This machine was used by Horace Batchelor in his football pools selection service. The service was advertised on Radio Luxembourg and the advert is remembered by many nationwide, particularly for the spelling-out of "Keynsham" as part of the address. The radio station's Top 20 show was sponsored by Batchelor. Batchelor operated the service from the 1950s to the early 1970s and was said to have made a fortune, although it is commonly believed that the service was a scam. The 1960's band, the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, named their 1969 album "Keynsham" as a result of the advertising and the rhyming slang for spatula is a "horace" (Batchelor).

The machine was made by Harold A. Hibbs, a model-maker and engineer from Eastville. His wife was a friend of Horace Batchelor's wife.

The machine worked electromechanically. It is cased in plywood with a plastic control panel. This control panel incorporates an old style telephone dial, a few switches and buttons, and illuminated indicators for HOME and AWAY with the numbers 0 to 5 underneath. Once the dial is turned, after some clicking and whirring, the light settles on a number. The exact method for using the machine is unknown, we don't know how the switches and buttons interact with the result.