Page 7 - Remembering ISTEL

Remembering ISTEL

Why Remember ISTEL

Well a chance meeting at the Local History Museum has
led to the creation of a new archive for Redditch. Dave
Handley was visiting the Redditch Local History Museum
to see information held there on Bridely Moor School
and was shown around by volunteer Derek Coombes. In
conversation Dave and Derek discovered that there was
a period back in the 1980s when they both worked at
local IT company ISTEL, although they never actually
met whilst there.

Checking what information the museum had on ISTEL
revealed it was limited to two publicity brochures and a
Mug. This they found very disappointing.

Putting this into context, throughout Redditch

history since the 18th century there have be
organisations which grew to be dominant
employers in the town. Companies like Allcocks
and Milwards in the needle trade, Royal Enfield,
Terry's and ALCAD Batteries to name a few. All
now gone but they are remembered as
household names. In the last quarter of the 20th
century ISTEL was that dominant organisation
but just three artefacts were available to
remember it.

Growing out of the internal computer services
department at British Leyland, first as BL
System Limited and later in 1983 as ISTEL, it
became the largest non-public sector employer
in Redditch and had offices at many locations in
the town including a state of the art Data Centre

The only reminders of ISTEL located before at Moons Moat, offices in Grosvenor House (the
the project stated, two promotional Company’s HQ), Highfield House, Springfield
brochures and a mug. House, Regents Court along with many satellite

offices on Moons Moat. They even had offices in
Market Square above M&S for a time.

ISTEL brought a lot of employment to the area, contributed greatly to the local economy
and supported many worthwhile causes. We were just amazed at how little remained of
the organisation in the town and now the name ISTEL has virtually vanished. The last
AT&T ISTEL operation moved out of Redditch in 2023 to allow Highfield House to be
converted to flats and now the Computer Data Centre on Ravensbrook Drive, closed in

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