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182-655: The Tyne Electrical Engineers (TEE) is a Volunteer unit of the British Army that has existed under various titles since 1860. It has been the parent unit for a large number of units fulfilling specialist coastal and air defence roles in the Royal Engineers (RE) and Royal Artillery (RA), many seeing service during both World Wars. TEE companies currently form part of the RE and of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers in

364-779: A 21-year engagement, following which (should he survive so long) he was discharged as a Pensioner. Pensioners were sometimes still employed on garrison duties, as were younger soldiers no longer deemed fit for expeditionary service who were generally organised in invalid units or returned to the regimental depot for home service. The cost of paying pensioners, and the obligation the government was under to continue to employ invalids as well as soldiers deemed by their commanding officers as detriments to their units were motivations to change this system. The long period of engagement also discouraged many potential recruits. The long service enlistments were consequently replaced with short service enlistments, with undesirable soldiers not permitted to re-engage on

546-562: A Catholic) during his brief controversial reign, off the throne and into exile. England then involved itself in the War of the Grand Alliance on the Continent, primarily to prevent a possible French Catholic monarch organizing invasion restoring the exiled James II (Queen Mary's father and still a Roman Catholic ). Later in 1689, William III to solidify his and Mary's hold on the monarchy, expanded

728-569: A Parliamentary-funded army, commanded by Lord General Thomas Fairfax , which became known as the New Model Army (originally phrased "new-modelled Army"). While this proved to be a war-winning formula, the New Model Army, being organised and politically active, went on to dominate the politics of the Interregnum and by 1660 was widely disliked. The New Model Army was paid off and disbanded at

910-676: A TA air defence organisation had been established in the London area, with the LEE forming 26 and 27 AA Battalions, RE (301–306 AA Searchlight Companies). Further independent AASL companies were then organised in other parts of the UK. In September 1924, the TEE's No 1 Works Company was more than doubled in size and converted back into a searchlight unit, designated 307th (Tyne) AASL Company, RE (Tyne Electrical Engineers) . (The other independent companies were numbered 309–18:

1092-653: A central operations room at Brompton, working directly under HQ No 11 Group , Fighter Command at Uxbridge . 75th S/L operated a 'fixed azimuth' line of S/Ls and sound detectors across the flight paths to the IAZ, while the two LEE regiments cooperated with the HAA guns in the urban area. The three regiments continued to form part of 38th AA Brigade under 1st AA Division. Later, as the Blitz continued, 27th (LEE) S/L Rgt moved out to join 47 AA Bde in 5 AA Division , covering Southampton . By

1274-679: A deployment in Afghanistan as part of Operation Toral . Following an announcement by the US Government of the end of their operations in the Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence announced in April 2021 that British forces would withdraw from the country by 11 September 2021. It was later reported that all UK troops would be out by early July. Following the collapse of the Afghan Army, and the completion of

1456-484: A few months, exposing a light drew heavy fire from the enemy, and the dangerous work earned the detachments the nickname of 'the suicide brigade'. In November 1915 a joint LEE/TEE company was formed for service in France, designated No 1 (London and Tyne) Electrical & Mechanical Company, RE. It assembled at the LEE's HQ in London, and landed at Le Havre on 15 December, where it was attached to General Headquarters (GHQ) of

1638-463: A joint LEE/TEE company was formed for service in France, designated No 1 (London and Tyne) Electrical & Mechanical Company, RE. It assembled at the LEE's HQ in London, and landed at Le Havre on 15 December, where it was attached to General Headquarters (GHQ) of the BEF. It carried out a variety of duties, ranging from installing electric lighting for hospitals, water pumps and laundry equipment, to erecting

1820-585: A large reserve of recently discharged soldiers, ready to be recalled on the outbreak of war to immediately bring the small peacetime regular army up to strength), the Regular Reserve of the British Army was originally created in 1859 by Secretary of State for War Sidney Herbert , and re-organised under the Reserve Force Act 1867 . Prior to this, a soldier was generally enlisted into the British Army for

2002-572: A member of parliament and future Lord Protector) from serving as officers in the Parliamentary armies. This created a distinction between the civilians in Parliament, who tended to be Presbyterian and conciliatory to the Royalists ("Cavaliers") in nature, and a corps of professional officers, who tended to be Independent ( Congregational ) in theology. The second action was legislation for the creation of

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2184-565: A multinational armoured battlegroup in Estonia under Operation Cabrit and contributes troops to another military battle group in Poland . As part of the NATO plans, Britain has committed a full mechanized infantry brigade to be on a high state of readiness to defend Estonia. Between 2015 and 2022, the British Army deployed Short Term Training Teams (STTTs) to Ukraine under Operation Orbital to help train

2366-552: A number of conflict zones, often as part of an expeditionary force , a coalition force or part of a United Nations peacekeeping operation. Until the Wars of the Three Kingdoms , neither England or Scotland had had a standing army with professional officers and career corporals and sergeants. England relied on militia organised by local officials or private forces mobilised by the nobility, or on hired mercenaries from Europe. From

2548-739: A printing works and building a trench locomotive. After the Battle of the Somme it was decided to form an E & M Company for each of the Armies of the BEF and the London & Tyne Company was split to form 351 Company ( Second Army ) and 354 Company ( Fifth Army ). 354 Company was later responsible for the development of air-lift and belt water pumps to supply drinking water. During the German spring offensive of 1918, 351 and 354 E &M Companies were entrusted with destroying electrical installations and water supplies ahead of

2730-832: A safe distance by aiding the Ottoman Empire ). Like the English Army , the British Army fought the kingdoms of Spain, France (including the First French Empire ) and the Netherlands ( Dutch Republic ) for supremacy in North America and the West Indies . With native and provincial and colonial assistance, the Army conquered New France in the French and Indian War (North American theatre) of

2912-595: A series of support vehicles, including six-, nine- and fifteen-tonne MAN trucks, Oshkosh heavy-equipment transporters (HET), close-support tankers, quad bikes and ambulances. Tactical communication uses the Bowman radio system, and operational or strategic communication is controlled by the Royal Corps of Signals . London Electrical Engineers Queen Victoria approved the formation of 'The Electrical Engineers, Royal Engineers (Volunteers)' on 27 April 1897. Their role

3094-505: A target strength of 82,000, and just over 30,000 Army Reservists , with a target strength of 30,000. All former Regular Army personnel may also be recalled to duty in exceptional circumstances during the 6-year period following completion of their Regular service, which creates an additional force known as the Regular Reserve . The table below illustrates British Army personnel figures from 1710 to 2024. The British Army's basic weapon

3276-491: A volunteer and went out with Gunner L.E.P. Cory to rescue a wounded trooper of the Northumberland Hussars lying wounded in a ravine some 800 yards away. They brought the man back over open ground under fire from snipers. BSM Egglesfield was recommended for a Distinguished Conduct Medal but was awarded a Military Medal , as was Gnr Cory. By 26 May, after continuous German attack from the air and by airborne troops,

3458-641: A volunteer army and threatened to emulate the American colonists if their conditions were not met. Learning from their experience in America, the British government sought a political solution. The British Army fought Irish rebels—Protestant and Catholic—primarily in Ulster and Leinster ( Wolfe Tone's United Irishmen ) in the 1798 rebellion . In addition to battling the armies of other European empires (and its former colonies,

3640-793: A war against the Prussian -led German Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire ). When the First World War broke out in August 1914 the British Army sent the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), consisting mainly of regular army troops, to France and Belgium . The fighting bogged down into static trench warfare for the remainder of the war. In 1915 the army created the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force to invade

3822-625: Is based on that of the earlier English army. Although technically the Scots Royal Regiment of Foot was raised in 1633 and is the oldest Regiment of the Line, Scottish and Irish regiments were only allowed to take a rank in the English army on the date of their arrival in England (or the date when they were first placed on the English establishment). In 1694, a board of general officers was convened to decide

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4004-563: Is known to have found 21 of these: Nos 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 20, 26–8, 32, 34, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44 and 46, together with No 22, which was formed in France from Nos 1–8 AAS sections. Others were formed by the Regular RE (No 1) and by the LEE. The parent units of a further 29 AAS sections are not known, but the cadres were probably mixed TEE and LEE personnel. Most of the early AAS sections were posted to guard targets such as railway yards, ammunition dumps and lines of communications that were

4186-692: Is provided by L16 81mm mortars . Sniper rifles include the L118A1  7.62 mm, L115A3 and the AW50F , all manufactured by Accuracy International . The British Army utilises the Glock 17 as its side arm. Anti tank guided weapons include the Javelin , the medium range anti-tank guided weapon replacement for Milan , with overfly and direct attack modes of operation, and the NLAW . The Next-generation Light Anti-tank Weapon ( NLAW )

