Roger So Far ... E-Book

Royal Corps of Signals

• Herausgeber: The History Press
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 649

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

Communications have always been, and are still a vital part of the Army's fighting power. Only with clear and trusted communications can commanders support, control, and lead their units and soldiers. The evolution of electrical communications in the last 150 years has been one of the most important developments humanity has ever witnessed. As the advantages that from ever more complex equipment became apparent the need for a technical arm of the Army, who specialised in communication systems, became apparent. The Royal Corps of Signals was founded in 1920 and since its founding the Corps has been leading the development of communications; delivering them in a variety of operational theatres.

Leseprobe

Roger

So Far …

We left Pompey town, in the teeth of a gale

The rain it weren’t ‘alf belting down

The sea was so rough, Most blokes spewing up

You can’t walk on the deck, you just slide

Pioneers platoon sergeant, is a giant of a man

He’s six foot five tall, and nearly as wide

That’s him ower there, spewing ower the side

He lets out a moan, then a long drawn out groan

He’s said I’ve had enough, I want to go home

Early next morning, without any warning

The whole world seemed to explode

Every gun, on every ship,

We’re blowing shit out,

Of that golden strand,

where we were to land

There’re so many shells in the sky, that some angels nearby,

Took fright and made a hasty retreat

With about five miles to go, the captain shouts whoa

And we come to a gentle stop

We put on our gear, take a step to the rear

Then down the gangway we sway

One little hop, and we’re aboard our L.C.A.

We sail once round the ship, and form up line abreast

There dead in front is a place called Lebreche

That’s near where were heading for

Now we are off, but someone’s woken the krauts

And they’re hitting back, with all that they’ve got

No shells are they wasting, we’re taking a pasting

And we’ve still got a half mile to go

As we start our run in, things look a bit grim

But if I get through I’ll tell you, what happened on that epic day

– John Edward ‘Ted’ Varley, born 4 November 1923.

On D-Day, Signalman Varley served with 3rd Divisional Signals

and was attached to 2nd Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment

as a rear link wireless operator.

Roger

So Far …

The first 100 years of the

Royal Corps of Signals

Text written or compiled and edited

by

Nick Kendall-Carpenter

Maps and illustrations drawn and photographs taken or compiled

by

Adam Forty

ROYAL SIGNALS MUSEUM

BLANDFORD CAMP

BLANDFORD FORUM

DORSET DT11 8RH

www.royalsignalsmuseum.co.uk

First published 2020

The History Press

97 St George’s Place, Cheltenham,

Gloucestershire, GL50 3QB

www.thehistorypress.co.uk

© Royal Signals Trustee Limited, 2020

The right of the Nick Kendall-Carpenter to be identified as the general editor of this work has

been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form

or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including

photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without the

permission in writing from the Royal Signals Museum.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

e-ISBN 978-0-7509-9541-2

Typesetting and origination by The History Press

This book was commissioned by the Royal Signals Trustee Ltd and compiled by staff from the

Royal Signals Museum. The content was extracted or confirmed from material in the Royal

Signals Archive, from contributions from serving and retired members and friends of the Royal

Corps of Signals and from the books, magazines and websites listed in the bibliography. It is

a celebration of the achievements of the Corps and of the technology it has employed, rather

than a detailed historical record and technical manual. It relies heavily on the memories of

individuals and although attempts have been made to verify the stories and explanations, it is

entirely possible that some errors have crept through. Many more contributions were received

than could fit into the book and material not included is still valued and will be held in the Royal

Signals Archive. The selection process was a difficult one and some excellent material had to be

omitted. The opinions and views expressed are those of the editor and contributors alone and

do not necessarily represent those of HM Government, the MOD or the British Army. Should

any profits be made from the sale of this book they will be donated to Royal Signals charities.

The general editor takes full responsibility for all errors and omissions. He requests that if

anyone finds any errors or gaps in the narrative, they send details of them to him at director@

royalsignalsmuseum.co.uk.

Nick Kendall-Carpenter (general editor)

Adam Forty (picture editor)

Contents

Foreword

8

1. SIGNALLING UNTIL 1914: RUNNERS TO LINE

10

The Birth of Electrical Signalling

12

The Telephone

14

Radio Telegraphy

16

The Royal Engineers Signal Service

18

2. 1914–1918 THE FIRST WORLD WAR

20

Early Days

22

Army Structures, Sizes, Nomenclature and Ranks

23

Runners, Flags, Lights, Animals and Line

24

Field Telephones

26

Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps

27

Gallipoli

28

Yeomanry Victoria Crosses

29

Wireless

30

Interception

32

Scientists and Authors

33

3. 1920–1939 THE FORMATIVE YEARS OF THE CORPS: FROM LINE TO RADIO

34

Formation of the Royal Corps of Signals

36

Yeomanry, Territorial Army and Royal Signals Band

38

Inter-War Campaigns

40

Conflict, Humanitarian Aid and Sport

42

Wireless Between the Wars

44

Antennas

46

Royal Connections, Training and Welfare

48

Relays: Teleprinters and Athletics

50

Expeditions

51

Colonial and Commonwealth Signals Corps

52

4. 1939–1945 THE SECOND WORLD WAR

54

Home Defence

56

Special Operations Executive

57

North Africa and the Balkans

58

Far East

60

Prisoners of War

61

India and Burma

62

SIGINT and Enigma

64

Return to the European Mainland

66

Airborne and Air Formation Signals

68

Radio Security Service, Phantom and Behind the Lines

70

Radio Propagation

72

The Wider Team

74

5. 1945–1970 THE POST-WAR ERA: FROM VALVE TO TRANSISTOR

76

British Army of the Rhine

78

National Service and the McLeod Committee

80

Oscillators and Semiconductors

82

The Middle East

84

Radio Communications

86

Larkspur and Voice Procedure

88

Firearms

90

Boy Service

91

The Master and Signal Officer in Chief

92

Royal Signals Institutions

93

Queen’s Gurkha Signals

94

The Korean War

96

Pipes, Drums and White Helmets

98

SIGINT – COMINT – ELINT – NBC

100

Armoured and Soft-Skinned Vehicles

102

Armoured Brigade Headquarters

104

Reserves

106

Nationalist Conflicts and Insurgencies

108

Airborne: Training and Characters

110

Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Kenya, Aden and Gan

112

Global Communications

114

RISTACOM and Bravery

116

The Lineman

117

Keeping Ahead of the Enemy

118

Crypto

120

Families and Sport

122

6. 1970–1995 COLD AND HOT WARS: FROM ANALOGUE TO DIGITAL

124

Northern Ireland: Operation Banner

126

Electronic Warfare

128

Global Taskings

130

Preparing for War

132

Communications in the UK

134

Army Fixed Telecommunication System

136

Linemen and Humour

137

Northern Ireland: Leaps in Technology

138

Clansman Radio and Cougarnet

140

Digitisation, Data and Multiplexing

142

Corps Character

144

Satellite Communications

146

The Falklands

148

Corps Sailors

150

Island Postings

151

Early Computers

152

Ptarmigan

154

Packet Switching

156

Euromux

157

Unexpected Events

158

Trades

159

Remote Postings

160

Women’s Royal Army Corps

162

Northern Ireland, 1980s–1990s

163

Sporting Tradition

164

The End of the Cold War

166

The Gulf War: Operation Granby

168

The Gulf War: Electronic Warfare and Ground Attack

170

The Gulf War: Communications with the Home Front

172

Batteries

173

The Balkans: Initial Operations

174

The Balkans: Operation Resolute NATO Deployment

176

7. 1995–2020 INFORMATION WARFARE: IT AND CYBER

178

The Balkans: NATO Implementation Force (Bosnia)

