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55th Brigade 55th Infantry Brigade | |
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Active | 1914–1919 1939–1942 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | British Army |
Type | Infantry |
Size | Brigade |
Part of | 18th (Eastern) Division 18th Infantry Division |
Engagements | First World War Second World War |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Lionel Sadleir-Jackson Tim Massy-Beresford |
The 55th Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army that saw active service in both the First and the Second World Wars.
The brigade was originally raised in 1914, as the 55th 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.
The brigade was disbanded after the war in 1919. However, it was reformed as the 55th Infantry Brigade in 1939 in the Territorial Army shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and joined the 18th Infantry Division. It remained in the United Kingdom on home defence and training duties, preparing for a possible German invasion which, fortunately, never arrived. The 55th Infantry Brigade, along with the rest of the 18th Division, was sent to Singapore in 1942 where it surrendered to the Imperial Japanese Army in the short but violent Battle of Singapore. The men of the brigade would spend the next three years as Japanese prisoners in harsh and degrading imprisonment.
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The Huntingdonshire Cyclist Battalion was a bicycle infantry battalion of the British Army. Formed in the Territorial Force in February 1914, it remained in the United Kingdom throughout the First World War. After the war, in 1920, it was converted to infantry and became the 5th (Huntingdonshire) Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment, in the Territorial Army. The battalion saw extensive service in the Second World War, fighting in France in 1940, Tunisia from 1942–43 and later Sicily and Italy from 1943–45 before ending the war in May 1945 in Austria. It continued to serve after the Second World War until May 1961 when it was amalgamated with the 4th Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment, to form the 4th/5th Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment.
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