4368-505: Is the 5.56 mm L85A2 or L85A3 assault rifle, with some specialist personnel using the L22A2 carbine variant (pilots and some tank crew). The weapon was traditionally equipped with either iron sights or an optical SUSAT , although other optical sights have been subsequently purchased to supplement these. The weapon can be enhanced further utilising the Picatinny rail with attachments such as

4550-576: Is the first, non-expert, short-range, anti-tank missile that rapidly knocks out any main battle tank in just one shot by striking it from above. The army's main battle tank is the Challenger 2 , which is being upgraded to Challenger 3 . It is supported by the Warrior tracked armoured vehicle as the primary infantry fighting vehicle , (which will soon be replaced by the Boxer 8x8 armoured fighting vehicle ) and

4732-643: Is the official list of which bodies of the British Military (not to be confused with naval ) Forces were to be considered Corps of the British Army for the purposes of the Army Act , the Reserve Forces Act, 1882, and the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act, 1907, had not been updated since 1926 (Army Order 49 of 1926), although amendments had been made up to and including Army Order 67 of 1950. A new Corps Warrant

4914-569: The 26th and 27th (London Electrical Engineers) Battalion, RE , becoming the two senior searchlight units of the new Territorial Army (Numbers 1–25 were reserved for Regular Army units, but most were never used). 26 AA Battalion, based at the Duke of York's Headquarters in Chelsea, comprised Nos 301–3 AA Companies, and 27 AA Bn headquartered at Mitcham Lane, Streatham , had Nos 304–6 based at Rochester Row, Westminster. (The Regency Street premises were used by

5096-698: The Americas , Africa , Asia , India and Australasia . British soldiers captured strategically important sites and territories, with the army involved in wars to secure the empire's borders, internal safety and support friendly governments and princes. Among these actions were the French and Indian War / Seven Years' War, the American Revolutionary War , the Napoleonic Wars , the First and Second Opium Wars ,

5278-656: The Anglo-Irish War . The increasing demands of imperial expansion and the inadequacy and inefficiency of the underfunded British Army, Militia , Ordnance Military Corps, Yeomanry and Volunteer Force after the Napoleonic Wars led to series of reforms following the failures of the Crimean War . Inspired by the successes of the Prussian Army (which relied on short-term conscription of all eligible young men to maintain

5460-668: The Armed Forces of Ukraine against further Russian aggression. This operation was succeeded by Operation Interflex in July 2022. The British Army has been a volunteer force since national service ended during the 1960s. Since the creation of the part-time, reserve Territorial Force in 1908 (renamed the Army Reserve in 2014), the full-time British Army has been known as the Regular Army. In July 2020 there were just over 78,800 Regulars, with

5642-565: The Army Reserve . The 1st Newcastle Engineer Volunteers (EV) was raised at company strength in Newcastle upon Tyne during the first enthusiasm for the Volunteer movement engendered by the invasion scare of 1859; its officers' commissions were dated 1 September 1860. The first volunteers came from Armstrong's engineering works at Elswick . The company was attached for administrative purposes to

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5824-951: The Boxer Rebellion , the New Zealand Wars , the Australian frontier wars , the Sepoy Rebellion of 1857 , the first and second Boer Wars , the Fenian raids , the Irish War of Independence , interventions in Afghanistan (intended to maintain a buffer state between British India and the Russian Empire ) and the Crimean War (to keep the Russian Empire to the north on the Black Sea at

6006-446: The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France. They were formed into 13 small detachments, each assigned to a Field Company of the RE to operate small oxy-acetylene searchlights to detect enemy raiding parties in No-Man's Land. Although these were used with some success for a few months, exposing a light drew heavy fire from the enemy, and the dangerous work earned the detachments the nickname of 'the suicide brigade'. In November 1915

6188-416: The Bulldog armoured personnel carrier . Light armoured units often utilise the Supacat "Jackal" MWMIK and Coyote tactical support vehicle for reconnaissance and fire support. The army has three main artillery systems: the M270 multiple launch rocket system (MLRS), the AS-90 and the L118 light gun . The MLRS, first used in Operation Granby , has an 85-kilometre (53 mi) standard range, or with

6370-441: The Chief of the General Staff . At its inception, being composed primarily of cavalry and infantry, the British Army was one of two Regular Forces (there were also separate Reserve Forces ) within the British military (those parts of the British Armed Forces tasked with land warfare, as opposed to the naval forces), with the other having been the Ordnance Military Corps (made up of the Royal Artillery , Royal Engineers , and

6552-418: The Eastern Association ), often commanded by local members of Parliament (both from the House of Commons and the House of Lords), while more than able to hold their own in the regions which Parliamentarians ('Roundheads") controlled, were unlikely to win the war. So Parliament initiated two actions. The Self-denying Ordinance forbade members of Parliament (with the notable exception of Oliver Cromwell , then

6734-410: The English Army and the Scots Army as the British Army . Members of the British Army swear allegiance to the monarch as their commander-in-chief , since both the English Bill of Rights of 1689 and Scottish Claim of Right Act 1689 require parliamentary consent for the Crown to maintain a peacetime standing army . The army is administered by the Ministry of Defence and commanded by

6916-477: The Far East , the British Army rallied against the Japanese in the Burma Campaign and regained the British Far Eastern colonial possessions. After the Second World War the British Army was significantly reduced in size, although National Service continued until 1960. This period saw decolonisation begin with the partition and independence of India and Pakistan, followed by the independence of British colonies in Africa and Asia. The Corps Warrant , which

7098-420: The Gosport side of the harbour. Clifford's Fort remained the TEE's depot, from where the flood of volunteers were sent to Haslar for advanced training. No 1 Company also carried out a range of duties in the Tyne Garrison, such as installing electric generators for the hutted camps, signal stations and hospitals springing up in NE England. When the Hospital Ship Rohilla ran aground of Whitby in October 1914,

7280-442: The Islamic State (ISIL). The British Army maintains a standing liability to support the civil authorities in certain circumstances, usually in either niche capabilities (e.g. explosive ordnance removal) or in general support of the civil authorities when their capacity is exceeded. In recent years this has been seen as army personnel supporting the civil authorities in the face of the 2001 United Kingdom foot-and-mouth outbreak ,

7462-403: The Italian Front . Between 1915 and 1918, the RE formed 76 AA Searchlight Sections for overseas service. The LEE is known to have found 25 of these: Nos 2 (jointly with Regular RE), 3–5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 16, 18, 25, 29, 30, 31, 33, 35, 37, 39, 41, 43, 45 and 48, together with Nos 21, 23 and 24, which were formed in France from Nos 1-8 AAS sections. Others were formed by the Regular RE (No 1) and by

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7644-445: The L17A2 under-barrel grenade launcher. In 2023, the Army Special Operations Brigade , which includes the Ranger Regiment , began using the L403A1 , an AR-pattern rifle also used by the Royal Marines . Some soldiers are equipped with the 7.62mm L129A1 sharpshooter rifle , which in 2018 formally replaced the L86A2 Light Support Weapon. Support fire is provided by the L7 general-purpose machine gun (GPMG), and indirect fire

7826-437: The Netherlands for the War of the Spanish Succession . Although all the regiments were now part of the new British military establishment, they remained under the old operational-command structure and retained much of the institutional ethos, customs and traditions of the standing armies created shortly after the Restoration of the Monarchy 47 years earlier. The order of seniority of the most-senior British Army line regiments

8008-424: The Ottoman Empire via Gallipoli , an unsuccessful attempt to capture Constantinople and secure a sea route to Russia . The First World War was the most devastating in British military history , with nearly 800,000 men killed and over two million wounded. Early in the war, the BEF was virtually destroyed and was replaced first by volunteers and then by a conscript force. Major battles included those at

8190-441: The PrSM , up to 500 km. The AS-90 is a 155 mm self-propelled armoured gun with a 24-kilometre (15 mi) range. The L118 light gun is a 105 mm towed gun, which is typically towed by a Pinzgauer all-terrain vehicle. To identify artillery targets, the army operates the TAIPAN artillery detection radar and utilises artillery sound ranging . For air defence it uses the new Sky Sabre system, which in 2021 replaced

8372-418: The Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA). Under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement , there was a gradual reduction in the number of soldiers deployed. In 2005, after the PIRA declared a ceasefire, the British Army dismantled posts, withdrew many troops and restored troop levels to those of a peacetime garrison. Operation Banner ended at midnight on 31 July 2007 after about 38 years of continuous deployment,

