Leopold Gilbert Cohen – Inventor of the Simplex Auto By Ron McMullen former Telegraphist, Telegraph Supervisor, Senior Postal Clerk, Instructor and

Postmaster in the Australian P.M.G. Department.

Introduction: Leo Cohen is best known for his invention, manufacture and distribution of a semi automatic morse code signalling machine named ‘The Simplex Auto’. This was what is known as a ‘right angle’ model and inspiration for the Simplex was possibly gained from the Australian right angled Pendograph and the right angled American Mecograph both of which operated on the ‘tension release’ system and therefore did not impinge on the American Vibroplex machine patent. The Pendograph and Mecograph were widely used in Australia in the early 1900s before the invention of the Simplex. Leo had a partner in the manufacture of the machines – Carl Juckert who was a P.M.G. mechanic (old designation for Technician). There were three Simplex Auto models – the Standard, De Luxe and Special, all based on the tension release system. The Simplex Auto was adopted by the Postmaster General’s Department as a standard sending aid for the Commonwealth of Australia in 1923 and was also used in other Departments and extensively used in the Railway Telegraph Services. When Leo enlisted in the A.I.F in 1939 it appears that sales of the Simplex Auto were taken over by other persons and presumably Carl continued with manufacture. Advertisements during this period show ‘obtainable from J. W. Layther S.P.C. Carnegie, SE. 9, Victoria. Australian Representative for Leo G. Cohen’. Layther then moved to Postmaster at Mooroopna and later advertisements show this. One Simplex S#6104 is labelled ‘made by Stuart Perrin’. This is the only known machine with this inscription and would have been after the war period. Perrin was a Telegraphist and later Supervisor in Melbourne and is thought to have sold later model Simplex Autos up to the time of their demise when Morse faded out. Born: 11 August 1900 Kalgoorlie Western Australia. Father: Herman Cohen. Mother: Evelyn McMillan Personal Details: Height 5’ 8”, medium complexion, dark hair, blue-grey eyes. Wife: Mary Kathleen Cohen. Married 5 September 1925. Children: Geoffrey 23.5.27 and Helen 25 December 1931. Appointed Commonwealth Public Service: 18 January 1915 as Telegraph Messenger, Postmaster General’s Department

Healesville, Victoria. Salary £39 p.a. plus living away from home allowance £12 p.a.

6 September 1917 shown in Commonwealth Gazette as Messenger in Training at the Chief Telegraph Office, Melbourne.

Salary £78. ‘In training’ meant that Leo was actually training as a Telegraphist. In the same class was J. W. (Bill) Layther,

later to become his agent for the Simplex Auto.

1920 known to have been Postal Assistant, Unattached. Salary £126 p.a. ‘Unattached’ indicated that he must have previously

been promoted as P/A and his substantive position had been abolished or reclassified.

1927 Telegraphist, Chief Telegraph Office, Melbourne. Salary £294 p.a. (Would have been promoted as Telegraphist long

before 1927 as indicated by wording on early Simplex Auto labels.

1934 Promoted Senior Postal Clerk, Grade 1, Hawthorn, Victoria. Salary £324 p.a.

1937 Transferred Senior Postal Clerk, Grade 1, Canterbury, Victoria. Salary £324 p.a.

1939 May have been acting or promoted as Senior Postal Clerk, Grade 2, South Melbourne, Victoria at time of enlistment in

the A.I.F.

Class of 1917 Messengers in Training (Telegraphists) Melbourne.

Left to right Back row: McMahon, Ware, Bull, Elshau, Tovey, Leahy, Armstrong, Stanley. 2nd Back: Roberts, Symons, J. Garvey, Gawling, Treacey, Stanton, Briggs, Digby, Lowe.

3rd back: Archibald, Clarke, Black, Warlow, Johns, Hill.

2nd front: R. E. Jones (just out of picture due to pic damage), Magee, Price, Catt, Roadknight (Instructor), Thompson, G. Willcox, Pollard.

Front Row: J. W. Layther, Butler, Charles, Flannigan, L. G. Cohen, Ball, Dover.

