A pair of GPO 232 "pyramid" phones

[countryman]

I wanted one of these for its distinctive design. Eventually I found an attractively priced one in Great Britain, but you know, shipping, taxes, it all adds up (I'm in Germany).
While the phone was still on its way, the unlikely happened and a second one appeared locally (they are rare on the continent). OK now I had 2 of them but both were somewhat disappointing, missing the internal parts. Not only that, the terminal board which is a central part in those phones was cut or broken away in both of them. One dial was damaged beyond any repair.
I focused on that issue first, and FABphones kindly  helped me out with a replacement part.
The phones looked OKish from the outside now but were not working.
Months later, I now improvised a fix.
I used German W48 induction coils which are still easily available, and very versatile. The wiring was adapted so that both phones work now. Not original, but I couldn't justify importing more parts.
The last 3 pictures are after the fix.

[RDPipes]

That's a real shame they were gutted like that, I do hope you didn't pay too much.
I am glad that you got them working though, CJ is very kind, generous and helpful, I know from personal experience.

[countryman]

Both phones together were 80 € or 85 $ US plus shipping.
Enough money to teach me another lesson "ask for pictures of the inside!"

[FABphones]

..."ask for pictures of the inside!"

I have been caught out the same several times over; missing or plastic components in the handsets, no coil, bells screwed onto the bases...  and too many with broken cradles. These phones are just so handsome I cannot resist saving them.

On the bright side you now have two nice looking phones that work, one with a hard to find cradle (which I have seen for sale for the price you paid for one phone).

Are you missing the pull out drawer insert on one phone or is it in there? I may have one I could donate if it is missing.

If it is just the small handle you need I may be able to cast you a replica (FOC) when the warmer weather arrives (way too cold in my workshop to cast right now).

List what you need and give me a day or two to delve into my somewhat chilly workshop to see what I can find.



Screenshot below from
https://www.britishtelephones.com/t232.htm

[countryman]

One of the sets has the complete directory drawer, the other one only has the bottom metal part with no drawer in it. The front has neither a handle nor holes for one, but looks made from Bakelite and original. It is mounted with 2 tiny screws to the bottom. I thought it might be a filling piece for applications where no directory card was required?

one with a hard to find cradle

Interesting, I suppose it is the one on the phone with the drawer, referred to as "unlipped" on
https://www.britishtelephones.com/t232.htm (further down on that page)?

BTW do you recognize the dial cards? "Potters Bar" is too cute

[tubaman]

I've only ever seen a drawer blank on 300 series phones, never a 232. I wonder if it's a 300 one that has been modified (they have a lip to close the gap between the drawer front and the case which appears missing on your example). If it is original I'd say it's a rare thing.
Potters Bar is in the county of Hertfordshire and that dial card looks original. I'm not so sure about the BBC one as it looks a bit too new and white. Saying that '743' was (is?) the London code for Shepherd's Bush where the BBC headquarters used to be located.

[FABphones]

The directory drawer was not fitted after 1940, instead to fill the gap a blank (dummy D62099) was fitted in its place. So (as mentioned above) your dummy front is from a later 300 series telephone:
https://www.britishtelephones.com/t332.htm

According to the link above the directory drawer was reintroduced in 1947, so its removal may have been part of the war effort (material and cost saving).  The inner sides of the 300 series which take the sliding drawer remained the same making the policy reversal simple.

The two screws underneath (shown on your photo) hold the dummy drawer front in position.
 
Over the years many of the dummy drawer fronts have been damaged by folks attempting to pry them open believing the drawer was inside - merely stuck firmly closed. This shows as the sides being broken and chipped away.

Photos attached showing the tray, and the screw holes which are used to attach the drawer front. Also a photo of the rear screw fastenings of a drawer front.

Potters Bar. I (used to) know it fairly well. Nice dialcard  .

[countryman]

The drawer blank likely has been tinkered with. The lip may have been sanded flat. The part was painted but the paint came off easily and it polished up OK, so I'll take it as a part of the phone's history.
Re. the dial cards (@ Tubaman), they are good copies and came with the dial from FABphones 
There are a couple more and I picked these as the most interesting ones. Potters Bar reminded me of the J.K. Rowling books 

[FABphones]

The BBC dial cards are copies of original. They make a nice talking point (if anyone looks that closely). 

...One of the sets has the complete directory drawer, the other one only has the bottom metal part with no drawer in it...

I had a rummage through my little workshop, did not find the directory tray but it is in there someplace. Looking for three other parts for projects which I know are in there and can't find those either ( packed in that easy to remember place one struggles to refind    ). Another sort through is due when it warms up, meantime it is reserved for your phone.