8554-422: The Rapier . It also deploys the Very Short-Range Air Defence (VSHORAD) Starstreak HVM (high-velocity missile) launched by a single soldier or from a Stormer HVM vehicle-mounted launcher. Where armour is not required or mobility and speed are favoured the British Army utilises protected patrol vehicles, such as the Panther variant of the Iveco LMV , the Foxhound , and variants of the Cougar family (such as

8736-427: The Rhine . Demobilisation began early in 1919 and the last AAS sections were demobilised at Haslar in March 1920. In January 1918 No 34 AASS was transferred from France to join the British forces on the Italian Front . The men were split up to train Italian searchlight teams, but this was not a success. At the end of March, three sets of highly mobile Italian equipment were purchased, and the section operated these for

8918-476: The Rifle Brigade and the 57th Foot before going onto the Reserve List in 1880, but had spent much of his service in India designing military steam wagons. Early in the Second Boer War , Colonel Robert Baden-Powell improvised searchlights to deter night attacks during the Siege of Mafeking . Soon afterward Major Crompton led a detachment of the Electrical Engineers Volunteers to South Africa where they operated electric Arc lamp searchlights of his own design,

9100-422: The Royal Air Force . As of 1 July 2024, the British Army comprises 74,296 regular full-time personnel, 4,244 Gurkhas , 25,934 volunteer reserve personnel and 4,612 "other personnel", for a total of 109,086. The British Army traces back to 1707 and the formation of the united Kingdom of Great Britain which joined the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into a single state and, with that, united

9282-411: The Royal Army Medical Corps HQ at Queen Alexandra Military Hospital at Millbank in London before being despatched around the country. By July 1917, when German raids by fixed wing aircraft became common, there were 42 AA Companies of the RE located around the country. These included the following TEE units, manning some 300 lights: In November 1917 the air defences of Great Britain were reorganised:

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9464-426: The Royal Garrison Artillery . This installation had just been completed when the second air raid on Tyneside took place on 15/16 June. Warning and blackout arrangements were inadequate, and L10 under Kapitanleutnant Hirsch caused considerable damage and casualties to industrial sites, including Palmer's. The TEE at Clifford's Fort continued to be responsible for coast defence and AA searchlights and for telephones in

9646-432: The Royal Sappers and Miners ) of the Board of Ordnance , which along with the originally civilian Commissariat Department , stores and supply departments, as well as barracks and other departments, were absorbed into the British Army when the Board of Ordnance was abolished in 1855. Various other civilian departments of the board were absorbed into the War Office . The British Army has seen action in major wars between

9828-400: The Solent and the three sea forts of Spitbank Fort , No Man's Land Fort and Horse Sand Fort . In November 1915 the TEE formed an additional company (No 5) from Haslar to supplement the Scottish coast defences of the Firth of Forth and to set up coast and AA searchlights to defend the explosives works at Ardeer . These were handed over to local forces by June 1916 As the war progressed,

10010-460: The South Coast of England and the Thames Estuary to form light barriers against surface raiders. For example, No 2 Company London Electrical Engineers was positioned at Coalhouse Fort in East Tilbury. By an agreement between the Admiralty and War Office on 3 September 1914, responsibility for air defence of the UK lay initially with the Royal Navy , which provided aircraft, quick-firing guns and searchlights to defend vulnerable points against

10192-437: The Territorial Force as the army's volunteer reserve component, merging and reorganising the Volunteer Force, Militia and Yeomanry. Great Britain was challenged by other powers, primarily the German Empire and Nazi Germany , during the 20th century. A century earlier it vied with Napoleonic France for global pre-eminence, and Hanoverian Britain's natural allies were the kingdoms and principalities of northern Germany . By

10374-468: The later Middle Ages until the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, when a foreign expeditionary force was needed, such as the one that Henry V of England took to France and that fought at the Battle of Agincourt (1415), the army, a professional one, was raised for the duration of the expedition. During the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, the members of the English Long Parliament realised that the use of county militia organised into regional associations (such as

10556-410: The 1st Newcastle RE and the Tyne Submarine Miners derived their seniority from the original 1st Newcastle EV established in 1860. The full dress uniform of the Tyne Submarine Miners consisted of the usual Volunteer RE pattern scarlet tunic with blue facings, white cords and shoulder cords, with the addition of the letters S.M. and the word "TYNE" on the shoulder straps, and a silver grenade badge worn on

10738-420: The 1st Newcastle upon Tyne Rifle Volunteer Corps. Eight years later another unit was formed at Jarrow on the opposite ( County Durham ) bank of the River Tyne . The 1st Durham EV was raised and commanded by Charles Palmer (1822–1907), founder of Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company and later the first mayor and Member of Parliament for Jarrow. The 1st Durham initially comprised six companies and Palmer

10920-453: The 2002 firefighters strike, widespread flooding in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2013 and 2014, Operation Temperer following the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017 and, most recently, Operation Rescript during the COVID-19 pandemic . Since 2016, the British Army has maintained a presence in the Baltic States in support of the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence strategy which responded to the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea . The British Army leads

11102-608: The 2014 West African Ebola virus epidemic . In November 2001, as part of Operation Enduring Freedom with the United States, the United Kingdom deployed forces in Afghanistan to topple the Taliban in Operation Herrick . The 3rd Division were sent to Kabul to assist in the liberation of the capital and defeat Taliban forces in the mountains. In 2006 the British Army began concentrating on fighting Taliban forces and bringing security to Helmand Province , with about 9,500 British troops (including marines, airmen and sailors) deployed at its peak —the second-largest force after that of

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11284-556: The 26th became the first 'Mixed' regiment, with seven Troops of ATS women posted to it, forming the whole of 301 Battery and half of 339 Battery. On 25 October that year, 303 and 339 Btys were listed as Mixed, and the all-women 301 Battery transferred to the new 93rd (Mixed) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery the last searchlight regiment formed, which by August 1943 comprised about 1500 women out of an establishment of 1674. A and B Troops of 339 Bty also transferred to 93rd S/L Rgt, in exchange for A and B Trps of 495 Bty. 301 Battery

11466-403: The AA defences were manned by personnel of lower medical category. A large contingent of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps took over administrative duties at the Haslar depot and the AA establishments, while the Women's League provided motor transport drivers. Late in 1918, a large draft of men was dispatched to France from Haslar, intended to reinforce infantry units, but they were appropriated by

11648-410: The Allied victory in North Africa, 27th Searchlight Regiment remained under Middle East Forces . By January 1944, as the war moved away, the AA defences of the Middle East were being run down, and surplus personnel were sent as reinforcements to other theatres of the war. At this time the regiment had been reduced to just two active batteries: 484 (Carmarthenshire) S/L Bty , which had served during

11830-420: The American colonial rebels early in the war). Halifax, Nova Scotia and Bermuda were to become Imperial fortresses (although Bermuda, being safer from attack over water and impervious to attack overland, quickly became the most important in British North America), along with Malta and Gibraltar , providing bases in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea for Royal Navy squadrons to control

12012-419: The Army Council, Gold Medal of the Borough of Tynemouth and clasp to Gold Medal of the Tynemouth Trust and silver tea and coffee service by public subscriptions. Later, he was awarded the American Gold Cross of Honour, given once in two years by the United States to a foreign national. This was only the second occasion for such an award. His task completed, he resigned from active life-boat service, knowing that

12194-433: The BEF. It carried out a variety of duties, ranging from installing electric lighting for hospitals, water pumps and laundry equipment, to erecting a printing works and building a trench locomotive. After the Battle of the Somme it was decided to form an E & M Company for each of the Armies of the BEF and the London & Tyne Company was split to form 351 Company ( Second Army ) and 354 Company ( Fifth Army ). 354 Company

12376-408: The British Army was deployed as a peacekeeping force from 1969 to 2007 in Operation Banner . Initially, this was (in the wake of unionist attacks on nationalist communities in Derry and Belfast ) to prevent further loyalist attacks on Catholic communities; it developed into support of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and its successor, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) against

12558-486: The British and the First French Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte stretched around the world; at its peak in 1813, the regular army contained over 250,000 men. A coalition of Anglo-Dutch and Prussian armies under the Duke of Wellington and Field Marshal von Blücher finally defeated Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815. The English were involved politically and militarily in Ireland. The campaign of English republican Protector Oliver Cromwell involved uncompromising treatment of

12740-465: The British coastline, while the Army would be responsible for dealing with them over land. The transfer took effect between February and April 1916. Experience had shown the need for plentiful searchlights to guide both gunners and fighter pilots to their targets. The army established a 25-mile wide searchlight belt stretching from Northumberland to Sussex, with a double ring round London. The TF began forming AA S/L companies in December 1915, mainly from

