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Royal Signals Heritage

History of the Corps

The first official agreement to form a separate Signal Corps was made in 1918, before the end of World War One. Due to various policy delays, the formation of the 'Corps' was delayed until 1920.

Signalling in the field

From the earliest times some form of signalling has been used by armies in the field.

The Royal Corps of Signals ancestry in the field of military communications is long and illustrious, the direct forebears being the Royal Engineers Signal Service.

Reliable communications and the swift accurate passage of important information has always been vital to the conduct of successful military operations.

The Corps continues to provide military commanders with their information requirement and ability to command and control their forces.

Formation of Signal Wing

The Greek armies had the Torch Telegraph and the Water Telegraph, and the Roman Army used coloured smoke.

During the 16th century, beacons were used, in 1796 the Admiralty adopted a shutter-type machine known as the 'Murray Lettering Telegraph'.
Morse Code and electric telegraph were used for the first time in the Crimean War, following the Abyssinian War of 1867, a Signal Wing was formed by the Royal Engineers at Chatham.

Royal Signals Heritage