LUCKY STRIKE

Series

Series Name

Mining Review 12th Year

Issue

Issue No.

3

Date Released

Nov 1958

Stories in this Issue:

1. 1LUCKY STRIKE
2. 2SAFE DRAW
3. 3SKY SHIFT
4. 4WHITWICK

Story

Story No. within this Issue

1 / 4

Summary

BFI synopsis: Ernie, the electric calculator at Lytham, is set in operation by remote control from Ashington colliery for the monthly distribution of Premium Bond prizes.
NCB Commentary - Blackpool. The picture springs to mind of amusment parks and crowded beaches. But a few miles away at Lytham St. Annes is the home of one of Britain’s best known celebrities - Ernie, the electronic brain who selects the country’s Premium Bond winners.
Across the other side of the country, at Northumberland’s Ashington Colliery crowds are gathered on an early morning to watch Ernie set into operation by remote control.
Why Ashington? The Chairman of the Newcastle Savings Committee gives the answer. As the 9 a.m. zero hour approached the crowds at Ashington waited while technicians at Lytham St. Annes stood by, linked by telephone lines to the pit yard.
9 o’clock and H. hour for the unknown miner, the first man off shift after the time signal, who will set Ernie in operation. Here he comes, 62 year old George Stephens, Face Training Supervisor. George Nelson, Ashington’s N. U. M. Secretary brings him forward.
Said Area General Manager Bewick of George Stephens: In front of his mates and the invited audience George Stephens moves in to set in operation Ernie, 120 miles away across the country.
Ernie clicks into action. The crowd at Ashington can hear him working over the loudspeakers. Ernie’s master control is now selecting numbers, counting and storing them.
The numbers are translated into teleprinter code and fed through an oscilloscope into the teleprinter. Ernie will even select in which of the four filing rooms each number is located.
Now here come the first £1,000 winner on the tape. There are more than 170,000,000 numbers stored here but it is only a minute or two’s work to locate the winner.
The photostat card first passes through for confirmation and checking. Now it goes on to the control room so that the number can be relayed to Ashington.
Thats all from Ashington but back at Lytham, as at the beginning of every month, there’s no rest for Ernie, busy selecting and printing the winning numbers, rewards for the thrift of Britain’s savers.

Keywords

Economics; Engineering

Locations

England; Northumberland

Written sources

British Film Institute Databases   Used for synopsis
Film User   Vol.13 No.150 April 1959, p193.
The National Archives COAL 32   /12 Scripts for Mining Review, 1956-1960

Credits:

Production Co.

Documentary Technicians Alliance

Sponsor

National Coal Board