180

The Balkans: Commercial Equipment (Bosnia)

182

The Balkans: NATO Stabilisation Force (Bosnia)

184

The Balkans: NATO Kosovo Force

186

The Balkans: Connecting the Forces

188

The Internet Arrives

190

CIS: Communications and Information Systems

191

Sierra Leone

192

Sport

194

Afghanistan: Operations Veritas, Fingal and Jacana

196

Iraq: Operation Telic Deployment

198

Iraq: Transition from Warfare

200

Iraq: Innovation

202

Iraq: Countering Insurgents and Improvised Explosive Devices

204

From Clansman to Bowman

206

Iraq: Withdrawal

208

Afghanistan: Provincial Reconstruction Teams

210

Afghanistan: Deployment of the ARRC

212

Afghanistan: The First Tour in Helmand

214

Afghanistan: Transition to Counter-Insurgency

216

Afghanistan: Building the Command and Control Infrastructure

218

Afghanistan: Adapting to the Situation

220

Advances in Terrestrial Radio and Satellite Communications

222

Afghanistan: Operation Herrick 10, OMLTs and RLDs

224

Afghanistan: Improvised Explosive Devices

226

Afghanistan: Electronic Warfare

228

Afghanistan: Campaign Signal Regiments and JFCIS(A)

230

Afghanistan: Air Support

232

Afghanistan: Power Supply

233

Afghanistan: Information Systems

234

Information Systems and Services

235

Afghanistan: Innovation and Improvisation

236

Afghanistan: Kabul

237

Afghanistan: Local Engagement and Heroism

238

Afghanistan: Meeting the Increasing Demand

240

Afghanistan: Humour, Friendships and Helping the Local Community

242

Afghanistan: Withdrawal

244

NATO, Libya, Normandy and the Olympics

246

Deterring a Resurgent Russia

248

Deployed Headquarters

249

Overseas Communications

250

Sporting Achievements

252

Adventure Training and Sport

254

Ceremonial Duties

256

Reserve Forces

257

Career Progression

258

Falcon: Wide Area Communications System

259

New Technologies

260

Cyber Warfare

262

AI, Clouds and Quantum

264

5G

266

Projects Trinity and Morpheus

267

1st (UK) Signal Brigade

268

11th Signal and West Midlands Brigade

270

The Operations Continue ...

272

The Corps as a Family

274

Transforming the Corps’ Culture for its Second Century

275

Acknowledgements

276

Bibliography

278

Abbreviations

280

Glossary and Tables

282

Royal Signals Fatalities in War and on Operations

285

Index

286

Foreword

As part of our Centenary celebrations, this book takes the reader through the history of the  

Royal Corps of Signals, starting with our industrial age forebears, to the birth of the Corps  

on 28 June 1920 and to the modern Corps fit for the challenges of the digital age. The ability  

for military commanders to send and receive information at speed, whilst preventing the  

enemy from doing the same, has always been the key to success on operations and for 100  

years this has been the role of the Royal Corps of Signals, illustrated by our motto, Certa Cito  

– Swift and Sure. ‘Roger So Far’ is known throughout the Armed Forces as a radio message  

used to confirm whether the information being transmitted thus far has been received and  

understood – and in colloquial use it can of course be used to infer that all has gone well so  

far. ‘Roger So Far’ therefore aptly characterises this excellent read.

From trench cables to the dark web, from mobile pigeon lofts to satellites, our history  

has always been characterised by leaps in technology and the overriding need to maintain  

the ‘vital link’, but I have repeatedly found that it is our Signallers who give us our crucial  

advantage, applying old and cutting edge technology, driven by a constant desire to innovate  

and get the battle winning messages through, irrespective of the demanding environment in  

which they often have to operate.

My sincere thanks go to the authors of this book which rightly shines a light on our people  

and our important technologies, and where the 2 come together in stories of courage and  

innovation. I should point out that there are thousands of classified, secret stories which the  

authors have not been able to publish within these pages, stories which live on in the hearts  

and minds of those that have served and those who are still serving.

Many of the more recent stories resonate with my 35 years in the Corps as I am sure  

they will with our serving and retired community. I also hope that the content of this book  

inspires young people to think about service in the Armed Forces, and specifically the Royal  

Corps of Signals, as well as providing an informative read on the underpinning theory and  

science, some of which I remember from my Troop Commanders Course at Blandford!  

However, I was struck by how much of the detail within this book I did not know, which gives  

an indication of the scale of activity within the Corps, and with scale comes complexity.

The complex nature of armed conflict, and military activity below the threshold of conflict,  

is on the increase, magnified by the exponential increase in information and the increasing  

importance (and vulnerability) of the virtual, connected world. It is right that the final element  

of this book is dedicated to a glimpse of the future. Although it is difficult to predict how and  

when future technology will materialise, I have no doubt that the men and women of the Royal  

Corps of Signals will be at the heart of it, with a culture of continuous adaptation, which will be  

as vital in the defeat of our future adversaries in the information battle, as it has been for the  

last 100 years.

Lieutenant General Sir Nick Pope KCB, CBE

Master of Signals

8

1. SIGNALLING UNTIL 1914:

RUNNERS TO LINE

The origins of the Royal Corps of Signals lie in the 19th century. This was a period  

of considerable growth, conflict and scientific advancement for Britain. By 1837,  

when Queen Victoria ascended to the throne, Britain controlled some 2 million  

square miles of overseas territories. By the end of her reign, in 1901, the Empire was  

10 times bigger and was the largest the world had ever known. Most other

European powers were also seeking to advance their commercial and

territorial interests and this led to periodic tension and

conflict. As the burden of keeping ahead of rivals and

maintaining control of the Empire became more

complicated, the need for faster and more reliable

signalling grew.

PHEIDIPPIDES

The first long-distance

SIGNALLING

signalling was undertaken

Signalling is a term little used in the 21st century, but put simply

by a messenger running on

it is the passing of information or commands between units

foot carrying a verbal or written

or individuals. In one form or another it has been a part of

message. Of these, Pheidippides is

warfare since earliest times. In an army it is critical

the most famous. Legend tells us that

that intelligence about the enemy and other

in 490 BC he ran 150 miles in 2 days

factors that might affect the outcome of an

to request help from Sparta when

engagement is sent promptly to the decision

the Persians invaded. He then

makers; that commands and orders reach

carried the news of victory

those responsible for implementing them

at the battle of Marathon

without delay; and that instructions to

the 26 miles to Athens

move men, munitions, equipment

and died on arrival. The

and supplies around the battlefield

Greeks also used torch

can be sent efficiently

and water telegraphs,

and effectively.

the Roman army used

coloured smoke and the

Greeks, Persians and

Native Americans used

reflected sunlight to flash

messages.

