54th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)

Last updated
54th Brigade
54th Infantry Brigade
54th (East Anglia) Brigade
Active1914-1919
1939-1942
1980-1995
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
BranchFlag of the British Army.svg  British Army
Type Infantry
Size Brigade
Part of 18th (Eastern) Division
18th Infantry Division
Garrison/HQ Prince William of Gloucester Barracks, Grantham
Commanders
Notable
commanders
William Heneker
Herbert Shoubridge

The 54th Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army that saw active service in both the First and Second World Wars.

Contents

First World War

A platoon of 'D' Company of the 7th (Service) Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment passing through a French village on its way to the line, sometime in 1916. The officer at the head of his platoon is Lieutenant Douglas Keep, who was killed in action the following year. The Battle of the Somme, July-november 1916 Q79478.jpg
A platoon of 'D' Company of the 7th (Service) Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment passing through a French village on its way to the line, sometime in 1916. The officer at the head of his platoon is Lieutenant Douglas Keep, who was killed in action the following year.

The brigade was originally raised in September 1914, as the 54th Brigade, in the First World War as part of Kitchener's New Armies and joined the 18th (Eastern) Division, serving with it throughout the war mainly on the Western Front from 1915 to 1918.

Order of battle

The 54th Brigade was constituted as follows during the war: [1]

Second World War

The brigade was disbanded in 1919 after the war. Reformed in 1939 in the Territorial Army (TA) as the 54th Infantry Brigade, it was part of the 18th Infantry Division. The brigade spent the early years of the Second World War in the United Kingdom on home defence and training duties, anticipating a German invasion. With the rest of the division, the brigade was sent to Singapore, under the command of Brigadier Edward Backhouse, in 1942 and, after the Battle of Singapore against the Imperial Japanese Army, surrendered along with the rest of the Singapore garrison. They became prisoners of the Japanese for the next three years in harsh and degrading treatment.

Order of battle

The 54th Brigade was constituted as follows during the war: [2]

Postwar

In the 1980s, the 54th Brigade was again active as 54th (East Anglia) Brigade, a Territorial Army regional brigade in the United Kingdom. [3]

Structure in 1989:

It was amalgamated with 49 Brigade and thus disbanded in 1995. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">12th (Eastern) Division</span> Infantry division of the British Army during World War I

The 12th (Eastern) Division was an infantry division raised by the British Army during the First World War from men volunteering for Kitchener's New Armies. The division saw service in the trenches of the Western Front from June 1915 to the end of the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">54th (East Anglian) Infantry Division</span> Military unit

The 54th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army. The division was raised in 1908 following the creation of the Territorial Force (TF) as the East Anglian Division. During the First World War the division fought at Gallipoli and in the Middle East. The division was disbanded after the war but reformed in the Territorial Army in 1920. During the Second World War it was a home service division and did not see any combat service abroad and was disbanded in late 1943 but many of its component units went to see service in the Normandy Campaign and North-western Europe from June 1944 to May 1945.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">24th Division (United Kingdom)</span> Military unit

The 24th Division was an infantry division of the British Army, raised in September 1914 from men volunteering for Lord Kitchener's New Armies during the First World War. After almost a year spent training in England the division was sent to the Western Front between August and September 1915. It served in Belgium and France in the trenches of the Western Front for the duration of the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">18th (Eastern) Division</span> Infantry division of the British Army during the First World War

The 18th (Eastern) Division was an infantry division of the British Army formed in September 1914 during the First World War as part of the K2 Army Group, part of Lord Kitchener's New Armies. From its creation the division trained in England until 25 May 1915 when it landed in France and spent the duration of the First World War in action on the Western Front, becoming one of the elite divisions of the British Army. During the Battle of the Somme in the latter half of 1916, the 18th Division was commanded by Major General Ivor Maxse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">34th Division (United Kingdom)</span> Infantry division of the British Army during the First World War

