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 Operation Banner was the operational name for the British Armed Forces' operation in Northern Ireland from 1969 to 2007, as part of the Troubles. It was the longest continuous deployment in British military history. The British Army was initial ...

History

World War I

The Brigade traces its historic title back to the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

when the original 107th Infantry Brigade fought with distinction, alongside its sister formations of 108th Infantry Brigade and 109th Infantry Brigade, as the senior component of 36th (Ulster) Division. In September 1914 it was raised the 1st Brigade of that Division, but on 2 November 1914 it was renumbered 107. The 36th Division itself had been formed in September 1914 as part of the New Armies raised by Kitchener. It consisted of the old

Ulster Volunteer Force The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group. Formed in 1965, it first emerged in 1966. Its first leader was Gusty Spence, a former British Army soldier from Northern Ireland. The group undertook an armed campaig ...

, which had originally been raised to resist the imposition of

Home Rule Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wit ...

. Casualties throughout the War meant that many of the original battalions were to be amalgamated or disbanded as hostilities continued. In early 1918, on re-organisation, 107 Brigade consisted of the 1st and 2nd (Regular) and the 15th (Service) Battalions of the Royal Irish Rifles. In March 1918 the 36th Division, in the St Quentin Sector, was part of the Fifth Army and it was upon this Army that the main weight of the German spring offensive fell. The retreat which followed ended on 29 March and the Ulster Division moved north to the Ypres Salient. It thereafter took part in the successful offensive operations, which culminated in the cessation of hostilities in November 1918. The 36th Division was demobilised between January and June 1919, having suffered 32,186 casualties during the war.

Brigade commanders

Commanders were as follows: *

Brig Gen Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed to ...

Couchman CB until 20 Oct 1915 * Brig Gen W M Withycombe CMG DSO until 7 Mar 1917 * Brig Gen F J M Rowley DSO until 2 Jun 1917 * Brig Gen W M Withycombe CMG DSO until 20 Apr 1918 * Brig Gen E I de S Thorpe CMG DSO until 18 Sep 1918 * Brig Gen H J Brock CB CMG DSO

Order of battle World War I

From 5 November 1915 to 3 February 1916, the 107th Brigade was attached to 4th Division * 8th (Service) Battalion (East Belfast),

Royal Irish Rifles The Royal Irish Rifles (became the Royal Ulster Rifles from 1 January 1921) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army, first created in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 83rd (County of Dublin) Regiment of Foot and the 86th (Royal County D ...

''(joined September 1914, 8th/9th Battalion from August 1917, disbanded February 1918)'' * 9th (Service) Battalion (West Belfast), Royal Irish Rifles ''(joined September 1914, amalgamated with 8th Battalion August 1917)'' * 10th (Service) Battalion (South Belfast), Royal Irish Rifles ''(joined September 1914, disbanded February 1918)'' * 15th (Service) Battalion (North Belfast), Royal Irish Rifles ''(joined September 1914)'' * 107th Brigade Machine Gun Company ''(joined 18 December 1915, moved into 36th Battalion,

Machine Gun Corps The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was a corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front in the First World War. The Heavy Branch of the MGC was the first to use tank ...

on 1 March 1918)'' * 107th Trench Mortar Battery ''(joined from 1 April 1916)'' * 1st Battalion,

Royal Irish Fusiliers The Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's) was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army, formed by the amalgamation of the 87th (Prince of Wales's Irish) Regiment of Foot and the 89th (Princess Victoria's) Regiment of Foot in ...

''(joined August 1917, left February 1918)'' * 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles ''(joined February 1918)'' * 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles ''(joined February 1918)''

Post-World War II

The second 107 Brigade was to be a Territorial Army formation. The Territorial Army throughout the United Kingdom was reconstituted in 1947 and, for the first time, there was a full scale TA organisation of all Arms in Ulster. Authority was given by the War Office for the formation on 1 January 1947 of 107 (Ulster) Independent Infantry Brigade (TA). Also at this time, Territorial infantry battalions of the three Regular infantry regiments of Northern Ireland were being formed, in addition to the various supporting Arms and Services.