BEACONS

Signallers in

SHUTTER TELEGRAPH

16th-century England

During the Napoleonic Wars, in the

used beacons to send

early 19th century, chains of shutter

long-distance messages

telegraph stations (right) were built

when visibility

in England. The men in these stations

allowed. Famously,

became expert in receiving and passing

the approach of the

on messages through the system of

Spanish Armada was

shutters they operated. When there

communicated from

was good visibility, an average message

Plymouth to London

passed from London to Portsmouth in

in this way. Military

15 minutes using this system, while

communications,

a prearranged signal could be sent

however, were slow

between London and Plymouth and

and unreliable until the

acknowledged back in 3 minutes.

second half of the 19th

century.

10

SLOW COMMUNICATIONS

To pass a message from

London to Kabul during the

First Afghan War of 1839

would have required either

a sea passage around the

Cape of Good Hope or a

sea passage to Egypt, a land

crossing to the Red Sea and

then another sea passage

before the message reached

the Indian Sub-Continent.

Once in what was to become

Pakistan, the message

would have been carried on

horseback almost 900 miles

to Kabul, passing through

some of the most difficult

and dangerous territory in

the world. To get a reply at

all would be a considerable

achievement and one in

less than a year would have

seemed miraculous. It is

hardly surprising that things

could go badly wrong.

LANDMARK ADVANCES

By the end of the 19th century, telegraph, telephone and radio

had been invented, as a result of genius, persistence, altruism

and skulduggery. This made instant global communications a

reality. Galvani, Volta, Cavendish, Ohm, Ampère, Joule, Faraday,

Davy, Henry, Oersted, Tesla, Schilling, Cooke, Wheatstone,

Morse, Meucci, Gray, Bell, Maxwell, Heaviside, Hertz, Lodge,

Marconi, Bose, Flemming and De Forest are some of the eminent

scientists who bear some credit for such progress.

The Birth of Electrical Signalling

By the middle of the 18th century, people foresaw the possibility of using  

electricity to carry signals. However, they could not generate or store enough  

electric charge to signal for very long.

Alessandro Volta’s voltaic pile

BATTERIES AND ELECTROMAGNETS

All this changed with the invention of the voltaic pile in 1800 by Alessandro Volta.

This was a pile of zinc and copper discs each separated by moist pasteboard discs

that when connected to wires produced a flow of electric charge (a current). It was

the first electric cell or battery. This was followed, in 1819, by the electromagnet.

An electromagnet is a piece of iron with a coil of wire wound around it. It becomes

magnetic when an electric current flows through it and is used to deflect pointers,

ring bells or sound buzzers.

FIVE-NEEDLE TELEGRAPH

In 1837 William Cooke and Charles Wheatstone, who had

previously invented the concertina, produced the first

practical electric telegraph system: the Five-Needle Telegraph.

Electric currents travelled from a battery via combinations of

5 wires to electromagnets at the receiving end. These caused

pairs of needles to deflect and point at individual letters, and

so allowed a message to be sent and read.

MORSE CODE

In 1838 the American portrait painter,

Samuel Morse, created a code – known as

Morse Code – that allowed complex messages

to be sent quickly. During the 1860s, the

Army learnt to use Morse Code for visual

signalling. Morse Code was sent using flags

and this proved very useful during the

WHEATSTONE TELEGRAPH

Abyssinian campaign of 1867–68.

The Wheatstone telegraph soon evolved to use

Morse Code. Initially the transmitter comprised 2

telegraph keys. Pressing one sent a current in one

RECORDERS

direction around an electrical circuit and pressing

Some of the first receivers were inkers (and later

the other sent a current in the opposite

direction.

undulators), recording messages with ink marks

These currents activated electromagnets at the

on paper. These were later replaced by more

receiver and deflected a single needle to the left

reliable sounders, which used electromagnets

or right, indicating dot and dash signals

and adjustable screws to produce a series of

respectively. Although several other types

different sounds that the operators would record

of telegraph evolved, the single-needle

as dots and dashes.

telegraph continued in use well into

the 20th century, particularly for

ling. Later manual

railway signal

telegraphs usually used a single

telegraph key.

WHEATSTONE AUTOMATIC TRANSMITTER

This Wheatstone automatic transmitter

(left), designed in 1867, was weight

driven and used pre-punched paper tape. At the

receiving end the message was recorded onto another tape

with short and long dashes in ink. The system could operate

at up to 60 words a minute but its usual operating speed

was 30 a minute. With modifications the system was still in

service in the middle of the 20th century.

12

CABLE WAGON

Cable wagons were

used to lay the 21 miles

of cable connecting the

8 telegraph offices of the

Army in Crimea.

THE CRIMEAN WAR

Between 1854 and 1856 the British, together with the French and

the Turks, fought the Russians in the Crimea. This campaign saw the

first use of the electric telegraph in war. An underwater cable joined

Balaclava in Crimea with Varna in Bulgaria and from there an overland

system ran to Paris and under the English Channel to London.

CRIMEAN CABLE

In Crimea a team of 26 Royal Engineer (RE) Sappers linked a series

of telegraph offices with copper cable insulated with gutta-percha,

a plant extract similar to rubber. When the system was working,

General (Gen) Sir James Simpson, the Commander-in-Chief, received

so many administrative enquiries from London that he declared ‘the

confounded telegraph has ruined everything.’

C TELEGRAPH TROOP

In 1870 the War Office decided that a

HELIOGRAPH

designated unit was needed to provide telegraph

The Army

communications for the Field Army. As a result,

also modified a

C Telegraph Troop, RE was formed with a

German surveying

complement of 5 officers, 245 other ranks and

instrument that

115 horses, with 4 office wagons for the telegraph

consisted of 2 mirrors

equipment and 8 general purpose wagons for

at right angles. By adding

stores. The first Troop Commander was Captain

an oscillating mirror, it

(Capt) Montague Lambert.

enabled a beam of reflected

sunlight to be interrupted and

so transmit Morse Code. This

was the heliograph, which

was used in the Zulu War

SARAGARHI

of 1879 and subsequently

At the Battle of Saragarhi in 1897,

in India, Africa and during

21 Sikh sepoys (infantrymen) (right)

the First World War (WW1).

in the British Indian Army and

Its last recorded wartime use

a cook were attacked by 10,000

was in 1941 in Sollum, North

Afghan tribesmen. They were

Africa. In good conditions the

manning a small fort that linked

heliograph had a range of over

2 larger forts by heliograph. Rather

40 miles.

than surrender they fought to the

death, killing 180 of the attackers

and wounding many more.

