A telegraphist maintains communication over the airwaves by operating telegraph equipment. Telegraphs have been largely replaced by other communication methods such as radio and satellite, making this occupation largely obsolete. Telegraphists transmitted signals from ships, between locations on land, and in military conflicts from the 1800s to the early 1900s, when other technology began to supplant it. Telegraph operators, as they were also known, were a mixed gender group.
Operating a telegraph necessitated a variety of abilities. The telegraphist had to be able to listen to and interpret incoming messages, as well as convert telegraph code into meaningful text that could be relayed to the intended recipient. They also had to encode and send messages, as well as relay messages over the telegraph line in some cases. A radio telegraphist on board a ship, for example, might receive a message intended for a recipient on the other side of the ocean. Because the original message couldn’t make the journey in one transmission, it had to be relayed through a series of telegraph operators to get to its final destination.
Telegraphists used Morse code as their standard language. Military personnel also used cryptography to ensure the security of their communications. Such messages would be meaningless to anyone other than the intended recipients if intercepted. To keep up with clandestine transmissions, codebreakers worked on the development of new codes as well as the interpretation of enemy codes.
To send signals down a wired telegraph system or over a wireless radio network, the telegraphist would have used a device known as a telegraph key. The key allowed for long or short burst transmissions depending on how the telegraphist activated it, allowing for the creation of a code by stringing together long and short signals. Telegraphists worked in a variety of places, including newsrooms and companies with telegraph bureaus. Some worked for government agencies and handled telegraph transmissions both in the field and in the office.
Other telegraphist jobs included working for companies that sent telegraphs to customers on demand. Members of the public could visit an office to compose and send messages that were billed by the line, as well as receive messages from these same offices. In an era before personal phones, radio signals, the Internet, and other forms of communication, telegrams served as a means of quickly communicating important information.