Leo G. Cohen 1917

World War 2 Service: 13 November 1939 enlisted 2nd A.I.F. (Australian Imperial Force) Australian army at South Melbourne, Victoria. VX209 (V indicates enlisted in Victoria and X indicates enlistment in the A.I.F. as distinct from a serving Militia soldier, who had an all figure number). Rank Lieutenant (on probation and later confirmed). 6th Division Postal Unit. Address at time of enlistment: 113 Hoddle St. Richmond E1, Victoria. 15 December 1939 Army Postal Unit Melbourne, Victoria. 29 December 1939 Transferred Eastern Command, Ingleburn, New South Wales. 9 January 1940 embarked for service abroad. 13 February 1940 disembarked Kantara, Egypt. 1 August 1940 to 6 August 1940 hospitalised Gaza, Palestine. 1 April 1941 embarked for service in Greece. 15 May 1941 Home address changed to 45 Orchard St. Brighton S5 Victoria. 30 May 1941 disembarked Middle East from service in Greece. 7 June 1941 Home address changed to 5 Glyndon Ave., North Brighton Victoria. 28 October 1941. Promoted Captain. 24 January 1943 embarked in Middle East for return to Australia. 28 February 1943 disembarked Sydney. 26 May 1943 To Northern Territory as Officer Commanding N.T. Force Postal Service. 10 July 1943 to 19 November 1944, Adelaide River and Darwin, N.T. 19 November 1943. Promoted Major. 1 Australian Base Post Office on detachment Headquarters N.T. Force (A.I.F). 19 December 1944 embarked Darwin, N.T. per ‘Montoro’. 30 December 1944 disembarked Sydney, N.S.W. 31 January 1945 to Headquarters 2 Australian Corps (A.I.F.) 27 February 1945 embarked Brisbane per ‘Ormiston’ for ‘Frigidaire’. 4 March 1945 disembarked Bougainville. 6 August 1945 emplaned Bougainville and deplaned Lae, New Guinea. 13 August 1945 deplaned Townsville, Qld from Lae. 29 August 1945 to New South Wales. 15 January 1946 to Melbourne, Victoria. 30 January 1946 discharged from army with rank of Major.

Post War and return to Postmaster General’s Department, Victoria: 1946-1950 Postmaster, Grade 3, Warracknabeal, Victoria. This may have been only a nominal designation as it is thought he never took up duty at Warracknabeal. 1950-1951 Transferred Postmaster, Grade 3, Burwood, Victoria. 1951-1954 Transferred Postmaster, Grade 3, Armadale, Victoria. It has been said of his later Postal service that ‘he was an immaculate dresser and rode one of those quiet English manufactured Velocette, a water-cooled motorcycle to the office. He was sometimes attired in a good sports coat (perhaps Harris Tweed) complete with cravat, and a deer-stalker or ‘small peaked cap’ and had the bearing and demeanour of a military officer. Deceased: At Camberwell Vic. 30 March 1954, aged 53. Leo died whilst still employed the Department and was buried at Box Hill cemetery. Register of Births Deaths and Marriages Ref No. 1954/3254.

My Thoughts on the career of Leo Cohen in the Postmaster-General’s (P.M.G.) Department

