Telegraph pole-obsessed ex-soldier drives round the UK visiting them
A DAD has told of his lifelong obsession with telegraph poles — and how he drives round the UK visiting them.
Martin Evans, 59, runs an appreciation society with 1,000 members and wrote a book on them.
He said: “Telegraph poles are actually a lot more interesting than anybody would give them credit.
“The paraphernalia on top and the markings below are all full of wonderment. They are now a dying breed and when they are damaged or decayed they will not be replaced.
“The cross arms — which are in place to separate the numbers of wires — are of particular amazement. When they have more, I do get excited.”
Software developer Martin, 59, of Tregaron, Ceredigion, has been fascinated since he was a child by the poles transporting power and phone signals.
The ex-soldier in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers has seen tens of thousands of the estimated three million in the UK.
He created the Telegraph Pole Appreciation Society in 1997 and travels in a camper visiting new ones with wife Keri, 56.
She said: “I love it. We love to travel and holiday in the UK so we always combine the two.”
Martin's top five poles
- The fabled lost pole of Bala Leisure Centre, Gwynedd. This one could not be seen as it was surrounded by so many trees, but the mystery deepens as it is no longer there at all.
- A pole in Pwllglas, Denbighshire. This one is on its own, has five cross arms but no wires attached to it.
- The telegraph pole run on the B5105 from Ruthin, Denbighshire. There are eight poles in the run.
- Pole near the market town of Craven Arms, Shropshire – it has a staggering ten arms.
- A pole in Ashford, Kent – with eight cross arms.
Dad-of-two Martin said: “They are a very important part of our landscape and rural and urban furniture.”
He was consulted by ITV drama Endeavour when a plot involved a killer who was a telegraph pole engineer.
But he does not take it too seriously, adding: said: “I do this with a twinkle in my eye.”
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