Call Sign July 2008 - Page 34 - FOLLOWING IN HIS MOTHER’S FOOTSTEPS

Whilst Call Sign has over the years heard of many father / son combinations on Dial-a-Cab, we can’t quite think of one to match that of ODRTS first-ever professional telephonist, Florrie Culverwell and her son Michael. Florrie took over control of ODRTS three telephones in 1956 from the early band of drivers who used to come into the ODRTS office at 172 Pentonville Road to answer calls as best they could. Some of those stalwarts who were around at the birth of ODRTS – many years later to become Dial-a-Cab – have told Call Sign over the years how the introduction of a female with a professional sounding voice, as against the previous drivers with their "Ello mate, where d’ya wanna go," suddenly gave then a feeling of importance with many adding how much callers said it improved the service! Florrie’s professionalism at answering the phones was also partly responsible for ODRTS gaining the prestigious BBC account at Lime Grove and Alexander Palace. They would phone on occasion for cash trips and usually spoke to Florrie, as there was no overnight TV service and the UK’s only channel closed down by 10.30pm each evening. Florrie was soon on first name terms with the person at the BBC end and Board member Frank Duncan heard about it. He called a meeting with the rest of the Board and they decided to offer account facilities to the BBC. We had no accounts at the time because it was felt that it would deflect from any cash the Society had and they couldn’t see how it	FOLLOWING IN HIS MOTHER’S FOOTSTEPS
	Michael Culverwell would benefit ODRTS. Then founder-Chairman Bonnie Martyn came up with the idea of charging a percentage on every job ODRTS covered. The Board decided to offer the facility and the BBC accepted – provided Florrie Culverwell was the telephonist they would be dealing with. The BBC then became our first account and Florrie the equivalent of an account manager, as it was she who the BBC would come to when they had any problems. Often, as was the case in the middle of the 20th century workplace, if for any reason your children were on school holiday, not feeling too well or if you had to work a later than usual shift, the mother would often take them to the office with them. Florrie was no exception and brought her young son Michael into the office while she was working if there was nowhere else to leave him. He’d wander round just talking to anyone who happened to be there and looking for the occasional button to press! Florrie stayed with ODRTS when we moved to our second	Mum Florrie home at Shirland Road and was there until the late-sixties. She passed away at the age of 82 in 2001 after suffering with Motor Neurone disease for almost 3 years. But the name still remains… Florrie’s son Michael Culverwell (G82) – that little boy who spent so much of his young life wandering around Pentonville Road - has been on DaC for the past 22 years and told Call Sign how his mother used to talk of the old days and of people she counted as friends, such as former dispatcher Johnny Thwaites and ex-Chairman Martin Gellman. "In fact," Michael told Call Sign, "she often spoke of the fact that the BBC were the first major ODRTS account and that in addition to her answering the phones, she would also help out with the occasional dispatching and was never too proud to make the tea. But my mother’s main job was look after the BBC." Michael went on to add: "To be honest, I hadn’t realised the significance of my mother’s time at ODRTS and I’m certainly proud to carry it on. I enjoy working on Dial-a-Cab and hope to be here for many years to come…" The biggest tribute we can pay to Michael’s mother is that after all these years, the name of Florrie Culverwell has not been forgotten…

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