An illustration from ‘The Zodiac’ which sums up the working life of foreign service staff.

BY 1900, THE Eastern and Associated Telegraph Companies controlled the world’s largest network of international submarine telegraph cables. Staff were based at branches all over the world, some in large towns, some on remote islands. Members of the foreign service led a well-structured life punctuated by regular changes of location. Social activity centred around the ‘mess’ and sport was one of the main pastimes.

The military-style organisation of life abroad focused on the ‘mess’ with its dining rituals. Staff often dressed for dinner, even in the hottest climates. The picture shows the Eastern Telegraph Company Mess at Gibraltar, c.1900.	Local people were employed by the company as servants to the foreign service staff. This group portrait was published in ‘The Zodiac’ in 1913, and shows servants on the island of St. Vincent.	Company premises around the world incorporated local styles of architecture. This photograph, taken in 1921, shows staff quarters at Penang in Malaya.

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Eastern and Associated Telegraph Companies Porthcurno Staff: ‘Where You May Serve’ Zodiac