61st Brigade 'M' Brigade 61st Infantry Brigade 61st (Lorried) Infantry Brigade | |
---|---|
Active | 14 September 1914 – 28 May 1919 21 May 1944–1946 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | British Army |
Type | Infantry Lorried infantry |
Size | Brigade |
Part of | 20th (Light) Division 6th Armoured Division |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Sir Charles Richardson |
61st Brigade (61st Bde) was an infantry formation of the British Army during the First World War. It was formed in September 1914 as part of the new army also known as Kitchener's Army and was assigned to the 20th (Light) Division, serving in the trenches of the Western Front. It was reformed as a motorised infantry brigade in Italy during the Second World War.
On 6 August 1914, less than 48 hours after Britain's declaration of war, Parliament sanctioned an increase of 500,000 men for the Regular British Army. The new Secretary of State for War, Earl Kitchener of Khartoum, issued his famous call to arms: 'Your King and Country Need You', urging the first 100,000 volunteers to come forward. Men flooded into the recruiting offices and the 'first hundred thousand' were enlisted within days. This group of six infantry divisions with supporting arms became known as Kitchener's First New Army, or 'K1'. [1] [2] Recruits continued to arrive in large numbers,and Army Order No 382 of 11 September authorised a further six divisions (15th – 20th), which became the Second New Army (K2). 20th (Light) Division began forming at Aldershot with the 59th, 60th and 61st Brigades, initially composed entirely of service battalions from light infantry and rifle regiments. [3] [4]
61st Brigade was constituted as follows during the war: [3] [4]
The 20th (Light) Division crossed to France in July 1915 and completed its concentration in the area west of Saint-Omer by 26 July. Thereafter it served on the Western Front in the following operations: [3] [4]
1915
1916
1917
Harry Patch, later to become the last surviving veteran of the trenches, served with 7th DCLI in 61st Brigade at Ypres in 1917 when he was 19 years old. He was wounded by shrapnel in September. He survived both world wars and lived until 2009 when he died, on 25 July, aged 111.[ citation needed ]
1918
Following the Armistice with Germany demobilisation of 20th (L) Division began in January 1919 and the division and its formations ceased to exist on 28 May 1919. [3]
The formation sign of 20th (L) Division was a white circle bearing a black cross with a red bull's-eye at the centre. [5] In the summer of 1917 the division adopted a comprehensive scheme for battalion identification signs worn on both sleeves. These were black geometric shapes, with 61st Bde using squares. Underneath, one, two, three or four bars indicated the battalion's seniority. Before the adoption of the divisional scheme the 7th SLI wore a Rifle green horizontal rectangle on the right sleeve. [6]
The following officers commanded the brigade during the war: [3]
The brigade was reactivated in Italy during the Second World War, composed of three motor battalions of the Rifle Brigade, the 2nd, 7th and 10th, the former being of the Regular Army and the latter two of the Territorial Army (TA). Formed on 21 May 1944 as 'M' Brigade under Eighth Army, it was renamed the 61st Infantry Brigade on 29 May when it joined 6th Armoured Division. On 20 March 1945 it was renamed 61st (Lorried) Infantry Brigade and the motor battalions were reorganised as lorried infantry. [7]
The brigade was constituted as follows during the war: [7]
The brigade participated in the following actions: [7]
The following officers commanded the brigade during the war: [7]
The Royal Welch Fusiliers (Welsh: Ffiwsilwyr Brenhinol Cymreig) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, and part of the Prince of Wales's Division, that was founded in 1689; shortly after the Glorious Revolution. In 1702, it was designated a fusilier regiment and became the Welch Regiment of Fusiliers; the prefix "Royal" was added in 1713, then confirmed in 1714 when George I named it the Prince of Wales's Own Royal Regiment of Welsh Fusiliers. In 1751, after reforms that standardised the naming and numbering of regiments, it became the 23rd Regiment of Foot (Royal Welsh Fuzileers). In 1881, the final title of the regiment was adopted.
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, and the First and Second World Wars. It had many different titles throughout its 280 years of existence.
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".
The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) was a rifle regiment of the British Army, the only regiment of rifles amongst the Scottish regiments of infantry. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 26th Cameronian Regiment and the 90th Perthshire Light Infantry. In 1968, when reductions were required, the regiment chose to be disbanded rather than amalgamated with another regiment, one of only two infantry regiments in the British Army to do so, with the other being the York and Lancaster Regiment. It can trace its roots to that of the Cameronians, later the 26th of Foot, who were raised in 1689. The 1881 amalgamation coincided with the Cameronian's selection to become the new Scottish Rifles.
