The 132nd Infantry Brigade was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. B ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

that remained in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

during 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 ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, it served with the 44th (Home Counties) Infantry Division in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, later being evacuated at Dunkirk and seeing service again in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

at El Alamein before being disbanded in January 1943.

Formation

After the creation of the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry ...

in 1908, the 7th, 8th,

9th 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

and 10th

Volunteer Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

battalions of the

Middlesex Regiment The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1966. The regiment was formed, as the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), in 1881 as part of the Childers R ...

were organised into a brigade within the Home Counties Division. The brigade was designated the Middlesex Brigade.

First World War

On the outbreak of the

, the men of the division accepted liability for overseas service to relieve Regular troops for the fighting fronts. The 7th and 8th Middlesex sailed for Gibraltar on 4 and 10 September 1914. The rest of the division was ordered to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, although the brigade staffs and Regular adjutants of the battalions were to remain behind. To replace 7th and 8th Middlesex, the 4th Battalion,

Border Regiment The Border Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot and the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot. After service i ...

and 4th Battalion,

King's Shropshire Light Infantry The King's Shropshire Light Infantry (KSLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in the Childers Reforms of 1881, but with antecedents dating back to 1755. It served in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. In 19 ...

were added to the Middlesex Brigade, and the 1st Brecknockshire Battalion of the

South Wales Borderers The South Wales Borderers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for 280 years. It came into existence in England in 1689, as Sir Edward Dering's Regiment of Foot, and afterwards had a variety of names and headquarters. I ...

also sailed with the brigade. The Home Counties Division embarked at Southampton and sailed on 30 October 1914, disembarking at Bombay on 1–3 December.Becke, pp. 49–54.

Service in India

On arrival, the division's units were sent distributed to various peacetime stations across India, Aden and

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

to continue their training for war. The Border and KSLI battalions joined the Burma Division, the Brecon battalion went to Aden, and for a while the two Middlesex battalions were attached to the Presidency Brigade in 8th (Lucknow) Division. The TF battalions had all taken the prefix '1' (1/4th Queen's ''etc'') to distinguish them from their 2nd Line battalions forming in the United Kingdom. In March 1915, 2/4th Border Regiment was sent out to the brigade to replace 4th KSLI, which had moved from Burma to

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

. In May 1915, the division was numbered 44th (Home Counties) Division and the brigade formally became 132nd (1/1st Middlesex) Brigade (though without a commander or staff, and with its battalions scattered). From 1915 onwards there was a regular drain on the battalions as they lost their best Non-Commissioned Officers for officer training, sent detachments to various places in India, and provided drafts to replace casualties among units fighting in

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

. By early 1916 it had become obvious that the Territorial Divisions in India were never going to be able to reform and return to Europe to reinforce the Western Front as had been originally intended. They continued training in India for the rest of the war, providing drafts and detachments as required. 1/9th Middlesex was transferred to Mesopotamia at the end of 1917, landing at

Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is han ...

on 11 December and transferring to 53rd Indian Brigade,

18th Indian Division The 18th Indian Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army that saw active service in the First World War. It took part in the Mesopotamian campaign and formed part of the occupation force for Iraq post-war. The division was ...

. By 1918 the only units still formally attached to 132nd Brigade were 1/10th Middlesex and 1/4th Border (now returned from Burma and actually serving in the Jubbulpore Brigade of

5th (Mhow) Division The 5th (Mhow) Division was a regular division of the British Indian Army and part of the Southern Army which was formed in 1903 after Lord Kitchener was appointed Commander-in-Chief, India between 1902 and 1909. He instituted large-scale re ...

). During 1919 the remaining Territorial units in India were gradually reduced, but 1/4th and 2/4th Border finally saw active service during the

Third Afghan War The Third Anglo-Afghan War; fa, جنگ سوم افغان-انگلیس), also known as the Third Afghan War, the British-Afghan War of 1919, or in Afghanistan as the War of Independence, began on 6 May 1919 when the Emirate of Afghanistan inv ...

