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.
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 defence of 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.
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.
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 (Fortresss) RE (TF), forming part of Southern Coast Defences. By the outbreak of war in August 1914, the unit had the following organisation: 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 from No 4 Co RE the running of the electric light training school. 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.