page_title: London Electrical Engineers
section_title: Origin
hierarchical_section_title: London Electrical Engineers / Origin
caption_attribution_description: English: Former Drill Hall of the London Electrical Engineers (Royal Engineers) in Regency Street, London SW1
context_page_description: The London Electrical Engineers was a Volunteer unit of the British Army's Royal Engineers founded in 1897. It pioneered the use of searchlights for port defence before World War I and for anti-aircraft defence during the war. In the interwar period it formed the two senior searchlight regiments of the Territorial Army, which defended Southern England during The Blitz. Detachments later served in the Battle of Crete and Siege of Tobruk. The regiment was one of the first to employ women in a combat-related role.
context_section_description: Queen Victoria approved the formation of 'The Electrical Engineers, Royal Engineers (Volunteers)' on 27 April 1897. Their role was to supplement the regular Royal Engineers (RE) in wartime by operating searchlights to defend major ports in conjunction with minefields controlled by Volunteer companies of Submarine Miners, RE. The headquarters of the new force was at 5 Victoria Street, Westminster, and initially there were four companies recruited in London and the Midlands. By 1908 there were seven 'Divisions' of electrical engineers around the great estuary ports of Britain, including the London Division, which was responsible for the Thames Estuary. The London Electrical Engineers established its HQ at 46 Regency Street, Victoria, in 1900.
caption: Former Drill Hall of the London Electrical Engineers in Regency Street, London SW1
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