Order of Battle

During the First World War the Middlesex Brigade was composed as follows: Commander: Brigadier-General W.R. Clifford (remained in England) * 7th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment ''(from

Hornsey Hornsey is a district of north London, England in the London Borough of Haringey. It is an inner-suburban, for the most part residential, area centred north of Charing Cross. It adjoins green spaces Queen's Wood and Alexandra Park to the ...

)'' – to Gibraltar * 8th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment ''(from

Hounslow Hounslow () is a large suburban district of West London, west-southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hounslow, and is identified in the London Plan as one of the 12 metropolitan centres in ...

)'' – to Gibraltar * 9th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment ''(from

Willesden Willesden () is an area of northwest London, situated 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933, and has forme ...

)'' – to India * 10th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment ''(from

Ravenscourt Park Ravenscourt Park or RCP is an public park and garden located in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, England. It is one of the Borough's flagship parks, having won a Green Flag Award. Stamford Brook and Ravenscourt Park tube stations ar ...

)'' – to India * 4th (Cumberland and Westmorland) Battalion,

''(from Carlisle)'' – to Burma * 4th Battalion,

King's (Shropshire Light Infantry) The King's Shropshire Light Infantry (KSLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in the Childers Reforms of 1881, but with antecedents dating back to 1755. It served in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. In 196 ...

''(from Shrewsbury)'' – to Burma * 1st Brecknockshire Battalion,

''(from

Brecon Brecon (; cy, Aberhonddu; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the coun ...

)'' – to Aden

Between the wars

The

was disbanded shortly after the end of the war. It was, however, reformed in the 1920s as the Territorial Army and the 132nd Brigade was reformed as the 132nd (Middlesex) Infantry Brigade in 1920. The division was also reconstituted as the 44th (Home Counties) Infantry Division. The brigade was reformed with the same composition as it had before the First World War. However, in 1920, the 10th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment was converted into the Home Counties Divisional Signals, Royal Corps of Signals. They were replaced in the brigade by the 5th Battalion,

Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army based in the county of Kent in existence from 1881 to 1961. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, originally as the Queen' ...

from the 133rd (Kent and Sussex) Infantry Brigade. In the late 1930s, however, all three of the Middlesex battalions were posted away or converted to other roles. The 9th Battalion was, in 1938, converted into the 9th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment (60th Searchlight Regiment) and transferred to the 40th Anti-Aircraft Group,

2nd Anti-Aircraft Division The 2nd Anti-Aircraft Division (2nd AA Division) was an Air Defence formation of the British Army from 1935 to 1942. It controlled anti-aircraft gun and searchlight units of the Territorial Army (TA) defending the East Midlands and East Anglia ...

. In the same year, the Middlesex Regiment was designated as a Machine Gun regiment and the 7th and 8th Middlesex were transferred elsewhere. Also in 1938, all infantry brigades in the British Army were reduced from four battalions to three. The 7th and 8th Middlesex were replaced by the 4th Royal West Kents from the 133rd Brigade and the 6th Battalion, East Surrey Regiment from the 131st (Surrey) Infantry Brigade. In 1939 the brigade was redesignated 132nd Infantry Brigade.

Second World War

The brigade and division, alongside most of the rest of the Territorial Army, was mobilised in late August 1939 due to the situation in Europe deteriorating situation in Europe. 3 September 1939 saw the start of the

after the German Army invaded Poland two days before, on 1 September 1939. Shortly after full mobilisation in early September 1939, 132nd Brigade HQ became HQ Central Sub-Area in the United Kingdom and the units of the brigade were temporarily under the command of other formations until the brigade reassembled in 44th (Home Counties) Infantry Division on 7 October 1939.Joslen, p. 318.

Order of Battle

132 Brigade was constituted as follows: * 1/6th Battalion, East Surrey Regiment ''(until 4 May 1940, to 10th Brigade)'' * 4th Battalion,

* 5th Battalion, Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment * 132nd Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company ''(formed 1 December 1939, disbanded 15 January 1941)'' * 1st Battalion, Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment ''(from 10th Brigade, from 4 May until 29 June 1940)'' * 1/7th Battalion, Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) ''(from 25th Brigade on 1 July 1940, returned to 131st Brigade 1 July 1941)'' * 2nd Battalion,

Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment), formerly the 3rd Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army traditionally raised in the English county of Kent and garrisoned at Canterbury. It had a history dating back to 1572 and ...