I have been reading from two publications and references to these are marked ① and ② — 1. ’90 years of Telegraph Progress’ by J C Harrison 1945. (Harrison was a Telegraphist and later in 1945 was Inspector (Telegraphs) Telegraph Branch, Central Office, Melbourne). And ̶ 2. ‘What Hath God Wrought ̶ A history of the Queensland Telegraph Service from 1861 by P J Gribble. (Gribble was Superintendent, Telegraphs, Brisbane from 1957 to 1961. Whilst some dates are specific others are only known by the year date. Thus a particular event may have occurred early in the year, mid year or late in the year. Leo was born on 11 August 1900 and appointed as Telegraph Messenger, Healesville on 18 January 1915 at which time he would have been 14 years and approx. 5 months of age and received a living away from home allowance of £12p.a. Living away from home allowances were introduced from 1 June 1913 for juniors required to live away from their usual home. The same allowance applied in reverse and Leo would have received it on entering the M.I.T. class. Possibly 14 years of age was the minimum for entry into the service. Healesville PO 1901 When looking at the career of Leo Cohen three main factors must be considered; a) The Commonwealth Public Service Act of 1902 which inter alia invested in the Postmaster-General the administration and control of the Postal and Telegraph services in the Commonwealth and set down staff Divisions and Telegraphists’ classifications and salaries. Divisions in descending order were Special, Professional, Clerical, Educational and General. For the purpose of this exercise only Clerical and General apply. The Professional and Clerical Divisions for Telegraphists each contained two grades – higher, for salaries £300 and above and lower for salaries below £300. For promotion from lower to higher, officers must have passed an examination and been in the service for 3 years. All promotions, transfers etc. were notified in a ‘special’ gazette published weekly. About 1908 the designation of Telegraphist in Chief Electric Telegraph Offices and at provincial offices where officers were engaged exclusively on manipulative duties was placed in the Clerical Division. Postal Assistants were placed in the General Division. From 17 July 1923 by government proclamation, Divisions under the 1902 Act were replaced by Divisions in descending order of First, Second, Third and Fourth. After that date Telegraphists were required to pass a Clerical examination along with other Telegraphic tests for inclusion in the Third Division. b) The 1914-1918 World War 1 and it’s aftermath which would have seen many Telegraphists enlist for military service. These officers’ positions would have been ‘frozen’ until their return from active service or until it became certain that they would not return. And -̶ c) Many changes took place during the first 20 years after Federation. The problems experienced in the PMG Department were due to poor organization and general inefficiencies. These problems were widespread and finally resulted, in 1924, in the importation of H P Brown from England for the specific purpose of reorganising the structure of the Department and placing it on a continuing efficient footing.① 'The grading of Telegraphists' positions was replaced in 1916 by an Arbitration Award which provided for the following salary groups: Class 5 ̶ £84 - £214. (Promotion through this Class was automatic although advancement to max of Class 5 was subject to passing the prescribed Wheatstone test). Class 4 ̶ Grade 1 £220 - £235. Grade 2 £245 - £260. Grade 3 £280 - £310. Advancement to Class 4 was not of right’.

Telegraphists in Class 4 were those regularly required to work interstate and important intra state lines.① Messenger in Training Classes: 'In view of the difficulties experienced by the Department in the 1914-18 period in obtaining an adequate number of skilled Telegraphists, arrangements were made about 1915 to introduce a Messenger-in-training scheme, under which lads were recruited for the express purpose of being trained as Telegraphists’. ① From this I'm guessing that no previous Morse knowledge may have been required. As Leo was already a Telegraph Messenger he may have had some elementary training in Morse whilst at Healesville. These classes were introduced in Melbourne in 1917, Leo being a member. ‘About 50% of the hours of duty for those lads was devoted to the acquirement of telegraphic skills, Morse and Wheatstone and traffic operating procedures, the balance of the time (50%) being devoted to other tasks within the offices’ (presumably the C.E.T.Os.). ‘This scheme served a very useful purpose but it remained in operation for only a couple of years evolving as a Wheatstone class in 1919. Somewhat similar schemes were in operation in some states before the creation of the Commonwealth'. ① Interestingly it states, offices (plural). Does this infer state C.E.T.Os or were some employed 50% in say suburban offices close to the C.E.T.O.? And was Leo one of these? Other tasks may have been non telegraph specific. Leo M.I.T. 1917 Leo is shown in the Commonwealth Gazette of 6 September 1917 as a M.I.T. with salary of £78 p.a. This would have been in the General Division. It is not known if there was a minimum age entry to the course – Leo did not turn 17 until August 1917. It seems likely that the course may have commenced mid year and been of 6 months duration. Also 17 may have been the minimum age for entry into the class. A Photograph of the officers in the 1917 M.I.T. class shows 37 pupils and one Instructor. Quite a large number for one Instructor, considering the requirements of the course and the time in which to complete it. Telegraphy at that time consisted of Morse code operating, Wheatstone operating which included touch typing (typewriters were introduced in 1890s) and traffic procedures – a lot for 50% of what may have been a 6 month course.