13

The Telephone

Alexander Graham Bell is credited with inventing the telephone in 1876. Lieutenant

(Lt) AH Bagnold then produced a drawing for a military telephone in October 1877.

The Indian Army were using field telephones, designed and manufactured by

Lt GRR Savage, in regimental workshops, for operations in Peshawar by December

1877. It took some time for British officers to accept this new instrument because

early telephones were unreliable and there was no written copy of the message.

RESERVE COMPANIES

During the Second Boer War in South

Africa between 1899 and 1902, much use

was made of existing civilian telephones

and telephone exchanges, but for field

use, specially designed telephones and

exchanges had to be produced. The C

Mark 1 and the D Mark 1 were the first of

a whole family of field telephones to be

developed for the British Army.

The considerable distances over which

British forces were deployed in South

Africa meant more men were needed to

lay and maintain the lines. Consequently

350 officers and soldiers were mobilised

in 1899 from the London and Glasgow

reserve RE telegraph companies. This was

the first operational use of volunteer reserve

telegraph personnel. These telegraph

companies were the forebears of 31st and

32nd Signal Regiments.

A line-laying bicycle

TELEGRAPH IN THE SECOND BOER WAR

Telephone C Mark 1

The British Army laid 18,000 miles of telegraph and

telephone cable during the Second Boer War. A total of

13½ million messages were handled and the number of

signallers grew from 600 to 2,500 men.

14

TACTICAL COMMUNICATIONS

Major General (Maj Gen) John French, later

to be Commander-in-Chief of the British

Telephone C Mark 2

Expeditionary Force (BEF) for the first 16

months of WW1, used both telegraph and

telephone to direct his flank formations in

the Second Boer War. They were also used

on the battlefield to control artillery fire.

HOW A TELEPHONE WORKS – BASIC PRINCIPLES

A telephone is a transducer that converts sound waves into

electrical audio signals and then back to sound waves. The early

field telephones contained a carbon microphone. When a caller

spoke, the sound waves entered the mouthpiece. Behind the

mouthpiece was a thin circular disc or diaphragm and behind this a

container filled with small granules of carbon. When the telephone

line was live, a current from the telephone’s battery passed through

the carbon granules. As the sound waves struck the diaphragm, it

vibrated to reflect the variations

in air pressure caused by

the varying tones of the

voice. This caused the

carbon granules to be

compressed and

released and the

electric current

to vary.

The variations in electric

current were then picked up by the listener’s loudspeaker. This

contained a diaphragm held in position by a permanent magnet.

It also contained an electromagnet that pulled the diaphragm away

from the permanent magnet to varying degrees as current passed

through it. The vibrating diaphragm generated sound waves that

the listener could hear.

GENERATORS

EARLY TELEPHONES

A generator is a device that

Early telephones were usually

produces electrical currents

magneto telephones. These

from mechanical energy

included a small hand-cranked

using electromagnetic (EM)

generator that generated an

induction. A simple type of

electric current that could be

generator is the dynamo

used to alert the operator at

in which a wire loop is

the switchboard with a bell or

rotated between the poles

by dropping a shutter. After

of a permanent magnet

receiving verbal instructions

or magnets to generate

from the caller, the operator

electricity. Generators

would connect the caller’s line

can be used to produce

with that of the person being

direct current (DC)

called. Later central battery

and alternating

systems alerted the operator

current (AC).

when the telephone handset

was lifted from the cradle.

15

Radio Telegraphy

During the mid-19th century, James Clerk Maxwell, a Scottish mathematical physicist  

brought together, for the first time, the theories of electricity, magnetism and light in a  

single set of equations, now known as Maxwell’s equations and provided theoretical  

proof of the existence of EM waves.

The interrelation between the

electronic and magnetic fields

MAXWELL’S DISCOVERY

HERTZIAN WAVE

Maxwell (above) discovered that a change

The continual cycle of changing electrical and magnetic fields creates a

in a magnetic field gives rise to a change in

wave that repeats over time. This repeating wave function has a frequency

the electric field and conversely a change in

measured in cycles per second. In 1888 physicist Heinrich Hertz

the electric field gives rise to a change in the

conducted a number of experiments confirming Maxwell’s theory of EM

magnetic field. This produces a perpetual

waves. His work was so important that the frequency of EM waves bears

electromagnetic wave that would continue

his name – Hertz – and it is the number of cycles per second, or frequency

forever in free space. He also discovered

in Hertz (Hz) that are used to tune or programme radios.

that the wave travels in space at the speed

of light, bringing him to the conclusion that

light is an EM wave.

MARCONI

In 1896 Guglielmo Marconi (right)

demonstrated his wireless communications

system to representatives of the Army,

Navy and Post Office on Salisbury Plain.

Three years later, the Army tested Marconi

wireless sets unsuccessfully during the

Second Boer War. The Royal Navy, however,

had some success using wireless, as did

some commercial shipping companies, and

by the outbreak of WW1 the Army was

using a small number of wireless sets.

16

SPARK SETS

The earliest wireless (later

called radio) sets used spark

gap transmitters. They

generated electric sparks

across small gaps to create

bursts of radio waves.

These could represent

the dots and dashes of

Morse Code and pass

information. The waves

were transmitted via an

antenna and induced small

radio currents in a receiving

antenna. A coherer detected

the arrival of each transmission.

COHERER

A coherer was a small glass tube that contained loosely packed metal

filings. It was attached to a circuit with a battery and to the antenna.

In its usual state the coherer had a high resistance and so did not

allow much current to flow around the circuit. However, when

exposed to radio frequency currents from the antenna

the filings cohered (stuck together) and allowed the

circuit current to pass easily through. The current could

then be detected using a bell or headphones. Coherers

were in due course replaced by crystal detectors, then

valves and then transistors.

Continuous Wave

DAMPED AND CONTINUOUS WAVES

The waves generated by a spark gap transmitter were damped

Damped Wave

waves and their amplitude diminished with time. They had a large

bandwidth, generating a wide range of different wave frequencies,

and so were easy to intercept and prone to interfere with other

transmissions. For this reason, they are now banned internationally.

These damped-wave transmitters were in time replaced by

transmitters emitting continuous waves (CW). These caused less

interference and had better power-to-range ratios. Initially they were

only used to transmit Morse Code but later they were modulated

Spark Transmitter Frequencies

with an audio signal to carry sound. The audio was radio telephony.

17

The Royal Engineers Signal Service

Field Marshal Kitchener of Khartoum served as a  

lieutenant with C Telegraph Troop from April 1873  

until October 1874.

KITCHENER IN WORLD WAR 1

At the start of WW1, Kitchener

was appointed Secretary of

State for War. Unlike most

of his Cabinet colleagues, he

predicted a long war and the

need for a much larger army.

He is most famous for the

recruitment poster bearing his

likeness. Kitchener drowned with

736 others in June 1916 when

HMS Hampshire, the warship

that was taking him on a mission

to Russia, hit a mine off the

Orkneys and sank.

