| 301st Infantry Brigade | |
|---|---|
 Brigade insignia, incorporating crossed cannons in Royal Artillery colours | |
| Active | 15 January 1945 – |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Infantry Brigade |
| Role | Lines of Communication |
| Engagements | Second World War |
The 301st Infantry Brigade was a formation of the British Army organised from surplus Royal Artillery (RA) personnel retrained as infantry towards the end of the Second World War.
By the end of 1944, 21st Army Group was suffering a severe manpower shortage, particularly among the infantry. [1] At the same time the German Luftwaffe was suffering from such shortages of pilots, aircraft and fuel that serious aerial attacks on the United Kingdom could be discounted. In January 1945 the War Office began to reorganise surplus anti-aircraft and coastal artillery regiments in the UK into infantry battalions, primarily for line of communication and occupation duties in North West Europe, thereby releasing trained infantry for frontline service. [2] [3] The 301st Brigade was the first of seven brigades formed from these new units. [4] [5]
The 301st Infantry Brigade was formed on 15 January 1945 within Scottish Command from the following Territorial Army RA units: [4]
Brigadier J. Vicary was appointed to command the 301st Brigade on 26 January 1945. After infantry training, the brigade came under the orders of 21st Army Group on 9 May, and landed on the Continent on 15 May (a week after VE Day), where it came under the command of First Canadian Army.
The 303rd Infantry Brigade was a formation of the British Army organised from surplus Royal Artillery (RA) personnel retrained as infantry towards the end of the Second World War.
The 304th Infantry Brigade was a formation of the British Army organised from surplus Royal Artillery (RA) personnel retrained as infantry towards the end of the Second World War.
The 305th Infantry Brigade was a formation of the British Army organised from surplus Royal Artillery (RA) personnel retrained as infantry towards the end of the Second World War.
306th Infantry Brigade was a British Army formation organised towards the end of the Second World War from surplus Royal Artillery (RA) personnel who had been retrained as infantry.
307th Infantry Brigade was a formation of the British Army organised from surplus Royal Artillery (RA) personnel retrained as infantry towards the end of the Second World War.
308th Infantry Brigade was a formation of the British Army organised from surplus Royal Artillery (RA) personnel retrained as infantry towards the end of the Second World War.
The 205th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home) was a short-lived Home Defence infantry brigade formation of the British Army during the Second World War.
27th Anti-Aircraft Brigade was an Air Defence formation of the British Army in World War II that served in The Blitz and later converted to infantry.
The Tynemouth Volunteer Artillery claims to be the oldest volunteer artillery unit of the British Army. It served coastal and siege guns in World War I and World War II, and also served in the infantry role.
The 64th (Northumbrian) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, was an air defence unit of Britain's Territorial Army (TA) formed on Tyneside during the 1930s. After defending the UK during the Battle of Britain and the Blitz early in World War II, it went on to see service in North Africa, Italy, Yugoslavia and Germany. It continued in the postwar TA until it was amalgamated in 1954.
The 36th (Middlesex) Searchlight Regiment was a volunteer air defence battalion of Britain's Territorial Army (TA) from 1936 until 1961, at first as part of the Royal Engineers, later in the Royal Artillery. As part of 40th Anti-Aircraft Brigade it defended air bases in East Anglia through the Battle of Britain and the Blitz. Towards the end of 1944 the unit underwent infantry training, serving briefly in Norway at the end of the war. After the war, the 36th continued as a TA unit, with some women serving with it. In 1961, the remnants of the regiment amalgamated with others to form a combined infantry battalion, and all links with air defence were severed.
The 28th (Essex) Searchlight Regiment was a volunteer air defence unit of Britain's Territorial Army (TA) from 1935 until 1961, at first as part of the Royal Engineers, later in the Royal Artillery. During the Second World War it defended the approaches to London in The Blitz and Operation Diver before becoming a garrison unit in the liberation of Norway.
The 38th Light Anti-Aircraft Brigade was an air defence formation of Britain's Territorial Army formed just before World War II, which protected London and Southern England during the Blitz and later converted into an infantry formation for the liberation of Europe.
The 30th (Northumbrian) Anti-Aircraft Brigade was an air defence formation of Britain's Territorial Army from 1936 until 1955, which defended Tyneside and Sunderland during World War II.
56th (Cornwall) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery was a volunteer air defence regiment of Britain's Territorial Army (TA). Originally raised in 1920 as a medium artillery regiment, it was converted to the anti-aircraft role in 1932. During the Second World War, it was employed in Home Defence, in Iceland and then in India, where it was temporarily converted back to medium artillery. Postwar, it reverted to air defence until disbandment in 1955.
58th (Middlesex) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery was an air defence unit of Britain's Territorial Army (TA) raised just before World War II. It defended the East Midlands of England during The Blitz, and later served as infantry in North West Europe at the end of the war, converting to the anti-aircraft (AA) artillery role postwar.
48th (Hampshire) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery was an air defence unit of Britain's Territorial Army (TA) formed just before the outbreak of World War II from existing searchlight companies of the Royal Engineers. It served in Anti-Aircraft Command until 1944, including the Portsmouth Blitz and Operation Diver. At the end of the war it formed an infantry unit for garrison duties in liberated Europe. It continued in the postwar TA until AA Command was disbanded in 1955.
The 1st Devonshire Artillery Volunteers and its successor units served in the British Army's Reserve Forces from 1859 to 1961. During World War I it carried out garrison duty in British India but went on to see active service in the Third Anglo-Afghan War. Converting to an air defence role before World War II its units participated in the Norwegian campaign and the Dunkirk evacuation, the Battle of Britain and then the campaigns in North Africa, Italy, and Burma
The 1st Ayrshire and Galloway Artillery Volunteer Corps was formed in 1859 as a response to a French invasion threat. It transferred to the Territorial Force (TF) in 1908 and Its successor units fought with the 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division in Palestine during World War I, and in North West Europe and Burma during World War II. It continued in the Territorial Army (TA) until amalgamation in 1967.
68th Searchlight Regiment was a part-time air defence unit of Britain's Territorial Army converted from an infantry battalion just before World War II. It served in Anti-Aircraft Command defending the West of England until almost the end of the war, when it was converted back into an infantry battalion for occupation duties in North West Europe. Postwar it served on in the air defence role until the disbandment of AA Command in 1955.