12922-439: The British military, mostly civilians. An estimated 100 soldiers committed suicide during Operation Banner or soon afterwards and a similar number died in accidents. A total of 6,116 were wounded. Sierra Leone The British Army deployed to Sierra Leone for Operation Palliser in 1999, under United Nations resolutions, to aid the government in quelling violent uprisings by militiamen. British troops also provided support during

13104-534: The Dover AADC, was engaged when 40 Giant and Gotha bombers made the biggest raid of the war; the battery illuminated 24 of these raiders during the night, when eight were shot down. 2nd Lieutenant Metcalf of the TEE, commanding this battery, developed a new system of height determination, which was adopted throughout the AA defences. Between 1915 and 1918, the RE formed 76 AA Searchlight Sections for overseas service. The TEE

13286-554: The German advance was halted, the AA defences were re-established, with a belt of searchlights now cooperating with AA guns and with Sopwith Camel night-fighter aircraft (forming the 'Camel Line'). Each searchlight team was also equipped with a Lewis gun for AA defence. The number of enemy night bombers brought down began to rise. The Allied advances of the Hundred Days Offensive meant that to maintain an unbroken AA barrage along

13468-659: The Germans and Italians at the Second Battle of El Alamein in North Africa in 1942–1943 and helped drive them from Africa. It then fought through Italy and, with the help of American, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, Indian and Free French forces, was the principal organiser and participant in the D-Day invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944; nearly half the Allied soldiers were British. In

13650-474: The Germans attempted a mass Zeppelin attack on London, but only two airships reached the capital and one of these, SL 11 , was held in the searchlight beams of 22 (Tyne) Company while it was shot down by Lt W. Leefe Robinson of 39 Squadron. On 23 September another mass raid bombed Nottingham, but L32 , endeavouring to avoid the London defences, was shot down by 2/Lt F. Sowrey of 39 Squadron cooperating with lights from Nos 9 and 22 Companies. On 25 September 1916

13832-547: The Inspector of Searchlights on arrival and sent to searchlight sections. At the time of the Armistice, the TEE comprised 143 officers and approximately 5000 other ranks, of whom 50 officers and 700 other ranks were serving overseas. During the war the TEE established a war savings scheme, which became one of the largest in the army. Two military aircraft were named after the TEE in recognition of these deposits. The Territorial Force

14014-651: The Irish towns (most notably Drogheda and Wexford ) which supported the Royalists during the English Civil War . The English Army (and the subsequent British Army) remained in Ireland primarily to suppress Irish revolts or disorder. In addition to its conflict with Irish nationalists, it was faced with the prospect of battling Anglo-Irish and Ulster Scots in Ireland who were angered by unfavourable taxation of Irish produce imported into Britain. With other Irish groups, they raised

14196-495: The Isle of Wight. In August 1915, a detachment of volunteers from the TEE (72 men) and LEE (39 men) proceeded to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France. They were formed into 13 small detachments, each assigned to a Field Company of the RE to operate small oxy-acetylene searchlights to detect enemy raiding parties in No-Man's Land. Although these were used with some success for

14378-666: The LEE and the Tyne Electrical Engineers (TEE). By July 1917 there were 42 AA Companies of the RE scattered around the country, all with the LEE and TEE as their parent units. These included the following LEE units: (The LEE itself had been reduced to five companies by August 1917). Changes were also needed in searchlight design and training, so a team was selected from the London Electrical Engineers to return to their Headquarters at 46 Regency Street and set up workshops, design and drawing offices to deal with

14560-451: The LEE provided No 1 Company and the TEE formed No 2 (Tyne) Company, which took over responsibility for NW London in May 1916. Further companies were despatched at intervals to London, Hull and other districts subject to Zeppelin raids. Early in 1916, mobile AA brigades began to be formed, with batteries of 13-pounder guns , supported by a searchlight company. No 9 (Tyne) Mobile SL Company was one of

14742-483: The London Electrical Engineers (LEE) and Tyne Electrical Engineers (TEE) gradually took full responsibility for the RE's searchlight operations. By December 1915 the LEE set up and ran an experimental establishment, while the TEE took over the RE School of Electric Lighting at Stokes Bay , Gosport. As AA defence became more important, the school's name was changed to AA Searchlight and Sound Locator School, based at Ryde on

14924-510: The North and Midlands. No 2 (Tyne) Company was moved from London to the Midlands and renumbered 42, and a series of new gun light companies were formed, No 4 AA Company TEE being split into Nos 34 and 35 (Tyne) AA Companies, and Nos 37 (Tyne) at Leeds , 38 (Tyne) at Hull and 40 (Tyne) at Sheffield being formed by drafts from Haslar. The mobile companies (including the aeroplane units) were mobilised at

15106-660: The Regulars, the Militia and the Volunteers. In 1885 Clarke also sent Volunteers to the Red Sea port of Suakin to assist the Regular REs in railway construction in support of the British force engaged there. The detachment of 40 men was drawn from the 1st Newcastle & Durham EV and the 1st Lancashire EV. Palmer, by now created Sir Charles Palmer, 1st Baronet of Grinkle Park, retired from

15288-823: The Ridgeback, Husky and Mastiff). For day-to-day utility work the army commonly uses the Land Rover Wolf , which is based on the Land Rover Defender . Specialist engineering vehicles include bomb-disposal robots such as the T7 Multi-Mission Robotic System and the modern variants of the Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers , including the Titan bridge-layer, Trojan armoured engineer vehicle, Terrier armoured digger . Day-to-day utility work uses

15470-726: The Royal Engineers to the Royal Artillery , being redesignated Searchlight Regiments, and the AA Companies became Searchlight Batteries. 306 AA Bty returned to 27th (LEE) S/L Rgt in September 1940. When heavy German night air raids on the UK ( The Blitz ) began in late summer 1940 the London Inner Artillery Zone (IAZ) had 73 S/L positions operated by 26th and 27th (LEE) and 75th (Middlesex) S/L Rgts , controlled from

15652-470: The Scots Greys was reassessed and based on their June 1685 entry into England. At that time there was only one English regiment of dragoons, and the Scots Greys eventually received the British Army rank of 2nd Dragoons. After 1700, British continental policy was to contain expansion by competing powers such as France and Spain. Although Spain was the dominant global power during the previous two centuries and

15834-594: The Somme and Passchendaele . Advances in technology saw the advent of the tank (and the creation of the Royal Tank Regiment ) and advances in aircraft design (and the creation of the Royal Flying Corps ) which would be decisive in future battles. Trench warfare dominated Western Front strategy for most of the war, and the use of chemical weapons (disabling and poison gases) added to the devastation. The Second World War broke out in September 1939 with

16016-621: The Soviet and German Army 's invasion of Poland . British assurances to the Poles led the British Empire to declare war on Germany . As in the First World War, a relatively small BEF was sent to France but then hastily evacuated from Dunkirk as the German forces swept through the Low Countries and across France in May 1940. After the British Army recovered from its earlier defeats, it defeated

16198-639: The TEE set up a searchlight on the clifftop to help rescue operations, while Captain H.E. Burton of the TEE took the Tynemouth Lifeboat Henry Vernon in to help take off survivors. Apart from many awards made to those directly concerned in the "Rohilla" disaster, Major Burton received the Gold Medal of the R.N.L.I., the thanks of the Lords of the Admiralty and his services entered in the records by order of

16380-585: The TEE shared with a squadron of the Northumberland Hussars . In 1927 the TEE exchanged Clifford's Fort for a new site adjoining Tynemouth station , where it built a new HQ. British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom , British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies , a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Naval Service and

16562-410: The TEE. The parent units of a further 29 AAS sections are not known, but they probably consisted of mixed LEE, TEE and Medical Category B personnel. A fixed two-light section in France in 1917 comprised 20 men with three vehicles; a mobile three-light section in 1918 consisted of five vehicles and 28 men. In August 1915, a detachment of volunteers from the TEE (72 men) and LEE (39 men) proceeded to join

16744-556: The Troubles . Following the 1994–1996 IRA ceasefires and since 1997, demilitarisation has been part of the peace process and the military presence has been reduced. On 25 June 2007 the 2nd Battalion of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment left the army complex in Bessbrook , County Armagh , ending the longest operation in British Army history. The British Army contributed 50,000 troops to

16926-523: The Tyne Garrison throughout the war, comprising No 1 (Depot), No 3 (Electric Light) and No 4 (AA) Companies, the latter later being split into Nos 34 and 35 (Tyne) AA Companies. The coastal defences were progressively increased, especially at Sunderland and Blyth . One of the first duties of the TEE on arrival at Portsmouth was to set up telephone links. During the war the TEE telephone section based at Milldam Barracks , Portsmouth, became responsible for