THE TELEGRAPH BATTALION ROYAL ENGINEERS

The Telegraph Battalion RE was formed in 1884 from C Telegraph Troop

and 2 RE companies that had been formed in 1870 and 1871 to help

construct and operate the public telegraph services of the General Post

Office (GPO). The close relationship with the GPO and British Telecom

(BT) was to continue for the next 150 years.

C Telegraph Troop became 2nd Division, the Telegraph Battalion. Major

(Maj) Charles Beresford was the initial commander of the 2nd Division

and the figure of Mercury (the messenger of the gods) was adopted as their

emblem. It is thought that the inspiration for Mercury as an emblem came

from a statue in Beresford’s father’s garden.

Mercury was subsequently adopted as the

An early photograph of Charles Beresford (then a captain), centre.

cap badge of the Royal Corps of Signals and

Behind him on the tent canopy can be seen the first known use of ‘Jimmy‘.

soon became known as ‘Jimmy’.

JIMMY

There are several theories as to why

‘Jimmy’ was adopted as a term of

endearment for

the emblem.

The most widely

accepted was

that it came from

a very popular

Corps boxer,

called Jimmy

Emblem (right),

who was Army

Champion in 1924

and represented

the Corps from

1921 to 1929.

However, there

is some evidence

that the nickname

pre-dates this.

18

SIGNALLING SKILLS

The RE signallers became

skilled in building long

telegraph lines and

improving existing civilian

systems. They were aided

by the new Airline system,

which consisted of a single

wire conductor carried

on lightweight poles that

could be built at a rate

of 6–8 miles a day. The

signallers became highly

skilled operators and in

one night, during the Nile

Expedition, one telegraph

office handled 550 messages.

CHAINS OF COMMAND

Control of communications was complicated. The

Telegraph Battalion (seen above in 1888 on Salisbury

Plain) was responsible for electrical signalling. Visual

signalling (including flags and lights) was under the

control of a Director of Army Signals. Despatch riders

were drawn from the cavalry and operated under the

direction of the staff of an HQ. During the Second Boer

War the 3 independent and unco-ordinated systems of

command led to rivalry and duplication of effort.

LIEUTENANT GENERAL SIR JOHN FOWLER KCB,

KCMG, DSO

Fowler was commissioned into the Royal Engineers

in 1886 and served 3 tours of duty with the Telegraph

Telegraph Battalion Cycle Section, 1910

Battalion. He was awarded the Distinguished Service

Order (DSO) and Mentioned in Despatches for his service

on the North West Frontier of India.

ROYAL ENGINEERS SIGNAL SERVICE FORMED

Fowler was Director of Telegraphs in the Orange Free

To improve co-ordination, the RE Signal Service was formed

State during the Second Boer War and later Commandant

in 1912 and made responsible for telegraph, telephone,

of the Army Signal Schools at Aldershot and Bulford. He

signal despatch and, later, wireless communications from

was appointed as Director of Army Signals in 1914.

General Headquarters (GHQ) down to brigades and for

During WW1, Fowler was

artillery communications down to batteries. Regimental

Mentioned in Despatches

signallers were responsible for communications within their

8 times and in 1917 was

own units and from units to brigades.

promoted to major general.

He was the only senior

officer who served on the

staff at GHQ continuously

from 1914 to 1918 and was

knighted for his services.

He was Commander of

British Forces in China in

1922–25.

Fowler was appointed

the first Colonel

Commandant of the Royal

Corps of Signals in 1923

and successfully guided

the Corps during its

formative years until 1934.

Lt Gen Sir John Fowler

33kW wireless station, 1910

by David Jagger

19

2. 1914–1918

THE FIRST WORLD WAR

In 1914 Europe was dominated by 6 countries: Britain, France, Germany, Austria–  

Hungary, Russia and Turkey. Germany was allied with Austria–Hungary and France  

was allied with Russia, while Britain was linked with France. Turkey was leaning  

towards the Germans. In 1908 Austria–Hungary had annexed Bosnia and when  

Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo in June 1914, the Austro-  

Hungarians blamed Serbia. This led to war between Germany, Austria-Hungary and  

Russia on 1 August. On 3 August, Germany declared war on France and invaded  

Belgium. The German intention was to move rapidly through Belgium, encircle Paris  

and knock France out of the war before Russia could mobilise her forces.

Northern Telegraph Units Territorial Force, 21 August 1914

BRITAIN ENTERS THE WAR

The invasion of Belgium brought Britain into the war. The

Battle of Ypres (1914) and subsequently a period of 3½

small British Expeditionary Force (BEF) took up position on

years of trench warfare began. The defensive combination

the left flank of the French Army and was pushed back in

of trenches, machine guns, artillery and wire proved much

the retreat from Mons. The Germans failed to stick to their

stronger than any offensive weapon on either side until the

plans, lost communication with High Command, outpaced

invention of the tank. This resulted in a war of attrition on

their logistics and then were held and pushed back at the

the Western Front, for both sides, with a succession of major

Battle of the Marne. This action probably decided the war.

battles. These included Verdun (1916), the Somme (1916)

There followed a ‘Race to the Sea’ as the Germans moved

and Passchendaele (1917), and numerous other engagements

north and sought to capture the Channel ports. The Germans

resulting in great numbers of casualties for little return in

were held by the British, French and Belgians at the first

terms of territorial gain.

20

OVERSEAS

Britain’s Dominions and Colonies

came to her aid and fought on

the Western Front (France and

Belgium), in Africa and the

Pacific, as well as in other parts

of Europe and in the Middle

East. Turkey fought on the

German side and was attacked

in the well-conceived but poorly

planned landings in the Gallipoli

Peninsula as well as through its

empire in the Middle East.

Signallers repairing line

Laying Cable in the Field

by Gilbert Holiday

Telephone D Mark 3

VICTORY AND COSTS

Meanwhile, the Royal Navy’s blockade of Germany was starving

the German Army and population of food and materials. In 1917

the Americans joined the war and the Russians sued for peace.

The end of fighting with Russia allowed the Germans to transfer

many hundreds of thousands of troops to the Western Front

with the intention of winning the war before enough of the well-

nourished Americans arrived to tilt the balance against them.

In the spring of 1918, the Germans launched a major offensive.

They very nearly succeeded but were held.

In August 1918, the Allies attacked and

won the Battle of Amiens. A period

of 100 days of mobile warfare

followed. The Allies advanced,

pushing the Germans back until

the Armistice was signed and

hostilities ceased on 11 November

1918. By the end of the war,

16 million people had been killed

and 20 million had been injured.

21

Early Days

When war broke out in 1914 there were less than 6,000 men in the RE Signal Service,  

3,000 of whom were partially trained signal units of the Territorial Force (TF). By the  

end of the war there were 70,000 signallers. Capt Kenneth Edgeworth was scathing  

about the preparations for war. He wrote: ‘The whole business of sending a British  

Expeditionary Force to France was so secret that details of the proposed signal  

arrangements were never discussed by the War Office with the officers who became  

responsible for working them. The result was that the arrangements made by the  

War Office were completely futile.’

