{{Short description|British military research establishment}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} __NOTOC__ The '''Signals Research and Development Establishment''' ('''SRDE''') was a British government military research establishment, based in Christchurch, Dorset from 1943 until it merged with the Royal Radar Establishment (RRE) in Malvern, Worcestershire to form the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment (RSRE) in 1976. Its focus was military communications (signals).

==History==

=== 1914–1945: Early years === The establishment had its origins in the Royal Engineers Wireless Telegraphy Experimental Section founded at Aldershot in the very early part of the twentieth century. It moved to Woolwich, initially into the former Royal Dockyard (at that time a military stores depot) where it formed part of the Inspectorate of Royal Engineers Stores, before moving on to Woolwich Common.<ref>{{cite web |title=History |url=http://www.srde.co.uk/frames/history.htm |website=SRDE |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305163327/http://srde.co.uk/frames/history.htm |archive-date=5 March 2016}}</ref><ref name=na-srde>{{cite web |url=https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C555 |title=Records of the Signals Experimental Establishment and Signals Research and Development Establishment |id=AVIA 23, 61 and 74 |publisher=National Archives |access-date=11 March 2021}}</ref>

In 1914 it was operating out of a van at Woolwich, but in 1916 it settled into its own premises, becoming the '''Signals Experimental Establishment'''.<ref name=SoL>{{cite book|last1=Saint and Guillery|title=Survey of London volume 48|date=2012|publisher=Yale}}</ref> The establishment was renamed SRDE at the start of the Second World War; it moved briefly to Horsham before settling in Christchurch in 1943 after the radar teams left to Malvern. The Woolwich buildings then became part of the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment.<ref name="SoL" /><ref name=na-srde/>

=== 1945–1960: Post-war Developments === Following World War II, the Signals Research and Development Establishment (SRDE) expanded its mission to include digital communication, transistors and computing. During the late 1940s and 1950s, SRDE became involved in the application of pulse-code modulation in British military systems, particularly for guided missile telemetry<ref>{{cite archive|title=Guidance of LOP/GAP, Liquid Oxygen and Petrol Guided Anti-aircraft Projectile|url=https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C526655|collection=ADM|institution=The National Archives (UK)|location=Kew|publisher=Admiralty|date=1946|series=ADM 263/43|access-date=28 May 2025}}</ref> and radar data transmission. A major innovation in the 1950’s was the development of the Barker code, a binary sequence designed by SRDE engineer Ronald Hugh Barker in 1953 to improve synchronisation in PCM signal decoding.<ref>{{cite book |last=Barker |first=R. H. |author-link=Ronald Hugh Barker |title=Communication Theory |publisher=Butterworth |year=1953 |place=London |pages=273–287 |chapter=Group Synchronizing of Binary Digital Systems}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Barker Code |url=https://www.radartutorial.eu/08.transmitters/Barker%20Code.en.html |access-date=May 27, 2025 |publisher=Radartutorial.eu}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Ronald Hugh Barker (1915–2015) |url=https://www.theiet.org/membership/library-and-archives/the-iet-archives/biographies/ronald-hugh-barker-1915-2015 |access-date=26 May 2025 |publisher=IET Archives}}</ref>

=== 1960–1970: Satellites and merger === In the 1960s and 1970s SRDE was involved in the development of military communications satellites. It participated in the U.S. Interim Defense Communication Satellite Program (IDCSP), and a trans-Atlantic link to a U.S. station was first established on 18 June 1966.<ref name="rsre-197803">{{cite report |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA068738.pdf |title=The RSRE Satellite Communications Test Facility |author=E H Thomas |date=March 1978 |publisher=Royal Signals and Radar Establishment |id=RSRE Report 78008 |access-date=23 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601074800/https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA068738.pdf |archive-date=1 June 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> It also led the development of the British Skynet 1 and 2 military communications satellites, the first of which launched 22 November 1969, and performed their initial in-orbit testing.<ref name="mraths-201807">{{cite web |last=Harris |first=Dick |date=July 2018 |title=Defford Satellite Communications |url=https://mraths.org.uk/?page_id=2868 |access-date=19 January 2021 |website=Malvern Radar and Technology History Society}}</ref><ref name="burr-201202">{{cite book |last=Burr |first=Ron |url=http://woottonbridgeiow.org.uk/decca-legacy/ |title=The Decca Legacy - a View From Inside the Radar Company Decca - BAe Systems 1949-2009 |date=February 2012 |website=Wootton Bridge Historical |chapter=Chapter 14.2 - Satellite Communications |access-date=21 January 2021 |chapter-url=http://woottonbridgeiow.org.uk/decca-legacy/chapter14.php#14.2}}</ref> Skynet 1A was the first military satellite in geostationary orbit.<ref name="rsre-197803" />

In 1976, under the Director of John Mills, SRDE merged with the Royal Radar Establishment (RRE) and the Services Electronic Research Laboratory (SERL) to form the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment (RSRE), headquartered in Malvern, Worcestershire. SRDE remained in Christchurch until 1980, when it moved to a RSRE facility at RAF Defford near Malvern.<ref name="mraths-201807" />

==Topics of research== * Satellite communications * Battlefield communications * Optical fibres * Image intensifiers for night vision equipment * Mine detectors (including non-metallic mines)

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20190129064001/http://srde.co.uk/ Information site]}} - archived in 2019

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Category:1948 establishments in England Category:1980 disestablishments in England Category:History of Dorset Category:History of telecommunications in the United Kingdom Category:Military communications of the United Kingdom Category:Military history of Dorset Category:Military research establishments of the United Kingdom Category:Science and technology in Dorset Category:Space programme of the United Kingdom Category:Military installations established in 1948 Category:Military installations closed in 1980 Category:British Defence Forces

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