17108-525: The Tyne Garrison was set up the following month by the RE on the roof of the CWS Flour Mills at Dunston, and later handed over to the TEE. This was an oxy-acetylene light. The first Zeppelin air raid on Tyneside, by Kapitanleutnant Mathy in L9 , was on 14 April, and casualties were few. Afterwards an electric searchlight was set up at Carville power station, Wallsend , to work with a 3-inch AA gun operated by

17290-594: The Tynemouth Medal Trust's silver medal in August 1904. In 1914, he was also awarded a bar, the only bar awarded to date (1998) to his gold medal for the rescue of part of the crew of the hospital ship “Rohilla” at Whitby." Early in the war a new minefield was laid in the mouth of the Tyne by the Royal Marines and the TEE. Former submarine miners of the TEE were transferred or recalled, and provided many instructors for

17472-758: The Tynemouth Medal Trusts Gold medal and bar. Here is an extract from the TMT files. "Captain HERBERT EDGAR BURTON, Royal Engineers (Tyne Submarine Miners) - For gallant service in the Tynemouth Lifeboat “Henry Vernon” on the occasion of the wreck of the steamship “Dunelm” at Blyth on 11 January 1913. The steamship ran ashore in a severe storm on the Sow and Pig Rocks outside of the North Pier at Blyth. Rescue from

17654-579: The US. In December 2012 Prime Minister David Cameron announced that the combat mission would end in 2014, and troop numbers gradually fell as the Afghan National Army took over the brunt of the fighting. Between 2001 and 26 April 2014 a total of 453 British military personnel died in Afghan operations. Operation Herrick ended with the handover of Camp Bastion on 26 October 2014, but the British Army maintained

17836-808: The United States, in the American War of 1812 ), the British Army fought the Chinese in the First and Second Opium Wars and the Boxer Rebellion , Māori tribes in the first of the New Zealand Wars, Nawab Shiraj-ud-Daula's forces and British East India Company mutineers in the Sepoy Rebellion of 1857 , the Boers in the first and second Boer Wars, Irish Fenians in Canada during the Fenian raids and Irish separatists in

18018-462: The advancing enemy. These then had to be replaced during the Hundred Days advance. Among the professionals who served with the London Electrical Engineers during the war were the electrical engineer Reginald Frankland-Payne Gallwey (who later succeeded as the 5th Baronet of that name) and the chemist Theodore Acland . The remaining part-time civilian searchlight operators were also replaced. By

18200-615: The age of 30 had been transferred to the infantry. The regiment left the UK early in 1941 to move to Egypt , where it came under the command of 2 AA Bde based in Cairo . Until late 1942 (when it was joined by a Royal Marines unit) it was the only searchlight regiment in Middle East Forces , and frequently had detachments serving over a wide area. In May 1941, 304 Battery was detached with other Royal Artillery units from Egypt to Crete , where it operated 20 searchlight projectors in

18382-411: The alarm late. Dummy rail tracks were laid and the decoy target was protected by 12 AA guns; on one occasion paraffin fires were lit to resemble a successful raid on the 'dump'. The area around Nieuport and Dunkirk , where many of the supply dumps were concentrated received regular raids, and 14 AAS sections were concentrated on this part of the front. During and after the 3rd Battle of Ypres some of

18564-547: The anticipated air raids. These acetylene searchlights were operated by civilian Special Constables . The first night raid was made by Zeppelin airships on 19/20 January 1915, then in April and May regular raids began on the East Coast of England, reaching London on 31 May/1 June. Zeppelin raids continued during the summer and autumn of 1915, after which it was decided that the Royal Navy would try to deal with raiders approaching

18746-598: The area round the Humber Estuary where it came under the command of 46th (Lincolnshire Regiment) AA Bn in 39 AA Bde . In November the company moved into Grimsby to make that a lighted gun zone. In February 1940, 306 AA Co took over some S/L sites on the East Coast that were positioned to pick up low-flying aircraft laying Parachute mines in the mouth of the Humber. On 1 August 1940 the AA Battalions were transferred from

18928-504: The army saw the introduction of new weapons systems. Despite the decline of the British Empire, the army was engaged in Aden , Indonesia , Cyprus , Kenya and Malaya . In 1982, the British Army and the Royal Marines helped liberate the Falkland Islands during the conflict with Argentina after that country's invasion of the British territory. In the three decades following 1969,

19110-664: The army was heavily deployed in Northern Ireland 's Operation Banner to support the Royal Ulster Constabulary (later the Police Service of Northern Ireland ) in their conflict with republican paramilitary groups. The locally recruited Ulster Defence Regiment was formed, becoming home-service battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment in 1992 before it was disbanded in 2006. Over 700 soldiers were killed during

19292-642: The chief threat to England's early trans-Atlantic colonial ambitions, its influence was now waning. The territorial ambitions of the French, however, led to the War of the Spanish Succession and the later Napoleonic Wars . Although the Royal Navy is widely regarded as vital to the rise of the British Empire , the British Army played an important role in the formation of colonies, protectorates and dominions in

19474-745: The coalition which fought Iraq in the Persian Gulf War , and British forces controlled Kuwait after its liberation. Forty-seven British military personnel died during the war. The army was deployed to former Yugoslavia in 1992. Initially part of the United Nations Protection Force , in 1995 its command was transferred to the Implementation Force (IFOR) and then to the Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (SFOR);

19656-406: The coastal defence role, and had yet to be seen as an AA asset, but as early as August 1914 the TEE set up the first AA searchlight in the Portsmouth defences, at Lumps Fort . In the early part of 1915 the TEE was involved in pioneering AA defences in NE England ( see above ) In December 1915, the War Office urgently required AA searchlight units to defend London and other vital points. Immediately,

19838-417: The colours and the remainder in the Regular Reserve, remaining liable for recall to the colours if required. Among the other benefits, this thereby enabled the British Army to have a ready pool of recently trained men to draw upon in an emergency. The name of the Regular Reserve (which for a time was divided into a First Class and a Second Class ) has resulted in confusion with the Reserve Forces , which were

20020-403: The commitment rose to over 10,000 troops. In 1999, British forces under SFOR command were sent to Kosovo and the contingent increased to 19,000 troops. Between early 1993 and June 2010, 72 British military personnel died during operations in the former Yugoslavian countries of Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia. Although there have been permanent garrisons in Northern Ireland throughout its history,

20202-438: The completion of their first engagement. The size of the army also fluctuated greatly, increasing in war time, and drastically shrinking with peace. Battalions posted on garrison duty overseas were allowed an increase on their normal peacetime establishment, which resulted in their having surplus men on their return to a Home station. Consequently, soldiers engaging on short term enlistments were enabled to serve several years with

20384-404: The crew of the “Dunelm” and Coastguard William Marsden of Blyth Coastguard, Silver Medals ; to J.G. Smith, Thomas Cummings, J.R. Grant, J.R. Brownlee, and J.S. Brownlee, all of the crew of the Tynemouth lifeboat, Anthony Nixon, Robert Lisle Dawson, Ralph Macarthy, George Renner Armstrong, Adam Robertson and Emanuel Morgan Kelsey, Parchment Certificates. Captain Burton had previously been awarded

20566-422: The defence of the Suda Bay area alongside mainly Royal Marine AA gunners (whose own searchlight unit was acting as infantry). German air raids began on 14 May, reaching a peak of intensity on the morning of 20 May, followed by landings by German paratroops and gliders as the Battle of Crete began. On 22 May, at St Matthews Hill near Canea, Battery Serjeant-Major William Egglesfield of 304th S/L Bty called for

20748-576: The defences round Canea finally collapsed and Suda had to be abandoned. The force had to retreat across the island to Sfakia , where the Royal Navy evacuated as many as possible to Egypt. Thousands of British and Commonwealth troops were taken prisoner. While the Battle of Crete was progressing, two Troops of 306 Battery were serving with 4 AA Bde in the defence of Tobruk , which resisted months of air attack. Meanwhile, night bombing attacks on British bases in Egypt were common, and two Troops of 390 Battery were guarding Alexandria . By October 1941,

20930-450: The disbanded New Model Army , were formed between November 1660 and January 1661 and became a standing military force for England (financed by Parliament ). The Royal Scots and Irish Armies were financed by the parliaments of Scotland and Ireland . Parliamentary control was established by the Bill of Rights 1689 and Claim of Right Act 1689 , although the monarch continued to influence aspects of army administration until at least

