A Century of Radio Engineering
The Institution of Electronic and Radio Engineers (IERE) was founded a hundred years ago in October 1925.
The IERE was founded to support the education and training of a new professional group: engineers working in radio communication and broadcasting, and later in electronics.
Before its foundation, the main source of training for radio engineers was in the armed forces. The first Signals School was established by the Royal Navy in 1888, and the first edition of the Admiralty Handbook of Wireless Telegraphy was published in 1920. But there was also a strong community of radio amateurs in civilian life, and in 1922 the British Broadcasting Company (later the British Broadcasting Corporation) was founded.
In 1925, radio engineering was growing rapidly. The new Institute was incorporated in 1932 as the Institute of Wireless Technology (it changed to the British Institution of Radio Engineers in 1941).
By the 1940s a new word was being used for this professional area: electronics. Eric Zepler, a later President, founded the first Department of Electronics at the University of Southampton in 1947, and in 1964 the BritIRE changed its name once more to the Institution of Electronic and Radio Engineers. This new institution was at the front of rapid technical change, and the need to embrace theories and new technology.
The IERE also led the way on international activities. It established an office in India in 1957, which was shared with the IEE from 1967. It also supported the newly formed Institute of Telecommunication Engineers (now the IETE) in developing a national scheme for education and training for engineers in India.
Another key campaign for the IERE was the recognition of less traditional routes to chartership. Many of its members had begun their careers as engineering technicians, or had international qualifications, and the IERE did not think a degree was essential for an engineer to demonstrate the level of professional competence required of chartered engineers. This view led to a clash with the IEE in engineering qualifications. The IERE held its ground, stating that engineers should be judged on ‘the sum total of education, training, experience and achievements.’ It supported the new professional grade of Technician Engineer (TEng) and was the first to accept an Open University graduate as a full Member.
The IEE and IERE began settling their differences in the late 1960s. In 1967, the IEE Library finally allowed copies of the IERE journal into its collection! A liaison committee was set up in 1969 and a merger working party in 1983. The IEE and IERE formally merged in 1988, and the IEE added elements from the IERE coat of arms into its armorial bearings.
As we celebrate this centenary year, we also commemorate the 125th anniversary of the birth of one of the IERE’s former presidents, Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June), the namesake of the prestigious Mountbatten Medal, which is awarded each October as part of the IET Achievement Awards.
Do you have memories of the IERE or its members? We’d love to hear from you. Please contact us at archives@theiet.org or visit the archives section of our website.