DESPATCH RIDERS

In August 1914, the Signal Service relied largely on the telegraph,

visual communications, liaison officers and runners, including

motorcycle despatch riders (DonRs – Don being D in the WW1

phonetic alphabet). During the initial highly mobile action there

wasn’t time to set up complex telegraph networks, so there was great

reliance on runners and, in particular, DonRs. Lord French described

the efforts of the DonRs during the retreat from Mons: ‘The Despatch

Riders carried messages at all hours of the day and night, in every

kind of weather and often traversing bad roads blocked by transport.’

It was a dangerous role and many DonRs lost their lives to enemy

snipers and artillery.

Visual signalling using hand-held shutter device

CAPTAIN TOM DAISH MC

Daish (who took the photo on the right) had just

graduated from Cambridge University when war was

declared and he volunteered the next day. He was one

of the minority from the large cohort of Cambridge

DonRs who survived the war. In 1914 he was in action

at Mons (August), Marne and Aisne (September), and

Ypres (October–November). He was commissioned

in 1915 and posted, in 1916, to Salonika as a motor cycle officer fighting the Bulgarians.

He was Mentioned in Despatches in 1916 and awarded the Military Cross (MC) in 1917.

LIEUTENANT COLONEL KENNETH

EDGEWORTH DSO, MC

Edgeworth is probably the only member of

the Corps to have an asteroid (Asteroid 3487

Edgeworth) named after him. During the

war, as a captain, he was responsible for the

construction and maintenance of telegraph and

telephone lines between GHQ, supply bases

and HQs of the various Armies. He was awarded the DSO, the MC and was

Mentioned in Despatches on 3 occasions. In 1920 he transferred to the Royal

Corps of Signals. After retiring, Edgeworth published 4 books on economics

and made his mark as a theoretical astronomer. In 1943 he suggested that a

reservoir of cometary material existed beyond Neptune. In 1992 its existence

A group of DonRs and signallers at

was confirmed and the region was named the Edgeworth–Kuiper Belt. On

Amiens with their French friends,

1 January 2019 the American New Horizons spacecraft, after a journey

21 August 1914.

of almost 13 years, captured the first close-up views of Ultima Thule, an

Edgeworth–Kuiper Belt object, 4.1 billion miles from earth.

22

Army Structures, Sizes,

Nomenclature and Ranks

Army structures, sizes and nomenclature can seem complicated – terminology has  

changed over time and some terms have different meanings.

An army group comprises more than one army and is

commanded by a senior general (Gen) or Field Marshal.

For example, 21st Army Group in June 1944, commanded

by Gen Sir Bernard Montgomery.

An army comprises several corps, commanded by a general,

such as the British 14th Army which fought the Burma

Campaign against the Japanese in the Second World War

(WW2) and in 1944 comprised nearly 1 million men. There

were 11 British armies formed in WW1 and 7 in WW2.

A corps is a large field formation capable of independent

manoeuvre. It is made up of several divisions, which might be

temporarily assigned for specific missions. It is commanded

by a lieutenant general (Lt Gen). Its title was at times

expressed as a Roman numeral. For example: II Corps, part of

the BEF that was evacuated from Dunkirk in 1940.

A division usually comprises 3 brigades, but it could have

more or fewer, and supporting arms and services, such as

engineer, artillery and logistic units. It is commanded by a

major general (Maj Gen) and with 3 brigades will be about

15,000 personnel strong. For example, 51st (Highland)

Division, which fought during WW1 and WW2.

A brigade comprises several regiments or battalions, and

often some sub-units, commanded by a brigadier (Brig). The

term may be used to describe a fighting formation, such as

4th Armoured Brigade (a tank formation during WW2) or an

administrative unit, such as 11th Signal and West Midland

Brigade. Depending on its role, a brigade can be 3,000 to

5,000 strong.

A regiment and a battalion are terms used to describe

a unit of the British Army commanded by a lieutenant

colonel (Lt Col) and comprising several squadrons or

companies. ‘Battalion’ is most commonly used for infantry

units but is also used by, for example, the Intelligence

Corps. Since just after WW2, Royal Signals units have

been known as regiments, such as 30th Signal Regiment.

Regiments and battalions vary in size considerably but

usually will be between 350 to 800 personnel strong.

In 1945 though, 10th Signal Regiment comprised 2,000

soldiers in 73 troops.

A squadron or a company is a sub-unit commanded by a

major and is made up of 3 or 4 troops or platoons. The Royal

Artillery equivalent is a battery. Royal Signals regiments

comprise several squadrons. The titles of the squadrons have

changed over the years, but in 2020 most regular squadrons

had numbers in the 200 series, such as 214 Signal Squadron,

part of 2nd Signal Regiment. Royal Signals reserve squadrons

may have titles that reflect their lineage such as 53rd (Wales

& Western) Signal Squadron, part of 39th (Skinners) Signal

Regiment.

A troop or platoon can be commanded by a captain (Capt)

or lieutenant (Lt), but also by a senior non-commissioned

officer (SNCO). They can vary in size from 25 to 80 (or more)

personnel.

An infantry or armoured brigade would usually be supported

by a Royal Signals squadron, an infantry or tank division

would usually be supported by a Royal Signals regiment and

an infantry or tank corps would usually be supported by a

Royal Signals brigade or force of brigade size.

Units each have an identifying name. In the Royal Signals

a troop could be known by a number (640), a letter (Bravo),

commemoratively (Overloon) or by function (Systems

Engineer). Squadrons could be known by number or role or

both. Thus in 1985, 215 Signal Squadron was also 1st Infantry

Brigade HQ and Signal Squadron. Regiments could be known

by number and role such as 4th Line of Communication

Signal Regiment or 30th Signal Regiment. Although officer

ranks are consistent throughout the Army, the names of

the other ranks vary considerably. The Royal Signals uses

signaller (Sig) (signalman until women became fully integrated

into the Corps in 1992), lance corporal (LCpl), corporal (Cpl),

sergeant (Sgt), staff sergeant (SSgt), warrant officer Class 2

(WO2) and warrant officer Class 1 (WO1).

Confusingly, many of these terms are also used to describe

administrative organisations (e.g. infantry regiments, which

are grouped into ‘divisions’) and, of course, we must not

forget the ‘British Army’ and ‘Royal Corps of Signals’.

In 2016 the Ministry of Defence (MOD) envisaged the 2020

British Army would be 82,000 regulars and 30,000 reservists.

Runners, Flags, Lights, Animals

and Line

Runners were slow, manpower intensive and dangerously exposed. As the war  

progressed, relay systems were established providing clearly identifiable routes with  

staging posts where a runner could rest, having passed his message to a fresh runner.  

Visual signalling included the use of flags (semaphore and Morse), lights, shutters,  

heliographs and rockets. These were especially useful during and immediately after an  

advance. Using flags, however, exposed the operator to death or injury from shrapnel,  

while heliograph was constrained by the unreliability of sunlight.

LAMPS AND SHUTTERS

Lamps were exposed, needed to be

accurately laid for maximum efficiency and

had to be well screened from the enemy.