Quoting from an Instructor re M.I.T. classes – ‘Although he had students in the class for only 2 hours daily, he was able to ensure that many of them eventually became Telegraphists’. ② In those days seniority played a large part in consideration for promotion – virtually seniority and then a good character. Leo may have been one of the youngest and least senior of the group and this may have delayed his promotion to P/A after the class. There could have been 36 in line ahead of him. ‘In 1918 a number of Postal Assistants was attached to the C.E.T.O. mainly to undertake the manipulation of the Wheatstone perforators and to transcribe messages from the received Wheatstone tape'. If Leo passed the Wheatstone test at the end of the M.I.T class he may have been so attached in an acting capacity until his promotion as P/A (a General Division position) in 1920 on a salary of £126 p.a. If qualified in Morse, an officer could be promoted as P/A, as a large number was. At that time an officer must have served one year in a substantive position before becoming eligible for further advancement. It is not known if this applied to officers successfully exiting the M.I.T. Class. This may suggest that he may not have qualified in Morse at the end of M.I.T., but did so by 1920. In Queensland from 1910 to 1919 there was a reduction in the number of Telegraphist designations due to the advent of Wheatstone, gell perforators, Creed relays, WW1 staff shortages, heavy traffic and increasing use of telephones at the expense of telegraph. (A similar situation existed in Victoria). Telegraphists worked 36 or 36¾

hours per week and Postal Assistants 44 hours per week. As a result it was found practicable at many centres to replace Telegraphists with P/As working 44 hours per week. ② Still there was an acute shortage of Telegraphists in Queensland during WW1 and many southern P/As and Telegraphists went to Queensland for a 2 year term at the end of which they returned to their previous positions unless they chose to remain in Queensland. One such notable was H.C. Ingram who was a P/A at Parkes N.S.W. and after service in Brisbane as a Telegraphist went to Western Australia and presumably, there, in the 1940s set about design and manufacture of his ‘MASTER-KEY’ jigger. Postal Assistants (Morse qualified) initially went to Queensland as acting Telegraphists and no doubt many from southern states may have seen the opportunity for quicker promotion. As the term was 2 years this possibly created more temporarily vacant Telegraphist positions in southern states to which promotions could not be made. ② To entice officers to seek promotion to Queensland, examinations were held in the southern states for promotion to Queensland vacancies. This encouraged many southern officers to qualify and seek promotion which came quicker in Queensland where vacancies were more extensive than other states. At least 28 officers went along this path. From about 1920 the closure of many provincial traffic repeating centres began and telegraph staff positions were reclassified. This resulted in a substantial reduction in manipulative labour costs and greatly improved service by the elimination of retransmission of traffic. ① This may have been the reason for Leo becoming unattached in 1920. Officers could only be classified as ‘unattached’ if their substantive position was reclassified or abolished.

Whilst this paragraph is well beyond 1917 it may also reflect the previous means of training. 'Approval was given in 1926 to the introduction of a new training scheme ...... this scheme provides for the selection of junior officers on the permanent staff to undergo an intensive period of training for a period of 6 months in all phases of manipulative telegraphy as well as in telegraphic traffic procedure and elementary telegraph technology'. Preference was given to lads already qualified at 20 wpm. This suggests that previous training schemes were no longer than 6 months duration and possibly lesser qualification. If at 6 months duration for the M.I.T. class; cut that in half for the 50% in ‘other offices’ and then reduce the time left for technical, traffic, touch typing and Wheatstone, there would have been only very few weeks for Morse remaining. For many with little or no prior Morse knowledge this would have been a rather formidable task. It is also interesting to note 'Prior to about 1928 it was customary for a Telegraphist operating a Morse channel to make the necessary notations on the messages sent by him with his left hand while continuing transmission on the Morse key with his right hand and thus no pause was made in the transmission between messages. The receiving Telegraphist must, however, perform certain miscellaneous functions between messages, e.g. insertion of the time of reception and his initials at the foot of the message; removal of the form from the typewriter (where used); placing of the completed message on the belt conveyor or in the received message basket; selection of the appropriate form for the next message and its insertion in the typewriter. ...... Instructions were issued (about 1928) that the sending Telegraphist should insert the necessary particulars on each message with his right hand on completion of transmission'. ①

No doubt this procedure would have been followed at the exit M.I.T. exam. When you think of it, having no time between messages would have been a trying time for a lot of operators both sending and receiving, particularly a M.I.T. ‘Acquirement of skill in the operation of telegraphic apparatus involves sustained effort over a relatively extended period daily for many months.’ ① This would seem to conflict with the practice of 50% away from telegraph training and the possibility of the M.I.T. course being only 6 months.

