London Electrical Engineers
| London Electrical Engineers, RE | |
|---|---|
| Active | 27 April 1897 – 1 May 1961 |
| Country |
 United Kingdom
|
| Branch |
 Territorial Army
|
| Type | Searchlight Regiment |
| Role | Air Defence |
| Size | Six companies (1914) Multiple companies (WWI) Two regiments (1922–45) One regiment (1947–55) One company (1955–61) |
| Garrison/HQ |
Victoria, London Later, Duke of York's Headquarters and Streatham |
| Engagements |
Second Boer War World War I The Blitz Crete Tobruk Western Desert |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Col R.E.B. Crompton |
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.
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.
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 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, 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.
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