''(from 131st Brigade 2 July 1941)''

Commanders

The following officers commanded 132nd Brigade during the war: *

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. I ...

T.T. Waddington ''(until 8 November 1939)'' * Brigadier J.S. Steele ''(from 8 November 1939 until 14 February 1941)'' * Brigadier C.B. Robertson ''(from 14 February 1941 until 4 September 1942)'' * Brigadier L.G. Whistler ''(from acting command of 133rd Brigade 4 September until 26 November 1942)'' * Lieutenant Colonel W.H. Lambert ''( Acting, from 26 November 1942)''

Service

On 2 April 1940, the 132nd Brigade, now commanded by

James Steele, MC, (later to become

Adjutant-General to the Forces The Adjutant-General to the Forces, commonly just referred to as the Adjutant-General (AG), was for just over 250 years one of the most senior officers in the British Army. The AG was latterly responsible for developing the Army's personnel polic ...

), an officer of the

Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a standin ...

, went to France with 44th Division as part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). The division came under command of III Corps, including

5th Division In military terms, 5th Division may refer to: Infantry divisions * 5th Division (Australia) *5th Division (People's Republic of China) * 5th Division (Colombia) *Finnish 5th Division (Continuation War) * 5th Light Cavalry Division (France) *5th Mo ...

and

42nd (East Lancashire) Division The 42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army. The division was raised in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force (TF), originally as the East Lancashire Division, and was redesignated as the 42nd (Ea ...

, another Territorial division. Both 44th and 42nd divisions had been held back from reinforcing the BEF sooner in order to participate in potential operations in Northern Europe, yet this had never come to anything. Shortly after their arrival, the 1/6th Battalion, East Surrey Regiment was transferred to the 10th Brigade, part of 4th Division, receiving the 1st Battalion,

, a Regular Army unit, in exchange and the "Kent and Surrey" brigade became an all-West Kent formation. The reason for the exchange of units was due to official BEF policy of mixing the Regular and Territorial Armies, and, in theory, to strengthen the inexperienced Territorial divisions. The brigade saw fighting in the St Omer–La Bassée area during

retreat to Dunkirk The Battle of Dunkirk (french: Bataille de Dunkerque, link=no) was fought around the French port of Dunkirk (Dunkerque) during the Second World War, between the Allies and Nazi Germany. As the Allies were losing the Battle of France on the ...

, part of the Battle of France – when the brigade commander, James Steele, was awarded a DSO – and was then evacuated from Dunkirk on 31 May 1940. Back in the United Kingdom, 132nd Brigade was re-equipped and positioned in its own county of

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

to defend what 44th Division's commander,

Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

Brian Horrocks Lieutenant-General Sir Brian Gwynne Horrocks, (7 September 1895 – 4 January 1985) was a British Army officer, chiefly remembered as the commander of XXX Corps in Operation Market Garden and other operations during the Second World W ...

, regarded as 'the No 1

German invasion German invasion may refer to: Pre-1900s * German invasion of Hungary (1063) World War I * German invasion of Belgium (1914) * German invasion of Luxembourg (1914) World War II * Invasion of Poland * German invasion of Belgium (1940) * G ...

area, stretching from the

Isle of Thanet The Isle of Thanet () is a peninsula forming the easternmost part of Kent, England. While in the past it was separated from the mainland by the Wantsum Channel, it is no longer an island. Archaeological remains testify to its settlement in an ...

to Dover and on to Folkestone'. The brigade was shipped out to

in May 1942 with the rest of 44th Division, where it fought at the

Battle of Alam el Halfa The Battle of Alam el Halfa took place between 30 August and 5 September 1942 south of El Alamein during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. '' Panzerarmee Afrika'' (''Generalfeldmarschall'' