History of the Royal Corps of Signals

Courtesy: Royal Corps of Signals
CAPTAIN MONTAGUE LAMBERT RE
He was the first Commander of 'C' Telegraph Troop, Royal Engineers which was formed in 1870.
The first communication device the heliographs were mainly made in India. The heliograph was used extensively during the various campaigns on the North West Frontier of India and continued in an active service role during World War 1 and even in the desert campaign of World War 2. The next major set forward in military communications was the invention of the telephone in 1876 and its introduction into military service.
Formation of The Royal Corps of Signals
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.
A Royal Warrant was signed by the Secretary of State for War, the Rt. Hon Winston S Churchill, who gave the Sovereign's approval for the formation of a 'Corps of Signals' on 28th June 1920. Six weeks later, His Majesty the King conferred the title 'Royal Corps of Signals'.
Campaigns After Formation
During the 1920s and 1930s, the Corps increased its strength and had personnel serving in overseas stations such as Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Ceylon, Egypt, Jamaica and many other 'out-posts of the Empire'.
The largest portion of the Corps was overseas, one third being concentrated in India. Throughout World War Two, members of the Corps served in every theatre of war and, at the end, the Corps had a serving strength of 8,518 officers and 142,472 soldiers. Indian Signal Corps strength was 2,830 officers and 47490 soldiers.
In the immediate post-war period, the Corps played a full and active part in numerous campaigns including: Palestine (1945-1948); the long campaign. in Malaya (1949-1960); the Korean War (1950-1953); ; the Suez Canal Zone (1956); the various operations in Cyprus, Borneo, Aden, the Arabian Peninsula, Kenya and Belize.
Throughout this time, until the end of the Cold War, the main body of the Corps was deployed with the British Army of the Rhine confronting the former Communist Block forces, providing the British Forces' contribution to NATO with its communications infrastructure.