21112-451: The end of the 19th century. After the Restoration, King Charles II pulled together four regiments of infantry and cavalry, calling them his guards, at a cost of £122,000 from his general budget. This became the foundation of the permanent English Army. By 1685, it had grown to number 7,500 soldiers in marching regiments, and 1,400 men permanently stationed in garrisons. A Monmouth Rebellion in 1685 allowed successor King James II to raise

21294-406: The end of the Blitz in May 1941, 26th (LEE) S/L Rgt was still with 38th AA Bde in 1 AA Division with 321 and 339 Btys, while 301 and 303 Btys were detached to 8 AA Division in South West England . Meanwhile, 27th (LEE) S/L Rgt had left AA Command, and from now on the two regiments' histories diverged. 26th Searchlight Regiment retained its role of defending London as part of AA Command throughout

21476-438: The end of the war there were 622 searchlights in use for Home Defence. This large anti-aircraft effort was quickly scaled down after the Armistice , but the Searchlight Experimental Establishment continued as civilian body, with several officers of the London Electrical Engineers still attached. In 1922 the London Electrical Engineers was split into the 10th and 11th Anti-Aircraft Battalions RE. These were renumbered in 1923 as

21658-400: The engine. By the time they reached Blyth, however, the crew had been rescued. The next morning the lifeboat returned to the Tyne through still mountainous seas and Coxswain Smith was badly injured by a sea which came on board. For their efforts, the following awards were made by the Tynemouth Medal Trust : To Captain Burton, the second Gold Medal ; to Coxswain Smith, Frederick Luter of

21840-428: The entire military telephone system for the Southern Coast Defences, including Portsmouth, Southampton and the Isle of Wight . The skills of the former submarine miners were employed when a cable linking the sea forts had to be repaired. The remainder of the TEE sent to Portsmouth on the outbreak of war supplemented the Hampshire (Fortress) Engineers (TF), manning a number of coastal light stations on both shores of

22022-419: The existing AA defences came under the control of a new Anti-Aircraft Command . In June a partial mobilisation of TA units was begun in a process known as 'couverture', whereby each AA unit did a month's tour of duty in rotation to man selected AA and searchlight positions. On 24 August, ahead of the declaration of war, AA Command was fully mobilised at its war stations. By October, 306 AA Co had been moved to

22204-410: The fact that 10,000 officers and 18,000 n.c.o.s passed through the schools. Apart from other awards, for these services he received the O.B.E., the Coronation Medal as a personal gift from the King and the E.G.M. for gallantry, later exchanged by the King for the George Cross. Burton was awarded the Empire Gallantry Medal in 1924, which was converted into the George Cross in 1940. He was also awarded

22386-461: The first formed at Haslar, proceeding to London to complete mobilisation on 11 March. In the early stages, the coordination of AA guns and searchlights was poor, but improvements were made, a barrage of lights was established down the East Coast, and searchlight units soon became adept at picking up Zeppelins. A detachment of No 9 Mobile Company was in action at Darenth when the first Zeppelin destroyed over England ( L15 , Kapitanleutnant Breithaupt)

22568-447: The first use of such equipment by the Royal Engineers on campaign. The detachment served from April to October 1900 in the Transvaal and Orange Free State . Crompton was promoted to lieutenant-colonel , Mentioned in Dispatches and made a Companion of the Bath for his efforts and was later given the honorary rank of colonel . Under the Haldane Reforms , the Electrical Engineers RE were converted into Fortress Companies RE in

22750-432: The fixed minefield. At first the light was manned by Regulars of the Coast Battalion, RE, but by 1897 these duties were taken on by the Submarine Miners. In 1902 the number of searchlights on the Tyne was increased to four, to cooperate with coast artillery as well as to light the minefield. Meanwhile, a specialist volunteer unit (the London Electrical Engineers (LEE)) had been formed to develop searchlight defences, and when

22932-433: The fixed minefields being installed to defend British ports. He decided to utilise the Volunteer Engineers for this task, and the first experiments were carried out in February 1884 on the Tyne with Palmer's 1st Newcastle & Durham EV. By 1886 one of the companies was designated as submarine miners. The system was successfully rolled out to defend other ports around the country. Later units of Submarine Miners were drawn from

23114-436: The following year. When the Territorial Force (TF) was established in 1908, the Electrical Engineers were to have been redesignated Fortress Engineers, but this was rescinded in the case of London and the Tyne, and the LEE and TEE remained in the order of battle, though the TEE transferred one Electric Light Company to the Durham Fortress Engineers . By January 1914 the TEE had four companies based at North Shields . The unit

23296-410: The forces to 20,000 men. There were 37,000 in 1678, when England played a role in the closing stage of the cross-channel Franco-Dutch War . After Protestant dual Monarchs William III , formerly William of the Dutch House of Orange , and his wife Mary II's joint accession to the throne after a short constitutional crisis with Parliament sending Mary's father, predecessor King James II, (who remained

23478-436: The former London District Signals, which had become Air Defence Signals.) Crompton remained Honorary Colonel of the 27th. During the 1930s the air defence strength of the Territorial Army was greatly expanded. In December 1935 1st Anti-Aircraft Division was formed to cover London, with 26th and 27th Battalions assigned to 26th (London) Anti-Aircraft Group (later Brigade), which shared the Duke of York's Headquarters. With

23660-432: The further expansion of the TA after 1938, each battalion was brought up to a four-company establishment with newly raised companies, 26th Bn gaining 321 AA Company and 27th Bn receiving 390 AA Company. On 15 December 1938, 26th Battalion transferred its 302 AA Company to 34th (Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment) Anti-Aircraft Battalion at Greenwich, receiving 339 AA Company in exchange. In September 1938, 26th AA Bde

23842-473: 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. The commanding officer of The Electrical Engineers was Rookes Crompton (1845–1940), the electrical pioneer and founder of Crompton & Co, one of the first large-scale manufacturers of electrical equipment. In earlier life he had been an infantry officer in

24024-438: The guns to provide early warning. In August 1918, a new establishment was implemented. The London and Tyne Electrical Engineers became the parent units for all coast defence and anti-aircraft Electric Light units and the depots that trained men for them. It was from these that nearly all RE AA companies and AASL companies were formed, serving on Home Defence, with the British Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders, and on

24206-402: The later Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 with the accession of King Charles II . For many decades the alleged excesses of the New Model Army under the Protectorate / Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell were used as propaganda (and still feature in Irish folklore) and the Whig Party element recoiled from allowing a standing army to continue with the agreed-upon rights and privileges under

24388-403: The lights themselves were bombed and machine-gunned. On 25 March, in the face of German advances and the absence of transport, No 10 AASS had to disable its equipment and withdraw. The second phase of the German offensive (the Battle of the Lys ) hit First Army and Second Army , and here Nos 11 and 44 (Tyne) AASS and No 14 (London) AASS were forced to retreat under enemy artillery fire. After

24570-441: The local men, led by Coxswain Smith, shared his faith in the powered boat. The second world war brought new responsibilities ; the Tyne defence and the work in Training Schools. Here, his specialised knowledge of engineering, signalling, telephony, bombing and anti-gas instruction made heavy demands on him. As Commandant, with six instructors, the strength went up to well over a thousand. The measure of his work may be judged by

24752-423: The long Siege of Malta , began arriving at Alexandria from Malta on 1 January 1944, and on 17 January was attached to 27th (LEE) S/L Rgt. It had brought its own equipment, but took over 90 cm S/L positions from 304 Bty and became operational along the Suez Canal on 24 February with Battery HQ at Ismailia under 78 AA Bde while 304 Bty was deployed to Tobruk. But there was little to do apart from training with

24934-442: The longest in British Army history. According to an internal document released in 2007, the British Army had failed to defeat the IRA but made it impossible for them to win by violence. Operation Helvetic replaced Operation Banner in 2007, maintaining fewer service personnel in a more-benign environment. Of the 300,000 troops who served in Northern Ireland since 1969, there were 763 British military personnel killed and 306 killed by

25116-419: The members of 305 Bty who were captured was Serjeant C.D. McLaren, Royal Corps of Signals , who escaped from a German Prisoner of War camp in Italy in September 1943 and succeeded in reaching the Allied lines, for which he was awarded a Mention in Dispatches . At the time of the Battle of Alamein two Troops of the regiment were serving with 12 AA Bde under HQ Eighth Army for Army Area protection. During

25298-410: The middle of the 19th century, Britain and France were allies in preventing Russia's appropriation of the Ottoman Empire , although the fear of French invasion led shortly afterwards to the creation of the Volunteer Force. By the first decade of the 20th century, the United Kingdom was allied with France (by the Entente Cordiale ) and Russia (which had a secret agreement with France for mutual support in

