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Douglas Bay Hotel key fob

Description: Douglas Bay Hotel Key Fobs.
1] to 10] Flat dome shaped metal key fob with serrated bottom edge, black rubber band around broadest part to stop them clanking together. On one side 'Please leave key at office, if taken away by mistake, Please post unsealed to the hotel' and on other 'Douglas Bay Hotel, Isle of Man, 4d stamp here' and a space for the stamp. Yale key for guest bedrooms. 7.2 x 10.9 x 1.9 cm.
11] to 15] Flat shaped formica/laminated plastic key fobs, mock wood grain with white engraved lettering 'Douglas Bay Hotel, IOM', and room no. on other side. 11.6 x 5.4 x 0.3 cm.

Opened in 1894, the Douglas Bay Hotel was the first hotel on the Isle of Man to have electric lights, with the power supplied by the tramway's generator. During the Second World War, the hotel was used for training members of War Office "Y" Group to intercept and transcribe coded German radio signals. This data was sent off the Island and was decoded by one of the captured "Enigma" machines. After the war the hotel resumed business, finally closing and being demolished in 1988. During the demolition process, a serious fire broke out and the building was gutted. The site was later redeveloped.

Materials: Metal

Object name: Key Fob

Collection: Social History Collection

ID Number: 1988-0588/8

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