Blue plaque to commemorate UK's first mobile call in Newbury

Call to Vodafone offices made in 1985

A BLUE heritage plaque commemorating the UK’s first official mobile phone call – made to Vodafone in Newbury – is being installed.

Newbury Town Council has applied for formal planning permission for the 34cm by 22cm plaque at Thames Court in The Broadway.

The wording states: “The first official mobile telephone call in the UK was made to Vodafone offices close to this site on January 1, 1985.”

In those days, Vodafone consisted of a handful of employees working above an Indian takeaway.

The call was made from St Katharine Dock in London by Ernie Wise, half of the late comedy duo Morecambe and Wise.

A crowd gathered to witness him call up the Vodafone office in Newbury using a Transportable Vodafone VT1, weighing around five kilos and costing the equivalent of £5,000.

The metal tablet is the latest in a series of heritage plaques being installed around the town to celebrate residents or events that have made an historical impact on society.

On Tuesday, a plaque marking the house of John Winchcombe II, also known as Jack of Newbury, will be unveiled at 24 Northbrook Street, after recent research meant the existing plaque had become outdated.

The unveiling will be performed by Willie Hartley Russell of Bucklebury House, who has donated two-thirds of the cost, supported by the Newbury mayor Howard Bairstow.

The remainder of the cost has been donated by the Newbury Society.

Research by renowned Newbury historian David Peacock, revealed inaccuracies with the current plaque, which states that John Winchcombe became known as Jack of Newbury in the early 15th century and that he died in 1519.

However, Dr Peacock discovered that the man who became known as Jack of Newbury was actually his son John Winchcombe the Younger (1489-1557).

The unveiling of the new plaque, which will be the third blue plaque to be displayed in town, is set to take place on Tuesday at 11am.