The 34th Division was an infantry division of the British Army that was raised in 1914, during the First World War. The division was raised from volunteers for Lord Kitchener's New Armies, that was originally made up of infantry battalions raised by public subscription or private patronage. The division was taken over by the War Office in September 1915. It served in France and Belgium in the trenches of the Western Front for the duration of the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">21st Division (United Kingdom)</span> Infantry division of the British Army during World War I

The 21st Division was an infantry division of the British Army during World War I, raised in September 1914 by men volunteering for Lord Kitchener's New Armies. The division moved to France in September 1915 and served on the Western Front for the duration of the First World War. The divisional insignia was the "triple-seven".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">33rd Division (United Kingdom)</span> Infantry division of the British Army during the First World War

The 33rd Division was an infantry division of the British Army that was raised in 1914, during the First World War. The division was raised from volunteers for Lord Kitchener's New Armies, that was originally made up of infantry battalions raised by public subscription or private patronage. The division was taken over by the War Office in September 1915. It served in France and Belgium in the trenches of the Western Front for the duration of the war. The division's insignia was the "double-three" from a set of dominoes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team</span> Military unit

The 7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team is a formation in the British Army with a direct lineage to 7th Armoured Brigade and a history that stretches back to the Napoleonic Wars. It saw active service in the Crimean War, the Second Boer War and both the First and the Second World Wars. In 2014, the 7th Armoured Brigade was re-designated as 7th Infantry Brigade, thereby ensuring that the famed "Desert Rats" continue in the British Army's Order of battle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">8th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)</span> Military unit

The 8th Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army that saw active service in both the First and the Second World Wars, before being disbanded and reactivated in the 1960s. The brigade was finally being disbanded in 2006. It was formed before the First World War as part of the 3rd Division. As part of that division it spent the entire war on the Western Front from 1914 to 1918 in the First World War. The brigade was also active during the Second World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">107th (Ulster) Brigade</span> Military unit

The 107th Brigade, later 107th (Ulster) Brigade was an infantry formation of the British Army which saw service in the First World War. The brigade was later reformed during the Cold War and finally disbanded in 2006, following the drawdown of Operation Banner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">71st Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)</span> Military unit

The 71st Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the British Army that saw active service during both the First and Second World Wars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">162nd (East Midland) Brigade</span> Military unit

The East Midland Brigade was an infantry brigade of the Territorial Force, part of the British Army, that was raised in 1908. As the name suggests, it commanded infantry battalions recruited in the East Midlands of England: Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire. The brigade was an integral part of the East Anglian Division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">53rd Brigade (United Kingdom)</span> Military unit

The 53rd Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army that saw active service in both the First and Second World Wars. In the First World War, the brigade served with 18th (Eastern) Division and during the Second with the 18th Infantry Division.

220th Brigade was a Home Service formation of the British Army during the First and Second World Wars.

The 183rd Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the British Army.

The 113th Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the British Army active in both the First and the Second World Wars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">115th Brigade (United Kingdom)</span> Military Unit

The 115th Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the British Army raised during both the First and Second World War.

The 222nd Infantry Brigade was a Home Service formation of the British Army that existed under various short-lived titles in both the First and Second World Wars

<span class="mw-page-title-main">5th Battalion, Royal Northumberland Fusiliers</span> Reserve unit of the British Army

The 2nd Northumberland Rifle Volunteer Corps, also referred to as the Tynemouth Rifles, was an infantry unit of Britain's part-time force, the Territorial Army. The corps was raised during the expansion of the Volunteer movement in the 1850s and then served with the Territorial Force during the First World War. It converted to an anti-aircraft role just prior to Second World War, and continued to serve until it was amalgamated in 1950.

References

  1. "18th (Eastern) Division". The Long Long Trail. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  2. "United States Army Command and General Staff College" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  3. David Isby and Charles Kamps Jr., Armies of NATO's Central Front, Jane's Publishing Company, 1985
  4. "49 Brigade: History". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 15 August 2015.