The effectiveness of lamp signalling was

greatly enhanced in the autumn of 1916 by

the introduction of the daylight signalling

lamp but visual signalling cannot work in

smoke or dusty conditions.

CARRIER PIGEONS

In 1915 the French gave the British 15 pigeons. They soon become a

valuable supplementary method of communication. By the end of the war

the British Army had more than 20,000 pigeons. As the distance between

HQs was relatively short, messages could be passed quickly. Unless it was

dark or misty, a message from the trenches could arrive at brigade HQ

within 10 to 20 minutes.

DOGS

Animals carried equipment and helped to lay line. Dogs

proved particularly adaptable and were trained to lay

line and carry messages. Stories of their heroism abound

and many battled on when badly gassed or wounded.

A post mortem on one dog revealed that he had been

carrying and delivering messages for weeks with a

bullet in his lungs and a piece of shrapnel in his spine.

PIGEON 2709

At 1330 hrs on 3 October

1917, during the Battle of

Passchendaele, Pigeon 2709

was despatched to take a signal

to brigade HQ. The flight

should have only taken 20

minutes, but soon after setting

off 2709 was hit by enemy

fire. The bullet broke a leg and

passed out of his body, leaving

the small metal message

cylinder embedded in his side. Although it took him a

further 21 agonising hours, 2709 completed his mission.

The message was delivered at 1030 hrs the next morning

but Pigeon 2709 died shortly afterwards.

24

LINE

After the initial mobile phase in France the armies faced

each other for 3½ years across 500 miles of trenches. Line

(telegraph and telephone) was the most common means of

communication. Line in forward areas was insulated and

laid on or below ground. It was known as ‘cable’ and was

vulnerable to artillery fire. To protect cables within enemy

artillery range they needed to be armoured, buried to a

depth of at least 6ft and camouflaged. To prevent spotting

from the air, the burying was carried out at night.

Initially, to save cable, a single-cable earth return system

was used for telegraph. These circuits just used one wire.

The second wire, or return path, was replaced by using

a ground spike, stuck in the earth. This used the earth’s

conductivity to complete the circuit. Before and during the Battle of the Somme in 1916

AIRLINE

over 50,000 miles of cable was laid, of which 7,000 miles in the forward areas was buried.

In the rear areas, Airline

For the Battle of

became a complex structured

Cambrai in 1917,

network using uninsulated line

13,000 miles of

suspended from high points

cable was laid in

such as telegraph poles, trees

less than a month.

or buildings.

THE CABLE WAGON

Cable wagons were pulled by 6 horses and

accompanied by a team of outriders. These wagons

were modifications of an artillery gun carriage.

They were used extensively to lay cable during

mobile phases of the war. Pictured left is the

world’s last surviving cable wagon, exhibited in the

Royal Signals Museum.

SERGEANT THOMAS WESTWELL

Westwell had been an RE signalman in

the TF and was mobilised as war broke

THROUGH

out. In April 1918, when the Germans

The word ‘through’ has always been used by signallers to confirm that

were almost breaking through, the

communications have been established between the ends of a link. This depiction

55th (West Lancashire) Division was

of an unnamed Lineman lying dead in no-man’s land after having repaired a

in the line. Westwell was awarded the

broken cable, encapsulates the ideal of the signaller, which is to get his message

Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM)

‘through’ regardless of the cost or difficulty. Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, the

‘For conspicuous gallantry and devotion

British Commander-in-Chief, said of the Signals, ‘No Service has shown a more

to duty. Under heavy and continuous

wholehearted and untiring energy in the fulfilment of its duty.’

shell fire, he

Francis Martin was a GPO telegraphist who enlisted in the RE Signal Service

laid a line

in 1915 and served with a cable section until 1917. He painted Through on his

successfully

return to the UK.

and then

assisted other

Through by Francis Martin

linesmen in

difficulties to

lay another.

After 6 hours’

work on

these lines he

volunteered

to take a

detachment

and lay a fresh

line, which was

successfully

and quickly

completed. For

4 days he was almost continuously on

duty, and showed a very fine example of

devotion to duty.’

25

Field Telephones

When the BEF first deployed, the War Office sent telephones and switchboards  

designed, like the telegraph, for use with a single wire and an earth return to  

complete the circuits. These would have proved useless in the French towns where  

the British higher command and supply formations were based because they would  

have picked up too much interference. Fortunately, relations between the Signals  

and the GPO were good and as the GPO had just finished upgrading its telephones  

the Signals were quickly able to secure large supplies of magneto phones and small  

switchboards. Staff officers were initially distrustful of the telephone for command  

purposes as there was no written record of their instructions. The telegraph form  

and the message book reigned supreme. However, use of the telephone soon became  

increasingly widespread.

GERMAN INTERCEPTION

TELEPHONE NO. 44

The enemy appeared to have advance knowledge of British

Telephone No. 44 was

raids and attacks, and was shelling trenches at critical

designed for civilian use by

times. Once, in the summer of 1915 when a battalion

the GPO repair teams. It

came up to the front, it heard a German cornet playing

was lightweight, robust

its regimental march. This was because at the front,

and portable. It was

single wire earth return telephones were being used and

issued to the RE Signal

the Germans were able to gain intelligence by attaching

Service Units

listening devices to the earth. The British responded by

and used

replacing the single wires with two cables twisted together,

until 1915.

but supply difficulties meant this was a slow process.

Frequently changed code names for units were introduced

and it was forbidden to use the telephone for

sensitive matters forward of battalion HQ.

Nevertheless, leaks occurred. On one occasion,

the British captured a village after thousands

of lives had been lost in earlier attempts. They

found in a German trench a complete British

operation order for an earlier attack. It was the

prohibition of the use of telephones in trenches

that halted the problem. The introduction of

the Fullerphone in 1916 provided a solution.

THE FULLERPHONE

In 1915 Capt (later Maj Gen) Algernon

Fuller of the RE Signal Service invented

Early version of the

the Fullerphone. This made interception

Fullerphone

through the earth virtually impossible.

The signal was sent in Morse using a very

small DC filtered to eliminate the sharp,

and detectable, voltage changes that

accompanied current transitions when

keying. At the receiving end the DC was

converted to AC by a continuously running

mechanical ‘chopper’ and listened to

through a sensitive earpiece. It was still

used, with modifications, in the early 1950s.

26

Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps

By 1917 the Army was running short of men and so the Women’s Army Auxiliary  

Corps (WAAC), later known as the Queen Mary’s Army Auxiliary Corps (QMAAC),  

was formed to find women volunteers to fill a variety of non-combat roles. By the  

end of the war more than 50,000 women had joined. Those with previous experience  

as telephonists were employed as telephone operators and telegraphists, releasing  

men to perform other duties. They wore blue and white signaller’s armbands.

