As two women who have worked with technology for over 15 years, it seems fitting to post today, to celebrate Ada Lovelace day. It seems right, in our first year in business, to celebrate all the women who have managed technology around the world.

LIBerty 8442 was our grandmother’s first telephone number and it inspired our name. As did the women who once worked in the telephone exchanges, who listened in and connecting callers. In the early days, they would have to remember all the numbers and match them with the names of people or businesses. (That’s our nan in the photo above.)

We found a lovely account of the work they did on the BBC WW2 People’s War Archives.

“We sat with heavy headphones on and like a trumpet attached to our chests… I had to sit at my desk and every call showed up in lights, there were lights at the bottom for incoming calls. They were white for private line and red for telephone boxes, so the private lines got priority. There was a large bank in front of me full of plug holes. When we answered the phone we used to say “number please” and then connect the callers.” (the account is by Edith Anne Simpson)