Electra House facts for kids
Electra House is an important building located at 84 Moorgate in London, England. It became famous during World War II because it was the main office in London for a company called Cable & Wireless Limited. It was also home to a secret group called Department EH. This group later joined with others to form the Special Operations Executive, which was a special British organization during the war.
It's important not to confuse this Electra House with another building of the same name in Brixton. The Brixton one is a depot for London Underground train operators.
Building's Early Days
The building was designed by an architect named John Belcher. It first opened its doors in 1902. Back then, it was used by a company called the Eastern Telegraph Company. This company helped send messages across the world using telegraph cables.
In 1933, the company moved some of its main offices to a new Electra House building. This new building was on Victoria Embankment. The company later changed its name to Cable & Wireless Limited in 1934.
Electra House During World War II
During World War II, Electra House played a secret role. The Foreign Office (which handles a country's relationships with other countries) set up a special group there. This group was called Department EH. It was named after its headquarters, Electra House.
Department EH had an important job. It secretly listened to messages from foreign embassies. These were like the offices of other countries in London. Special cables connected the Moorgate building to the new Electra House. This meant that even if one building was bombed, the secret work could continue.
The original Electra House at Moorgate was badly damaged by bombs during the war. Because of this, Cable & Wireless moved all their remaining operations to the Victoria Embankment building. The Victoria Embankment building was also hit by a V-1 flying bomb in 1944. Luckily, most of the staff were safe, and the daily work continued.
After the War
After the war, Electra House in Moorgate was repaired. In 1944, the City of London College moved into the building. This college later became part of London Metropolitan University. The university used the building until 2017.
Electra House continued to be important for telecommunications. This means it was used for sending messages and information over long distances. The company BT Group eventually owned it.
Later, the original Electra House building was taken down. A new building now stands in its place. It is used by a company called British American Tobacco.
In 2021, it was announced that the building would get a big update. This renovation project was planned to cost about £21 million.