25480-444: The new Territorial Force . They were responsible, among other duties, for electrical installations in the defended ports. The large London Division was planned to split into six RE companies as follows: However, the plan was changed over the next two years. Instead, the London Electrical Engineers retained its title and role, 1st London Divisional Telegraph Company, RE, (as well as the 1st and 2nd London Divisional Field Companies)

25662-440: The new English army to 74,000, and then a few years later to 94,000 in 1694. Parliament was very nervous and reduced the cadre to 70,000 in 1697. Scotland and Ireland had theoretically separate military establishments, but they were unofficially merged with the English Crown force. By the time of the 1707 Acts of Union , many regiments of the English and Scottish armies were combined under one operational command and stationed in

25844-463: The new Royal Marine Submarine Miners, who laid and maintained minefields at anchorages all down the east and Channel coasts of the UK during World War I. Also spun out of the TEE was the Northern Command School of Bombing, Signalling and Telephony, and Field Engineering, commanded by Major Burton ( see above ) until the end of the war. The first German night air raids on the UK occurred on 19/20 January 1915. The first Anti-Aircraft (AA) searchlight in

26026-589: The new Searchlight Control (SLC) radar. In May, 304 Bty returned to Ismailia and 484 Bty went a short way to Quassassin where it came under 21 AA Bde. By June, the AA defences of the Middle East had been reduced to a 'shell' to protect Alexandria and the Suez Canal. In July the regiment was disposed as follows: The following month 484 Bty began to disband (officially it entered 'suspended animation' on 10 September) and most of its personnel were sent to No 2 Depot Regiment, RA, for drafting elsewhere. 390 Battery disbanded on 27 September 1944. 27th (LEE) S/L Regiment and

26208-448: The number 308 was kept vacant in case of expansion of the TEE). No 307 AASL Company and No 2 (later No 1) Electric Light Company remained part of the TEE as a single corps, but each was responsible to a different command structure. Because of the inconvenient location of Clifford's Fort, the unit also used a small drill hall at Rockcliffe Avenue, Whitley Bay , formerly the HQ of G Company of the disbanded Northern Cyclist Battalion , which

26390-448: The number of AA searchlight companies was considerably reduced, instead RE sections were attached to the AA gun batteries, while 12 new AA companies of the RE were formed. The TEE units in the new organisation were as follows: London Air Defence Area Northern Air Defences During 1918 enemy air raids were concentrated on London and Norfolk, and the Northern Air Defences were hardly involved. On 19 May, No 9 Mobile Battery, operating under

26572-458: The oceans and trade routes, and heavily garrisoned by the British Army both for defence of the bases and to provide mobile military forces to work with the Navy in amphibious operations throughout their regions. The British Army was heavily involved in the Napoleonic Wars , participating in a number of campaigns in Europe (including continuous deployment in the Peninsular War ), the Caribbean , North Africa and North America . The war between

26754-414: The only air attack on Portsmouth during World War I occurred when Kapitänleutnant Mathy, this time commanding L31 , hovered over the harbour in the searchlight beams, without actually dropping any bombs. By October 1916, the Zeppelin threat had all but ended and the Germans attentions turned to use of bomber aircraft. Late in 1916 the AA defences of Britain were expanded to include the industrial towns of

26936-421: The opening night phase of the battle (Operation Lightfoot), five searchlights were used to assist the assaulting troops to keep direction. As Eighth Army pursued the Axis forces across North Africa, AA units followed to defend its lines of communication. By January 1943, the regiment was deployed as follows: By the end of the campaign in North Africa in May 1943, the regiment was deployed as follows: After

27118-489: The other officers appointed to the LEE were Members or Associate Members of the Institution of Civil Engineers . Another was the pioneer aeronautical engineer Edward Teshmaker Busk , who was a lieutenant in the corps. Crompton retired in 1910, but was appointed Honorary Colonel of the corps in 1911. By the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, the London Electrical Engineers had grown to six companies based at Regency Street. Searchlight units were immediately deployed to

27300-436: The parallel Seven Years' War and suppressed a Native / Indian North Americans uprising in Pontiac's War around the Great Lakes . The British Army was defeated in the American Revolutionary War , losing the Thirteen Colonies but retaining The Canadas and The Maritimes as in British North America , including Bermuda (originally part of the Colony of Virginia , and which had been originally strongly sympathetic to

27482-481: The pre-existing part-time, local-service home-defence forces that were auxiliary to the British Army (or Regular Force ), but not originally part of it: the Yeomanry , Militia (or Constitutional Force ) and Volunteer Force . These were consequently also referred to as Auxiliary Forces or Local Forces . The late-19th-century Cardwell and Childers Reforms gave the army its modern shape and redefined its regimental system . The 1907 Haldane Reforms created

27664-410: The rank of English, Irish and Scots regiments serving in the Netherlands; the regiment which became known as the Scots Greys were designated the 4th Dragoons because there were three English regiments raised prior to 1688 when the Scots Greys were first placed in the English establishment. In 1713, when a new board of general officers was convened to decide the rank of several regiments, the seniority of

27846-419: The redesigns. This organisation became The Searchlight Experimental Establishment commanded by Captain P. Yorke, RE. (The TEE similarly took responsibility for the School of Electric Lighting at Gosport .) Technology and tactics developed to keep pace as the Germans replaced vulnerable airships with heavy bombers. New 90 cm and 120 cm electric searchlights and their sound locators were linked directly to

28028-464: The remaining batteries followed it into suspended animation on 15 June 1945. When the TA was reconstituted on 1 January 1947, 26th Searchlight Regiment and its three remaining batteries (303, 321, 339) was placed in suspended animation at Benbow Barracks, Blandford Camp . The war-raised personnel then reformed the regiment in the Regular Army , redesignated from 1 April as 118th Searchlight Rgt with 357, 358, 359 S/L btys (now unmixed). However, this

28210-613: The rest of the war. German night bombers were withdrawn from the Italian Front in April 1918, but No 34 AASS acted as directors for Allied night insertion operations by air, and in front-line illumination for heavy artillery. During May 1918 the RAF's Independent Air Force was established at airfields in Lorraine for strategic bombing of Germany. The airfields in turn were frequently bombed, and AA guns and AAS sections, including No 27 (Tyne), were sent to help defend them, joined in August by No 10 (Tyne) AASS. When GHQ in France requested an increase in AA searchlight provision in August 1917,

28392-491: The return of a king. The militia acts of 1661 and 1662 prevented local authorities from calling up militia and oppressing their own local opponents. Calling up the militia was possible only if the king and local elites agreed to do so. King Charles II and his " Cavalier " / Royalist supporters favoured a new army under royal control, and immediately after the Restoration of 1660 to 1661 began working on its establishment. The first English Army regiments, including elements of

28574-414: The right arm by NCOs and trained sappers. The working dress comprised a blue reefer jacket, blue woolen Guernsey sweater, Navy pattern trousers and leather knee-boots, and a Navy pattern cap with a ribbon bearing the words 'Submarine Miners'. Some fishermen recruited at Cullercoats for their skills as boatmen only wore the latter uniform. In 1895 a searchlight was installed at Clifford's Fort to illuminate

28756-435: The searchlights were established close to the front, to illuminate bombers as they crossed the lines. These light sections regularly became bombing targets themselves. During the winter of 1917–18 some sections were moved south from the Ypres Salient to the Somme area around Bapaume and Péronne , though enemy night activity in this sector was low. One morning a German aircraft bombed horse lines near to No 17 (Tyne) AASS, and

28938-421: The shore was proving very difficult and several men were injured in the attempts. Later one rescuer died, so a message was sent to Tynemouth to ask for the motor lifeboat to come and try a rescue in seas where the local pulling lifeboats could not live. The lifeboat set out from the Tyne in atrocious weather under the command of Robert “Scraper” Smith, with Captain Burton on board as mechanical superintendent to tend

29120-419: The shortage of manpower meant that the new sections consisted of approximately 30 per cent TEE and LEE personnel and 60 per cent Medical Category B personnel transferred from the infantry and trained in the existing sections. Canadian and US sappers were also attached to the sections for training during 1918. As the war progressed, most of the 'A1' category men in home forces were withdrawn for overseas duty, and

29302-503: The submarine mine defences were scrapped in 1907 the Tyne Submarine Miners were redesignated Tyne Electrical Engineers (TEE), one of six new Volunteer RE divisions of that specialism converted from submarine miners. In 1906 the unit developed a mobile searchlight and generator mounted on a petrol lorry chassis. This equipment was tested for coast defence operations at Portsmouth , and in conjunction with an RE balloon section on Salisbury Plain . Mobile searchlights became standard equipment