Did Leo qualify at the end of the course? It must be wondered if he did or did not. The period between post M.I.T. and 1927: Before H. P. Brown came to Australia on a one year loan from the British Service in 1923 the Department did not function as efficiently as we later became used to. In 1924, he became the permanent head of the Department and remained here for the rest of his life. Another possible reason for slow promotions was the fact that any proposal for new positions had to be individually sent to the Public Service Board for approval which was not a rapid procedure. It was not until 1950 that the ‘bulk staffing scheme’ of application for new positions was introduced which of course enabled Departments more flexibility to fill positions with greater speed and efficiency. Until Clerical Division qualification was obtained the normal progression for many after the M.I.T. class may have been to P/A. This was possibly the period in which the first Simplex Auto was conceived and made and the reason why the label inscription was simply L. G. Cohen Melb indicating that at that time he had not been promoted as a Telegraphist and was in fact a P/A. This also enforces the possibility that Leo met Carl Juckert post M.I.T. and whilst he was a P/A. There should not have been any impediment to him acting as a Telegraphist, General Division once he had qualified in Morse. Leo (L) Carl (R) Wheatstone working was introduced in 1905 using mallets for tape cutting and in 1907 keyboards took over. The system was introduced between Melbourne and Launceston in 1911 and Melbourne to Sydney in 1912. This required extra Mechanics to install and maintain more complicated machines than those previously used. These may have been the duties upon which Carl Juckert was employed and may have put him in regular contact with Leo.

Manual punch Klienschmidt perforator Wheatstone transmitter Wheatstone receiver

Leo would have been employed on Wheatstone duties and as a P/A was required to work 44 hours per week. Wheatstone working was fast; up to 400 words per minute, but highly labour intensive. At each end of the circuit there was a perforator operator and another to feed the tape through the transmitter at the sending

position and at the receiving positions there was a tape reader and another to paste the tape onto a ‘received’ form. Top rated Telegraphists were employed on the busiest lines, interstate and provincial, and other Telegraphists on lesser lines. At that time Telegraphists worked a 36¾ hour week and therefore it was more economical to employ Postal Assistants who were required to work 44 hours per week. Hence the number of P/As who had partial or full Morse qualifications, but as Wheatstone operators could work longer hours, there may have been a bias towards this classification. G (Galvanic) relays were introduced during 1913-1914 on Wheatstone circuits giving faster speeds on long distance channels.

G Relay (cover removed)

About 1920 the hours of attendance at country offices were reduced to 9am to 6pm in lieu of 9am to 8pm previously. This possibly had the effect of some reduction in the number of Telegraphist positions. A Murray Multiplex system was introduced in February 1922 between Sydney and Melbourne with a second in 1925. All major centres were covered by 1932. All of these systems produced faster speeds and less manual labour. 1924 ̶ 26 saw new salary scales introduced. Grades 4 and 5 for Third Division Telegraphists were abolished with the provision of a barrier examination for advancement beyond £300 to the maximum of £336 p.a. Officers formerly classified as Postal Assistants in the C.E.T.O’s and larger country centres and employed full time on Telegraph duties were redesignated as Telegraphist 4th Division, but the requirement of the educational examination for inclusion in the 3rd Division was retained and the maximum salary was fixed at £264 p.a. I think it was about this time that the word ‘electric’ was dropped from ‘Chief Electric Telegraph Office’ and became simply ‘Chief Telegraph Office’. The use of concentrators was also expanded resulting in less operators being needed. One operator could look after many lightly loaded lines from one position. A new Chief Telegraph Office was opened in Melbourne on 9 September 1927.

