The 1st Hampshire Engineer Volunteer Corps was first formed in 1862 and then reformed in 1891 with special responsibility for the port defences of the South Coast of England. It carried out this role during World War I, as well as forming field units that served on the Western Front and at Salonika. Before the outbreak of World War II it formed an air defence regiment that saw service during The Blitz and field companies that fought in the Western Desert and Italy, The unit continued in the postwar Territorial Army before finally disbanding in 1967.

Early history The enthusiasm for the Volunteer movement following an invasion scare in 1859 saw the creation of many local Rifle, Artillery and Engineer Volunteer units composed of part-time soldiers eager to supplement the Regular British Army in time of need. One of these was the 1st Hampshire Engineer Volunteer Corps (1st Hants EVC) based at Southampton. The first officers' commissions for the unit were issued on 25 January 1862. As a small, single company corps, it was attached for convenience to the 2nd Hampshire Rifle Volunteer Corps (RVC) in 1863, and both came under the 4th Administrative Battalion of Hampshire Rifle Volunteers in 1865.Beckett, Appendix IX.Monthly Army ListsWestlake, pp. 9–10.

In 1870, the unit was attached to the 2nd Tower Hamlets EVC in London rather than the local rifle units. Under the mobilisation scheme in force in 1880, the 1st Hants EVC formed part of the Garrison Army, assigned to defend the important naval base of Portsmouth, along with detachments from EVCs as far away as Yorkshire, Lancashire and Northamptonshire. However, the 1st Hants EVC was disbanded in 1881 and the volunteers absorbed by the 2nd Hampshire RVC.

Reformed unit A new 1st Hampshire Engineer Volunteers was formed at Portsmouth on 1 April 1891. This was a much larger unit - 481 men (mainly from Portsmouth Dockyard) volunteering for a unit with an official establishment of two companies totaling 100. The new unit included a cadet company at Weymouth until 1902, and the 1st Sussex Engineer Volunteers was attached to it for administrative purposes in 1892–95. The new corps rented and renovated the old drill hall of the 3rd Hampshire RVC, laid a parade ground, and practised digging field fortifications on Southsea Common. Non-Commissioned Officers from the corps took special courses on fortress engineering at the Royal Engineers' depot at Chatham.Hampshire Engineers at Victorian Forts

The 1st Hampshire Royal Engineers (Volunteers) (as the unit was officially titled from 1896) sent a detachment of one officer and 25 other ranks to assist the regular REs during the Second Boer War in 1900, and a second section the following year.Watson, pp. 42–3.

Territorial Force

When the Volunteer Force was subsumed into the new Territorial Force (TF) under the Haldane Reforms in 1908, the 1st Hampshire RE (V) became the Hampshire (Fortress) RE (TF), forming part of Southern Coast Defences. By the outbreak of war in August 1914, the unit had the following organisation:London Gazette 20 March 1908.Engineers at British Army 1914.Monthly Army List August 1914.Fortress Engineers at Long, Long Trail.Watson & Rinaldi, p. 13. HQ at Portsmouth No 1 Works Company at Commercial Road, Portsmouth No 2 Works Company at Hampshire Terrace, Portsmouth No 3 Works Company at Eastleigh No 4 Electric Light (EL) Company at Hampshire Terrace, Portsmouth No 5 EL Company at Freshwater, Isle of Wight No 6 EL Company at Gosport

Together with the Regular No 4 Company, RE, at Haslar Barracks in Gosport, the unit was responsible for the coastal defence searchlights in the Portsmouth area, including the Isle of Wight and the three sea forts at Spithead (Spitbank Fort, No Man's Land Fort and Horse Sand Fort).

World War I

Coast and Anti-Aircraft defence On the outbreak of war, the Hampshire (Fortress) RE had a serious deficiency of personnel. On 5 August, it was supplemented by No 4 Company of the Tyne Electrical Engineers (TEE), which took over several of the coast defence searchlight stations around Portsmouth. Two other companies of the TEE moved into Haslar Barracks in Gosport and later took over the running of the electric light training school from No 4 Co RE. As the war progressed, the requirement for anti-aircraft searchlights (AA/SLs), as well as coast defence lights, became vital, and the school at Haslar trained a large number of AA detachments for Home Defence and for service on the Western Front and other theatres of the war.Short et al., pp. 73–80, 86.

By November 1915, the Hampshire unit's strength had grown to 39 officers and 604 other ranks, and it took back responsibility for the three sea forts, and then, in May 1916, it took over from the TEE two new searchlight stations, Egypt Point and Stone Point, at the entrance to the Solent.Short et al., pp. 78, 84. On 25 September 1916, the only air attack on Portsmouth during World War I occurred when Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Mathy commanding the Zeppelin L31 hovered over the harbour in the searchlight beams, without actually dropping any bombs. Shortly after this raid, the Hampshire (Fortress) RE took over all the AA searchlights in Portsmouth Garrison, forming No 48 AA Company.Short et al., pp. 86, 141–3.Morris.Dockyard at War at Historic Dockyard In May 1918, the Portsmouth AA defences were included in the London Air Defence Area.Short et al., p. 151.

Expansion Shortly after the outbreak of war, TF units were invited to volunteer for Overseas Service. On 15 August 1914, the War Office issued instructions to separate those men who had signed up for Home Service only, and form these into reserve units. On 31 August, the formation of a reserve or 2nd Line unit was authorised for each 1st Line unit where 60 per cent or more of the men had volunteered for Overseas Service. The titles of these 2nd Line units would be the same as the original, but distinguished by a '2/' prefix. In this way duplicate companies were created, as well as additional 1st Line companies from the volunteers pouring into the recruiting stations.Becke, Pt 2b, p. 6. Despite the initial manpower shortages of the Hampshire (Fortress) RE, these are known to have been numbered as high as 1/8th Hampshire EL Company.RE Museum list of WWI unit war diaries.

