Royal Radar Establishment

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The Royal Radar Establishment, or RRE, was a renaming of the Radar Research Establishment which was formed in 1953 from the merger of the Telecommunications Research Establishment (TRE) and the Radar Research and Development Establishment (RRDE). It was based in Malvern, Worcestershire, England, where both TRE and RRDE had been based, though at different sites. Its major specialisations were research, development and production in the areas of radar, electronics, and computer hardware and software.

Initially the establishment was under the control of the Ministry of Supply, and in 1959 control passed to the Ministry of Aviation. When the Ministry of Aviation was abolished in 1967 responsibility was passed to the Ministry of Technology, then in 1970 to the Ministry of Aviation Supply, and finally in 1971 to the Ministry of Defence.

In 1976 it merged with the Signals Research and Development Establishment forming the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment which became part of the Defence Research Agency in 1991. It split on June 2, 2001 into two parts, a government body called DSTL (Defence Science and Technology Laboratory) and a company destined for privatisation, QinetiQ.

[edit] Awards

In 1979 RRE was awarded the Queen's Award for Technological Achievement for the joint-development of the long-lasting materials that made liquid crystal displays possible. In 1972, in conjunction with George Gray and Ken Harrison of the University of Hull, new, stable liquid crystals were developed, which were an immediate success in the electronics industry and consumer products.[1]