Electra House

Electra House was the name of two distinct and individual buildings in London, England, both of which were built for and occupied by the same telegraphy company, and both of which were used by the British government during World War II, and only one of which still stands to this day. The original Electra House, called the Electra House Moorgate, or Electra House Senior, was a building at 84 Moorgate, in London, England. This building, constructed in 1902, originally served as the headquarters of the Eastern and Associated Telegraph Companies (later known as Cable & Wireless Limited). Electra House Moorgate is notable as the wartime London base of Eastern Telegraph, and as the headquarters of the eponymous Electra House (Department EH) — one of the three British organisations that merged in World War II to form the Special Operations Executive.[1] This Foreign Office organization spied on foreign embassies, produced propaganda, and connected with resistance movements across the continent of Europe.[2]

The second Electra House was named the Electra House Victoria, Electra House Embankment, or Electra House Junior. It was located at 4 Temple Place, on the Victoria Embankment and completed in 1929, functioned as the firm’s administrative centre. In 1935, the Eastern Telegraph company was reorganized under the name Cable and Wireless Limited.[3] Also headquartered here was the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company. This building during the war served as a secondary location for Department EH, connected by telegraphy, and could serve as a redundancy in case of damage by bombing.[4] Electra House Victoria was torn down in 1999 and completely replaced by a new office building which stands in the same spot today, called the Globe House.[5][6]

Both Electra House buildings were bombed during the war, but the original Electra House Moorgate is the only one that still survives with the name, and from September 2024, it is the campus for the Fashion Retail Academy, a further education and higher education college.

It is not to be confused with Electra House in Brixton, the depot for London Underground Train Operators based at Brixton on the Victoria Line.[7]

Electra House Moorgate

Architect John Belcher designed the original Electra House, which opened in 1902 as accommodation for the Eastern and Associated Telegraph Companies. The building features refined decorative sculpture works distributed across five floors, each modest in scale but collectively contributing to the building’s architectural distinction. The sculptural work represents a collaboration between several leading figures of the New Sculpture movement: Alfred Drury, F. W. Pomeroy, George Frampton, and William Goscombe John. Just inside the entrance of the building is a mural by the artist George Murray.[8]

During the Second World War, under the authority of the Wartime Powers Act, the Foreign Office acquired part of the building, and especially the telegraph cables contained here. Electra House became the headquarters for a secret propaganda organisation also known simply as Electra House, but referred to by many historians as Department EH to avoid confusion. Department EH was involved in the monitoring of foreign embassy communications, and cabling run between both buildings ensured continuance of this service even following direct bomb damage during World War II.[1] However, the more simple explanation for the working relationship between Eastern Telegraph and Department EH is that

Electra House Victoria

Electra House on the Victoria Embankment was completed in 1929 on the site of the former London School Board building. Designed by Sir Herbert Baker, the building featured a prominent façade set back from the pavement, offering a clear view of 2 Temple Place across the street.[3] Retrofits to the building were later performed, and the building was rededicated on 11 May 1933, by the wife of John Cuthbert Denison-Pender. The company transferred administrative functions to the new Electra House. This became the administrative headquarters for the renamed Imperial and International Communications, which became known as Cable & Wireless Limited the following year, in 1934.[10]

Beyond its commercial role, the site served a covert function for Department EH: underground conduits connected it to the Central Telegraph Exchange at Moorgate, enabling the monitoring of telephone lines used by foreign embassies in London. In the event of damage to Moorgate, Electra House Victoria — staffed by around one hundred government cable operators — could assume full control of operations.[3]

External links

• The Political Intelligence Department and Department Electra House