LEO III , IBM 360 and Phoenix Insurance

The Phoenix LEO III/33 to IBM 360 systems conversion took place in 1973 and this computer files conversion work was above my pay grade then...I was supporting Phoenix Corporate Services Department design the process and procedures (as an Organisation & Methods Analyst) for the relocation of their Administrative Head Office in King William Street across from the Bank of England (the original Phoenix Clock and a giant stone phoenix is still above the entrance hall / door of a Japanese bank (Dawia?)) to Bristol.

During my own research on an Institute of Administrative Management 1960s computer training package I came across Peter Bird - who was, at that time, researching his own Lyons history book. I met him in Reading and we swapped a few stories - particularly the Phoenix Assurance conversion from a tape input LEO III to an IBM 360 (I understand that the Phoenix 360 was the only 360 with paper tape input!), and the impact of the Bristol National Data Processing Service (NDPS) on the GPO to whom Phoenix had outsourced one of its two LEO machines work load during the conversion and whose staff then went on strike, and on the second strike staff blacked all external work as well. Phoenix Data Processing management hired a furniture van - and with the help of a set of keys supplied by NDPS management - stole back our complete set of master tapes. Some were then sent to an eastern Europe organisation (?) with a LEO to print off our monthly renewals - otherwise Phoenix could have lost the insurance renewal business!! I also recall talk of sending some tapes to Australia (?). Finally - some parts of the last planned six months of the LEO tape conversion project were squashed into two weeks - in order to get the Phoenix General and Life / Pensions renewal production and printing facility up and running in Bristol.