| 304th Infantry Brigade | |
|---|---|
 The brigade's insignia, which featured stylised searchlight beams, and the colours of the Royal Artillery. | |
| Active | Formed 22 January 1945 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Infantry Brigade |
| Role | Lines of Communication |
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.
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 304th Brigade was one of seven brigades formed from these new units. [4] [5]
The 304th Infantry Brigade was formed on 22 January 1945 by conversion of the Headquarters of 38th Light Anti-Aircraft Brigade within the 2nd Anti-Aircraft Group. It was commanded by Brigadier C.A.H. Chadwick, followed by Brigadier F.W. Sanders from 24 May 1945, and comprised the following Territorial Army RA units: [4] [5]
After infantry training, including a short period attached to the 55th (West Lancashire) Infantry Division, the 304th Brigade was sent to Norway in June 1945 following the liberation of that country (Operation Doomsday). [4]
The 4th Infantry Division was a regular infantry division of the British Army with a very long history, seeing active service in the Peninsular War, the Crimean War, the First World War, and during the Second World War. It was disbanded after the war and reformed in the 1950s as an armoured formation before being disbanded and reformed again and finally disbanded on 1 January 2012.
The Lancashire Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that saw distinguished service through many years and wars, including the Second Boer War, the First and Second World Wars, and had many different titles throughout its 280 years of existence. In 1968 the regiment was amalgamated with the other regiments of the Fusilier Brigade–the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers and the Royal Fusiliers –to form the current Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.
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217th Brigade was a Home Service formation of the British Army during the First and the Second World Wars.
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 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.
The 224th Brigade was a Home Defence formation of the British Army in the First and the Second World Wars. It existed under several variations of the 224th Brigade title.
72nd Division was a short-lived infantry division of the British Army during World War I. It served in the Home Defence forces and never went overseas.
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.
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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.
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