29484-399: The target of night bomber attacks. When No 19 Section arrived in France in March 1917 it was stationed at a large ammunition dump at Zeneghem, but was given the additional task of setting up a dummy target. This consisted of rows of electric lights on poles laid out to resemble the real dump; when bombers approached these lights were the last to be blacked out, in imitation of the dump receiving

29666-444: The unit in 1888 with the rank of Colonel. The same year, the 1st Newcastle & Durham was split into three separate units: the 1st Newcastle RE (Volunteers) , the 1st Durham RE (V) , and the Tyne Division RE (V), Submarine Miners , with Palmer as Honorary Commandant of both the latter units. The Tyne Submarine Miners consisted of three companies and a number of working boats, and was based at Clifford's Fort , North Shields. Both

29848-550: The war. It was rejoined by 301 and 303 Btys later in 1941. On 17 February 1942, A Troop of 303 Bty was disbanded and replaced by C Trp of 301 Bty. A secret trial (the 'Newark Experiment' in April 1941) having shown that women were capable of operating heavy searchlight equipment and coping with conditions on the often desolate searchlight sites, members of the Auxiliary Territorial Service began training to replace male personnel in searchlight regiments. At first they were employed in searchlight Troop headquarters, but on 7 July 1942

30030-407: The whole front the searchlight sections were frequently shifted forwards through traffic-clogged roads, across damaged bridges, often under shell-fire. After the Armistice , the lights were found useful for illuminating round-the-clock work by sappers to repair bridges and railways. Several sections moved into Germany with the British Army of the Rhine , and some were used in policing river traffic on

30212-400: The whole regiment (including the reconstituted 304 Bty) was back in Egypt under the command of 2 AA Bde: giving a total of 74 projectors – the only S/Ls then in Egypt. The British Eighth Army advanced again in Operation Crusader , and AA units followed behind. Detachments of 305 Bty were serving with 4 AA Bde in Tobruk on 21 June 1942 when the port was captured by Axis forces . Among

30394-611: The withdrawal of civilians, all British troops had left by the end of August 2021. In 2003, the United Kingdom was a major contributor to the invasion of Iraq , sending a force of over 46,000 military personnel. The British Army controlled southern Iraq, and maintained a peace-keeping presence in Basra . All British troops were withdrawn from Iraq by 30 April 2009, after the Iraqi government refused to extend their mandate. One hundred and seventy-nine British military personnel died in Iraqi operations. The British Armed Forces returned to Iraq in 2014 as part of Operation Shader to counter

30576-423: The world's great powers , including the Seven Years' War , the American Revolutionary War , the Napoleonic Wars , the Crimean War and the First and Second World Wars . Britain's victories in most of these decisive wars allowed it to influence world events and establish itself as one of the world's leading military and economic powers. Since the end of the Cold War , the British Army has been deployed to

30758-461: Was commissioned as Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant. By 1874 the Newcastle (1 Company) and Durham (8 Companies) units were united into the 1st Durham Administrative Battalion EV, consolidated in 1880 as the 1st Newcastle upon Tyne and Durham EV , with Palmer as commanding officer and an establishment of 1300 men. Lieutenant-General Sir Andrew Clarke , Inspector-General of Fortifications 1882–6, did not have enough Regular Royal Engineers (RE) to man

30940-420: Was declared in 1951. Although the British Army was a major participant in Korea in the early 1950s and Suez in 1956, during this period Britain's role in world events was reduced and the army was downsized. The British Army of the Rhine , consisting of I (BR) Corps , remained in Germany as a bulwark against Soviet invasion. The Cold War continued, with significant technological advances in warfare, and

31122-425: Was found by the East London (Tower Hamlets) RE (V) , while the 2nd London Divisional Telegraph Company (as well as 3rd and 4th London Field Companies) was found by the 1st Middlesex RE (V). The London Division was therefore finally reorganised as follows: The three telegraph companies formed London District Signals , while the London Electrical Engineers (LEE) specialised on searchlights. Crompton and most of

31304-468: Was known locally as 'The Electricals' or 'The Tynes'. In the period of tension in late July 1914 before the outbreak of World War I , two 'special service detachments' of the TEE were mobilised, one taking its place in the Tyne Garrison, the other travelling to man defence lights at Portsmouth. When war was formally declared on 4 August, the remainder of the unit mobilised, No 1 Company in the Tyne defences, Nos 2–4 at Portsmouth, based at Haslar Barracks on

31486-417: Was later responsible for the development of air-lift and belt water pumps to supply drinking water. During the German spring offensive of 1918, 351 and 354 E &M Companies were entrusted with destroying electrical installations and water supplies ahead of the advancing enemy. These then had to be replaced during the Hundred Days advance. Prior to the outbreak of war, searchlights were still being used in

31668-491: Was not reformed at this time and was subsumed into the TEE until 1947. In the coal strike of April 1921 a Defence Force was raised from the Territorials, with personnel from the TEE forming an HQ and two Electrical and Mechanical (E&M) Companies, whose role would have been to run electricity generation and water supply plant if required. Apart from erecting some barbed-wire defences, the companies were never actually employed, and were demobilised after three months. Postwar,

31850-418: Was re-established and renamed the Territorial Army after the war. Recruitment to the postwar TEE commenced on 16 February 1920, but it was not until November that year that the title and establishment of the revived unit was fixed as: Tyne Electrical (Fortress) Royal Engineers Responsibility for fortress telephones came under the new Royal Corps of Signals . The former Durham Fortress Engineers at Jarrow

32032-483: Was reconstituted in the TA on 1 January 1947 as 562 Searchlight Regiment RA (27th London Electrical Engineers) . Two years later it incorporated members of the Women's Royal Army Corps and was redesignated as a Mixed Light Anti-Aircraft/Searchlight regiment. It was subordinated to 64 AA Bde . When Anti-Aircraft Command was disbanded on 10 March 1955, 562 Regiment was merged into 624 LAA Regiment (Royal Fusiliers), becoming R Battery (London Electrical Engineers) in

32214-555: Was replaced in the regiment by 529 Bty (the last all-male battery formed), and the regiment transferred to 49th AA Bde in 1 AA Group (which had replaced 1 AA Division). With the lower threat of attack by the weakened Luftwaffe , AA Command was being forced to release manpower for the planned invasion of Normandy ( Operation Overlord ). All Home Defence searchlight regiments were reduced in February 1944, and 26th (LEE) S/L Rgt lost 529 Bty, which commenced disbandment on 2 April. By November that year all men of A1 medical category under

32396-451: Was rescinded a month later. Meanwhile, 26th (LEE) S/L Regt was reformed on 1 January 1947 as Regimental Headquarters of 121 Construction Regiment RE (County of London) , a TA unit formed from the London Corps Troops Engineers and 47th (London) Infantry Division Engineers, based at the Duke of York's Headquarters. This combined unit later became part of the present-day 101 (City of London) Engineer Regiment . The 27th (LEE) S/L Rgt

32578-441: Was shot down by Sapper G. Bage using a Lewis gun . Sapper Bage was awarded the Military Medal . When the German spring offensive opened on 21 March 1918, Nos 8, 10 and 15 (Tyne) AASS were with Third Army around Bapaume, and No 17 with Fifth Army at Péronne. These sections had to be withdrawn hastily ahead of the advancing Germans. No 10 AASS retired to Méaulte , where Third Army HQ was subject to continuous night bombing and

32760-769: Was shot down into the Thames Estuary by AA guns on 31 March, and members of the detachment were awarded gold medals by the Lord Mayor of London . In April the Royal Flying Corps began to form home defence squadrons, and each had a searchlight section attached. The 'aeroplane lights' were trained to work in close cooperation with the aircraft and were distinct from the 'gun lights'. The TEE formed No 33 (Tyne) AA Company to cooperate with home defence aircraft in Northern England, including No 36 Squadron RFC at Cramlington near Newcastle, while No 22 (Tyne) Aeroplane Squadron Searchlight Section from Haslar operated at Sutton's Farm in Essex with No 39 Squadron RFC and at Beverley in East Yorkshire with No 52 Squadron RFC . On 2 September

32942-467: Was split in two, the two London Electrical Engineer battalions remaining with 38th Light Anti-Aircraft Brigade at the Duke of York's Headquarters. The TA's AA units were mobilised on 23 September 1938 during the Munich Crisis , with units manning their emergency positions within 24 hours, even though many did not yet have their full complement of men or equipment. The emergency lasted three weeks, and they were stood down on 13 October. In February 1939

33124-422: 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

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