No record can be found of Leo’s promotion as Telegraphist, but by the label description on Simplex Autos, ‘Telegraphist C.E.T.O’ and later ‘C.T.O.’, he must have been promoted, possibly about a couple of years after 1920. At that time promotion was not possible until an officer had served at least one year in his substantive position. The Postal Institute was established during the war years (1914-18) to provide ‘in house’ courses, libraries and other activities, so perhaps Leo gained qualifications after study at some such course. Public Service Arbitrator’s Decision No. 9 of 1 July 1926 allowed Telegraphists who had completed the Clerical examination to be included in the Third Division. The standard salary range for Telegraphists was fixed at £108 - £342, subject to variations in accordance with rise and fall in the cost of living. ‘Advancement beyond £306p.a. (standard) being subject to the officer passing the prescribed educational examination for inclusion in the Third Division, a written examination and an oral and practical examination in Telegraph Technology and Telegraph traffic procedures as well as demonstrating possession of a higher degree of manipulative skill than that required for appointment (incorrect term – should be promotion) as Telegraphist’. (Telegraphist Barrier examination). ① The Commonwealth Gazette of 18 November 1927, Victorian section, published the outcomes of the Arbitrator’s decision No. 9. Leo is shown as a Telegraphist Third Division within a salary scale of £108 - £342. He was in receipt of a salary of £294, with effect from 1 July 1926, but still by then not on the maximum of his salary scale. There are about 10 other officers with a similar date of effect, which may have also reflected their Third Division seniority date, probably from 1 July 1926. The Simplex Auto was adopted by the Department some time in 1923 and the Simplex Auto label gives a clue; the label by then being stamped Telegraphist C.E.T.O. Melbourne, indicating that by that date he must have been promoted as Telegraphist, 4th Division. 'Any Telegraphist who experiences any strain in using the standard key is supplied with a semi-automatic transmitting device free of charge. This arrangement has been in existence since about 1917'. ① If Leo had been experiencing difficulty with Morse sending he may have met Carl around that time and had a word in his ear. Together they thought of a semi automatic, locally made and scope for sales! Semi automatic keys issued by the Department at that time included Vibroplex, Mecograph, Auto Dot and Pendograph. What options did Leo have for designing a jigger?

First there was the Mecograph (made in U.S.A.) which was a right angle jigger and a very good machine to use. There was a distributor in Melbourne for them and many were used here at that time and even later - my Dad had one in at least 1920 ̶ there are still some about here today. No doubt Leo may have seen one in use at a Post Office or after M.I.T. in the C.E.T.O. or may have even used one. However if he needed one for himself in say post 1917 he would not have been able to buy a new one as Mecograph was taken over by Vibroplex in 1913 and I imagine no one would want to sell one.

Right angled Mecograph

Then the Pendograph. Again originally the first two models were right angle jiggers, but unlike the Mecograph had two separate levers ̶ one for dots and one for dashes. Not in the same street as a Mecograph ̶ I'm not a fan of them. I reckon by the time Leo was looking for one the 'in line' version would have been in use. However the subsequent choice of a long thin flat dot spring in the SX may have come from the Pendograph which used the same, but a shorter one. One shortcoming in both of these was that there was no 'overhead' protection which Leo wisely catered for with the bridge across the Simplex Auto. Pendograph right angle model Pendograph ‘in line’model I doubt if the Vibroplex (made in U.S.A.) would have been an influence ̶ as far as I know there was no Australian distributor and it was an 'in line' model. Not a match for the Mecograph either.

The Dunduplex (made in U.S.A.) which was imported into Melbourne and used there - in fact the 6 or 7 that I know of could all be traced back to Melbourne. They were an 'in line' jigger and nothing to rival a Mecograph. They were long before Leo's time and he probably would not have even seen one let alone considered it.

Dunduplex The Auto Dot (made in U.S.A.) had an Adelaide based distributor. They were an ‘in line’ model, but I have no knowledge of their performance. Vibroplex was a very strong protector of it’s patents and Leo would have been aware of this and no doubt steered away from an ‘in line’ model. Vibroplex Original

At time of enlistment in 1939 Leo was working at South Melbourne and enlisted from there. I think he may have been a substantive SPC2 at South Melbourne.

Staff Lists were issued annually from 1907. Those up to 1911 were dated January and after then June 30th. These lists were suspended during war years and discontinued after 1951 and replaced by ‘Seniority List’ which covered all Commonwealth public servants with basic details of appointment, seniority and division only. Reference to Staff Lists and Seniority Lists, presumably held at Archives, may answer more questions. These thoughts are based partly on supposition and surmise. Leo and others born at the beginning of the 20th century had careers in difficult and changing times as well as two world wars. Now almost a century after Leo commenced his career, neither I nor posterity may never know the certainties. Scribed July 2014 … Ron McMullen

Lieutenant L. G. Cohen, Palestine c1941

Army Postal Unit, Adelaide River, Northern Territory 1943. Cohen is thought to be the soldier

(Captain) in the slouch hat behind the right hand light truck (No. 5).

Composed with kind assistance from Helen Noonan (Leo’s daughter) and Allan Moore.

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