Page 26 - Be Reasonable – Do It My Way , Peter E. Daly AM, My Story

CHAPTER 1 - EARLY DAYS
British Traders Insurance Company (British Traders)
I spent about four years at British Traders in Johannesburg learning about commercial and general motor insurance and was eventually promoted to Chief Clerk. It was an important role because I was in charge of everything going on in the office. One of my duties was to provide relief services to the switchboard when the receptionist was away from her desk. Her desk was next to mine and for those who don’t know what a switchboard looked like in the early days, it was a board full of wires and plugs. For example, when a call came through, you had to put a plug in a hole, answer the call and then plug it into the hole belonging to the person the caller wanted to speak to. It also involved pulling plugs out once the calls had been completed.
Those of you who know how good I am when it comes to technical matters, won’t be surprised by the confusion that occurred when I was in charge of the switchboard. On many occasions I pulled out the wrong plug. This resulted in people shouting “what has happened to my call” and then I would plug people into the wrong hole! I think they eventually decided that I should change my desk and avoid attending to the switchboard.
After a few years I was offered the opportunity to become an Inspector* which I enjoyed, especially as it got me out of the office. I did not have a company car but I had to use the General or Branch Managers’ vehicles. I did however feel very important and it was probably the start to getting involved with agents and the lesser important brokers.
British Traders was kind to me because this is where I met Daphne who had been working there since she was 15 together with her sister Cynthia and Cynthia’s future husband Jimmy Hill. Stan Spanner, my sister Pat’s husband was also at BT at the time working in Durban.
In February 1958 Daphne and I were married. The wedding was
26