The 14th Infantry Brigade was a British Army formation during the Second Boer War, World War I, when it served on the Western Front, and World War II, when it fought in Crete and Tobruk, and then as Chindits in Burma.
The 19th Brigade is an Army Reserve formation of the British Army. As the 19th Infantry Brigade, it fought in the First and Second World War.
152nd Infantry Brigade was a formation of Britain's Territorial Force/Territorial Army that was part of 51st (Highland) Division in both World Wars. From its origins in the 19th Century Volunteer Force it was based in Inverness and was composed of Highland battalions. It served on the Western Front in World War I, and after it was captured at Saint-Valery-en-Caux early in World War II it was reformed from its 2nd Line and saw action in North Africa, Sicily and North West Europe.
153rd Infantry Brigade was a formation of Britain's Territorial Force/Territorial Army that was part of 51st (Highland) Division in both World Wars. From its origins in the 19th Century Volunteer Force it was based in Aberdeen and was composed of Highland battalions. It served on the Western Front in World War I, and after it was captured at Saint-Valery-en-Caux early in World War II it was reformed from its 2nd Line and saw action in North Africa, Sicily and North West Europe. It continued serving postwar until the reduction of the Territorial Army in the 1960s.
154th Infantry Brigade was a formation of Britain's Territorial Force/Territorial Army that was part of 51st (Highland) Division in both World Wars. From its origins in the 19th Century Volunteer Force it was based in Stirling and was composed of Highland battalions. It served on the Western Front in World War I, and after it escaped from France early in World War II it was reformed from its 2nd Line and saw action in North Africa, Sicily and North West Europe. It continued serving postwar until the reduction of the Territorial Army in the 1960s.
The 7th (Meerut) Division was an infantry division of the Indian Army and before 1895, the Bengal Army, that saw active service during World War I.
The Durham Light Infantry Brigade was formed in 1902 to command the part-time Volunteer battalions of the Durham Light Infantry (DLI). Previously these had been in a combined Tyne and Tees Brigade with battalions of the Northumberland Fusiliers. It consisted of the 1st–4th Volunteer Battalions of the DLI, which were renumbered as the 5th–8th Battalions when the Volunteers were subsumed into the Territorial Force (TF) under the Haldane Reforms of 1908. Consisting of 6th–9th Battalions, it became part of the TF's Northumbrian Division. During World War I it was numbered as the 151st Brigade on 14 May 1915, when the division became the 50th (Northumbrian) Division. The TF also raised 2nd Line units and formations, and the 190th Brigade was formed in 63rd Division. The 1st Line battalions adopted the prefix '1/'
The Liverpool Brigade, later 165th (Liverpool) Brigade was an infantry brigade of Britain's Volunteer Force that served during World War I with the 55th Division of the British Army. During World War II, again as part of the 55th Infantry Division, the brigade remained in the United Kingdom.
The 140th Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the British Army's Territorial Army (TA) that had its origins in a South London Brigade of the former Volunteer Force. It served on the Western Front in the First World War and was recreated during the Second World War where it served only in the United Kingdom as a training formation.
The 141st Brigade was an infantry brigade of the Territorial Army, part of the British Army, that served in the First World War and remained in the United Kingdom throughout the Second World War.
41st Brigade was an infantry formation of British Army during World War I. It was formed in August 1914 as part of the New Army, also known as Kitchener's Army, and was assigned to the 14th (Light) Division, serving on the Western Front. It was sometimes known as the 'Greenjacket Brigade' because it was composed of battalions of the King's Royal Rifle Corps and the Rifle Brigade, whose full dress uniforms were Rifle green.
59th Brigade was an infantry formation of the British Army during World War I. It was formed in September 1914 as part of the new army also known as Kitchener's Army and was assigned to the 20th (Light) Division, serving on the Western Front. It was popularly known as the 'Greenjacket Brigade' because it was composed of battalions of the King's Royal Rifle Corps and the Rifle Brigade, whose full dress uniforms were Rifle green.
60th Brigade was an infantry formation of the British Army during World War I. It was formed in September 1914 as part of the new army also known as Kitchener's Army and was assigned to the 20th (Light) Division, serving on the Western Front.
The 183rd Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the British Army in both World Wars
The 184th Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the British Army raise for service in both the First and the Second World Wars.
The 123rd Brigade was an infantry formation of the British Army during World War I. It was raised as part of the New Armies. After the original 123rd Bde was renumbered, a new brigade was formed and served with the 41st Division from 1916 to 1919 on the Western Front, in Italy, and with the British Army of Occupation in Germany.