VITAL WORK

ISABELLA INNES

A post-war report for the Post

Innes (right) was born in Liverpool in 1896 and, leaving school aged 13, started to

Master General described women

work in an umbrella shop. She later became an apprentice telephonist for the Bell

as being ‘quicker and more

Telephone Company. In 1917 she

accurate, more deft and skilful in

volunteered for the WAAC and

manipulation, more assiduous in

served in France as a telephonist.

attention to signals, more responsive

Demobilised in 1919, Isabelle

to exceptional demands at times of

returned to her old job until she

pressure and more ready to learn and

retired in 1956. She died in 1990.

use the standard expressions’.

HUSH WAACS

In September 1917, 6 of the first ‘Hush’ WAACs arrived in France. They

were fluent in German and were attached to the intelligence branch of

GHQ to decode intercepted communications. The secret nature of their

work gave rise to their nickname.

They slept and messed (fed) in their own accommodation with their

own staff in a corner of the normal WAAC camp. The WAAC/QMAAC

had been organised into 4 units and to identify them different coloured

patches were worn on their shoulder straps. To avoid drawing attention, the

Hush WAACs wore the purple of the ‘miscellaneous’ section and were often

mistaken for gardeners who also wore purple.

27

Gallipoli

In March 1915, what had begun as a naval operation designed to take control of the  

Dardanelles from the Turks became a full-scale invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula.  

It involved British, French, Australian and New Zealand troops. After the landings  

on 25 April 1915, a second major offensive was launched in August and overall the  

8-month campaign was to engage 410,000 British Empire troops. By January 1916,  

when the last man was taken off the peninsula, the casualty list totalled 205,000  

including 43,000 dead.

2nd LIEUTENANT HENRY MOSELEY

Moseley was a brilliant scientist who

in 1915 was nominated for Nobel

Prizes in both Physics and Chemistry.

His work using X-ray spectroscopy

demonstrated the physical basis

for the atomic numbers and made

sense of the Periodic Table. Soon

after war broke out, Mosley enlisted

in Kitchener’s New Army and

trained as a signals officer with the

RE Signal Service. He landed, as a

CORPORAL CYRIL BASSETT VC

brigade signals officer, at Anzac Cove

Bassett, New Zealand Divisional Signal Company, was

on 5 August 1915 and was killed

awarded the Victoria Cross (VC) for his brave action at

while sending a telephone report

Gallipoli in August 1915. After the New Zealand Infantry

to divisional HQ during a Turkish

Brigade had captured Chunuk Bair Ridge, Bassett succeeded

counter-attack in the Battle of Sari

in laying a telephone line from the old position to the new

Bair, 5 days later. Isaac Asimov

in broad daylight and under continuous and heavy fire. He

wrote, ‘in view of what [Moseley]

subsequently carried out further excellent and gallant work

might still have accomplished … his

repairing telephone lines by day and night under heavy fire.

death might well have been the most

Although he was not wounded, a bullet struck his boot and

costly single death of the War to

2 more passed through his tunic fabric during the fighting.

mankind generally.’

DonRs after disembarking at

Mudros Harbour, Lemnos

Yeomanry Victoria Crosses

Although not engaged in signalling during WW1, the Middlesex, Berkshire and Essex  

Yeomanry were subsequently incorporated into the Royal Corps of Signals.

PRIVATE FRED POTTS VC, BERKSHIRE YEOMANRY

Potts was wounded in the attack on Scimitar Hill in Gallipoli on 21 August

1915. He remained with a more seriously wounded comrade for 48 hours and

then, although exposed to Turkish fire, he dragged him back over 600 yards to

the British lines using a shovel as a sledge. He was awarded the VC.

LANCE CORPORAL HAROLD MUGFORD VC, ESSEX YEOMANRY

Mugford was a member of the Machine Gun Detachment of the

Essex Yeomanry and was transferred with them to the Machine Gun

Corps. On 11 April 1917, during an offensive near Arras, on the

Western Front, his squadron

took up positions to defend

against a counter-attack.

Under intense fire, Mugford

got his machine gun into

a forward, very exposed

position and remained there

to inflict severe damage on

the enemy in spite of several

serious wounds. He was

awarded the VC.

MAJOR ALEXANDER LAFONE VC,

MIDDLESEX YEOMANRY

The Middlesex Yeomanry with

Lafone commanding B Squadron

were a part of Gen Allenby’s

Egyptian Expeditionary Force

advancing towards Jerusalem.

At dusk on 26 October 1917

the Regiment took up positions

holding trenches near the

El Buqqar Ridge. The

following dawn they

were attacked by an

overwhelmingly superior

Turkish force. Lafone

was killed while fighting

and encouraging his

men, regardless of

personal danger. He was

posthumously awarded

the VC.

LIEUTENANT COLONEL OLIVER WATSON VC, MIDDLESEX YEOMANRY

Watson was in command of the 5th Battalion King’s Own Yorkshire

Light Infantry. On 27 March 1918 the Battalion held a defensive line on

the Western Front. The Germans launched a series of attacks and the

situation become critical. Watson then led an attack with his reserve.

When he found they were outnumbered, he ordered his men to fall

back whilst he remained to cover their withdrawal even though he faced

almost certain death by so doing. Watson was killed shortly after dawn on

28 March. He was posthumously awarded the VC.

29

Wireless

At the outbreak of the war, wireless was generally considered to be the preserve of  

the cavalry, who needed mobile communications. There were valid grounds to be wary  

of wireless: it was unreliable, very heavy, easy to intercept, prone to interference and  

moreover required long antennas and trained Morse Code operators. The batteries  

contained acid, which leaked and caused burns on the backs of the signalmen. They  

are believed to be the cause of the Corps nickname of ‘Scaleybacks’.

GROWTH IN THE USE OF WIRELESS

Wireless proved itself in theatres (operational areas)

outside France; in particular in Mesopotamia where No. 41

Wireless Signal Squadron, made up of British and Indian

troops, worked very effectively, and in East Africa, where

very long ranges (100 miles) were achieved. There the

distances involved often meant there were no alternatives,

there was less chance of interception, the disbursement

of the forces reduced interference and frequent use

resulted in increased skill levels. In France, as other

means of communication proved dangerous or insecure

and as technical advances lightened loads and reduced

interference, wireless came to be seen as a valuable

primary means of communication.

THE BF SET

One of the earliest radios to be used in the French

forward areas was the 50W Trench Set, also known

as the BF Set. It was introduced in 1915 and was used

for communications between brigade and division.

It could be carried by 3 men but many more were

needed to carry the batteries necessary to keep it going

during long engagements. It had a range of 2 miles if

its 60–80yd antenna was raised on 15ft poles.

Sgt Langford, 1.5kW Marconi Set, Mesopotamia

20W LOOP SET

In 1917 the 20W Loop Set was introduced

for forward areas. This had a shorter

range but was easier to operate and the

antenna was a square loop of a yard

per side that could be set up away from

(remoted from) the operator. Also in

1917, continuous-wave sets began to

appear in forward areas. These still used

POWER BUZZER

Morse Code but were much less prone to

Power buzzers were introduced in 1916.

causing or being affected by interference.

They were connected to the ground and

In 1918 attempts were made to use

transmitted Morse Code signals through

voice radio telephony in tank-to-tank