Special Communications: Origins, Role & Legacy

By Sergeant Chris Lye

This article examines the development of Special Communications from its origins in 1939 to its current role within 299 Signal Squadron (Special Communications), the British Army’s only unit tasked with delivering discreet communications and technical effects in support of the FCDO global operations.

Originally formed to meet the Foreign Office’s operational requirements during the Second World War, early Special Communicators worked alongside the Special Operations Executive (SOE), delivering secure communications for covert activity across Europe, North Africa, and beyond.

It outlines how wartime lessons shaped post-war capability, including the establishment of the Diplomatic Wireless Service (DWS) and the evolution of both Regular and Reserve Special Communications units. The article draws on previously underused historical material to profile figures such as Edgar Harrison and Bill Lidster, whose influence helped define the unit’s enduring ethos.

The role of Special Communicators is explored from the Cold War to contemporary deployments, focusing on the unit’s function in high threat and politically sensitive environments where conventional military presence is often inappropriate. The selection and training pipeline remains deliberately selective, producing personnel who can operate independently, apply technical skill, anticipate risk and navigate complex human terrain.

299 Signal Squadron (SC) today represents a quiet but enduring capability. Embedded at the intersection of defence and diplomacy, it continues to provide low-attribution communications and technical effect in support of HMG’s strategic priorities, drawing on more than 80 years of operational heritage.

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