'clock" and "precisely". The famous "precisely". So what you hear is "At the Third Stroke it will be one, twenty-one and forty seconds".<ref>[http://www.connected-earth.com/Collections/PeoplesConnectedEarth/Viewcontributions/Recordingthefirstspeakingclock/index.htm Recording the first speaking clock, 1936] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090113234938/http://www.connected-earth.com/Collections/PeoplesConnectedEarth/Viewcontributions/Recordingthefirstspeakingclock/index.htm |date=2009-01-13 }} Retrieved on 20 October 2008</ref>}}

In 1963, the original device was replaced by more modern recording technology using a magnetic drum, similar to the [[Audichron]] technology used in the United States. The company that manufactured the rotating magnetic drum part of the Speaking Clock was Roberts & Armstrong (Engineers) Ltd of North Wembley. They took on the licence from the British Post Office to manufacture complete clocks for the telecommunications authorities of Denmark, Sweden and the Republic of Ireland, and a third (spare) clock for the British Post Office. The latter was installed in Bow Street, London. The European clocks were modified for the 24-hour system by lengthening the drum and adding extra heads. Roberts & Armstrong subcontracted the electronic aspects to the Synchronome Company of Westbury. The clocks were designed to run non-stop for 20 years. This system gave way to the present digital system in 1984, which uses a built-in crystal oscillator and microprocessor logic control. The complete apparatus comprises solid-state microchips, occupies no more shelf space than a small suitcase and has no moving parts at all. The BT service is assured to be accurate to five-thousandths of a second.{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}

In 1986, BT allowed [[Accurist]] to sponsor its franchise, the first time a sponsor had been used for the service. In the latter years of this sponsorship, it cost 30 pence to call the speaking clock.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=100877|title=The Speaking Clock.BT price increase. MoneySavingExpert.com Forums|website=forums.moneysavingexpert.com|date=11 October 2005 }}</ref> Accurist announced its withdrawal from the deal and the launch of an online "British Real Time" website on 24 August 2008.<ref name='guardian_accurist'>{{cite news | newspaper=The Guardian | last=Wainwright | first=Martin | url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2008/aug/25/btgroup | title=Speaking clock sponsor says it's time for change | date=24 August 2008 | access-date=20 October 2008}}</ref>

During the [[Cold War]], the [[British Telecom]] speaking clock network was designed to be used in case of nuclear attack to broadcast messages from [[RAF Strike Command|Strike Command]] at [[RAF High Wycombe]] to [[HANDEL]] units at regional police stations.<ref>[http://www.ringbell.co.uk/ukwmo/Page211.htm UKWMO early warning system] Retrieved on 20 October 2008</ref> From there, automatic warning sirens could be started and alerts sent to Royal Observer Corps monitoring posts and other civil defence volunteers equipped with manual warning devices. The rationale for using an existing rather than a dedicated system was that it was effectively under test at all times, rather than being activated (and possibly found to be faulty) only in the event of war. The signals to automatic sirens were sent down the wires of individual (unaware) subscribers for the same reason—a customer would report any fault as soon as it occurred, whereas a problem with a dedicated line would not be noticed until it was needed.

A version of the speaking clock was also used on recordings of proceedings at the [[Palace of Westminster|Houses of Parliament]] made by the BBC Parliament Unit, partly as a time reference and partly to prevent editing. On a stereo recording, one track was used for the sound and the other for an endless recording of the speaking clock—without the pips, as these were found to cause interference.{{Citation needed|date=October 2008}}