Brigade commanders

* Brig N Russell CB DSO MC Late The Royal Irish Fusiliers 1 Jan 1947 * Brig T P D Scott

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

DSO Late The Royal Irish Fusiliers 7 Jul 1950 * Brig A G Mackenzie-Kennedy CBE DSO Late The

Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of Scotland. The regimen ...

20 Aug 1952 * Brig J Drummond DSO Late The

Royal Ulster Rifles The Royal Irish Rifles (became the Royal Ulster Rifles from 1 January 1921) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army, first created in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 83rd (County of Dublin) Regiment of Foot and the 86th (Royal County ...

20 Aug 1955 * Brig G Wort CBE Late The

Wiltshire Regiment The Wiltshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment of Foot and the 99th Duke of Edinburgh's (Lanarkshire) Regiment of Foot. The ...

30 Aug 1958 * Brig H L S Young DSO Late

Irish Guards The Irish Guards (IG), is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army and is part of the Guards Division. Together with the Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish infantry regiments in the British Army. The regiment has parti ...

30 Aug 1961 * Brig R C P Jeffries MBE Late The Royal Irish Fusiliers 12 Nov 1962 * Brig A J Dyball MC TD Late The Royal Ulster Rifles 2 Dec 1965 – 31 Mar 1967

Postwar order of battle

The brigade had the following composition in 1947: * 107th Brigade Signal Squadron, Royal Corps of Signals, at

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

* 5th Battalion,

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot and the 108th Regiment o ...

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

* 6th Battalion,

at Belfast * 5th Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's) at

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...

* 661st (Ulster) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, at

Bangor, County Down Bangor ( ; ) is a city and seaside resort in County Down, Northern Ireland, on the southern side of Belfast Lough. It is within the Belfast metropolitan area and is 13 miles (22 km) east of Belfast city centre, to which it is linked ...

* 591st (Antrim) Independent Field Squadron, Royal Engineers, at Bangor * 601st Company,

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and dom ...

* 107th Brigade

Royal Army Ordnance Corps The Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) was a corps of the British Army. At its renaming as a Royal Corps in 1918 it was both a supply and repair corps. In the supply area it had responsibility for weapons, armoured vehicles and other military equip ...

* 107th Brigade

Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME ) is a corps of the British Army that maintains the equipment that the Army uses. The corps is described as the "British Army's Professional Engineers". History Prior to REME's for ...

* 107th Field Ambulance,

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

Modern times

In July 1965 it became known that the reorganisation of the Territorial Army into the Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve would entail the disbandment of 107 (Ulster) Brigade on 31 March 1967. This was part of the complete reorganisation, announced in the 1966 Defence White Paper, which abolished the former regimental and divisional structure of the Territorial Army. A cell within

Headquarters Northern Ireland HQ Northern Ireland was the formation (military), formation responsible for the British Army in and around Northern Ireland. It was established in 1922 and disbanded, replaced by a brigade-level Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Army Reserve formati ...

then oversaw the administration of the Territorial Army in Northern Ireland until the decision was taken that 107 Brigade would again enter the British Army's Order of Battle and this took place on 2 November 1988. It was formed as an administrative headquarters to coordinate the TA units in Northern Ireland. It only became a deployable formation in the 1990s. The Brigade merged on 15 December 2006 into the 39 Infantry Brigade, which was itself replaced by the new regional brigade headquarters, 38 (Irish) Brigade, on 1 August 2007.

References

Bibliography

* * {{cite book , title =An Account of the Territorials in Northern Ireland 1947–1978, last=Gailey, Gillespie and Hassett , year=1979, location=Belfast, UK, publisher=Territorial, Auxiliary and Volunteer Reserve Association for Northern Ireland, asin= B001OJWW98, page=96 pages

External links

Graham Watson, ''The Territorial Army 1947''
Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War I Pals Brigades of the British Army Military units and formations established in 1914 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 Military units and formations established in 1947 Military units and formations disestablished in 1967 Military units and formations established in 1988 Military units and formations disestablished in 2006 Military history of Northern Ireland