The Hampshire (Fortress) RE also formed a number of 'Army Troops' and 'Works' companies for service with the armies at home and overseas: 1/1st Hampshire Fortress Company RE (TF) deployed to France on 25 February 1916, serving on the Somme later in the year.Watson & Rinaldi, pp. 69–70. When TA companies of the RE were numbered in February 1917 it became 559th (Hants) Army Troops Company. It was serving with Third Army by the time of the Armistice with Germany in November 1918, and was disbanded after April 1919.Watson & Rinaldi, p. 63.Watson & Rinaldi, p. 20. 1/2nd Hampshire Fortress Company RE (TF) disembarked at Le Havre on 21 January 1915, joining First Army and billeting at Heuringhem near St Omer. It would later be re-named 560th (Hants) Army Troops Company, serving in and around the Loos Salient until late 1918, when it became part of Fifth Army. It was disbanded at the end of March 1919.Watson & Rinaldi, p. 21. 2/1st Hampshire Army Troops Company became 561st (Hampshire) Army Troops Company. 2/2nd Hampshire Army Troops Company, became 562nd (Hampshire) Army Troops Company. Another Hampshire Army Troops Company became 563rd (Hampshire) Works Company. It was attached to the Cyclist Division in the UK from March 1918. Later in 1918 it was scheduled to join the BEF for aerodrome construction but never went.Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 19–26.Addison, p. 22. 575th (Hampshire) Works Company was sent to the BEF on 28 July 1918 to work on aerodrome construction for the Royal Air Force.The National Archives (TNA), Kew file WO 162/7.

The Hampshire (Fortress) RE also formed one field engineer company, from 1/7th Hampshire Army Troops Company.

Salonika campaign The 1/7th Hampshire Field Company, (numbered 506th (Hampshire) Field Company in February 1917), embarked for France on 19 October 1915 and joined the 28th Division on 25 October as the division was embarking at Marseilles. The division arrived in Egypt by 22 November, and then re-embarked for the Macedonian front, completing disembarkation at Salonika by 4 January 1916.Watson & Rinaldi, pp. 31, 61.Becke, pp. 105–14.

Among the first tasks the newly arrived division had to carry out was construction of fieldworks across rough country, in winter, against the possibility of immediate Bulgarian attack: 'In the face of rain, snow, and the biting wind the infantry and engineers stuck to their task'.Wakefield & Moody, p. 34. Offensive operations were rare on the Macedonian front, but work to improve defences and roads was continuous, and the 28th Division in the Struma Valley suffered badly from malaria.Wakefield & Moody, p. 50. The largest operation in the Struma Valley was the capture by 28th Division of Karajakoi Bala, Karajakoi Zir and Yenikoi in October 1916. Defences of these villages then had to be consolidated. The outpost line consisted of a chain of these villages, trenched and wired, and garrisoned by infantry, machine gun teams and RE detachments.Wakefield & Moody, pp. 109–12.

28th Division took part in two further offensive operations in May and October 1917. Eventually, it participated in the Second Battle of Doiran beginning on 18 September 1918, which failed to break through the Bulgarian lines. However, the Bulgarians had been defeated elsewhere, and some days later the British realised that the entrenchments in front of them were empty. 28th Division then took part in the pursuit to the Strumica Valley (22–28 September).Wakefield & Moody, pp. 196–224.

After the Armistice with Bulgaria came into effect on 30 September, British forces, including 28th Division, advanced across the country towards Turkey. With no troops to defend Constantinople from this direction, the Ottoman Empire also signed an Armistice on 30 October. 28th Division was sent to occupy the Dardanelles Forts. 506th (Hampshire) Field Company was still in Turkey in April 1919, but after that the TF units were progressively replaced by Regular and Indian Army units and the Territorials were demobilised and returned home.Wakefield & Moody, pp. 225–32.

Interwar After the war, the Hampshire (Fortress) RE reformed in the Territorial Army (TA) with at least five companies. Once again it was assigned to defence of the South Coast of England, in 43rd Divisional Area. In 1922–23, the barracks at East Cowes on the Isle of Wight was converted into a headquarters for No 5 (EL) Company and part of '3rd (Hampshire) Field Company' (ie the 3rd (Wessex) Field Company raised in Portsmouth for the 43rd (Wessex) Divisional Engineers in 1914, which became 206th (Hampshire) Fd Co in the reformed TA).TNA Treasury file T 161/31/7.Watson & Rinaldi, pp. 90, 99. However, by 1927, No 5 Company had disappeared and the unit had the following organisation:Titles & Designations. No 1 (Works) Company No 2 (Lights) Company No 3 (Lights) Company No 4 (Lights) Company

Later, its organisation was:Watson & Rinaldi, p. 104. HQ at Hampshire Terrace, Portsmouth No 1 (AA/SL) Company at Hampshire Terrace No 2 (AA/SL) Company at East Cowes No 3 (EL) Company at RE Drill Hall, Haslar Road, Gosport No 4 (EL & Works) Company at Hampshire Terrace

In 1937, three companies were converted into a searchlight unit, 48th (Hampshire) Anti-Aircraft Battalion, RE (TA), with the following organisation:Litchfield, p. 97.Watson & Rinaldi, pp. 110, 114. HQ at Portsmouth 391st Anti-Aircraft Company at Portsmouth 392nd Anti-Aircraft Company at East Cowes, Isle of Wight 393rd Anti-Aircraft Company at Gosport 394th Anti-Aircraft Company at Southampton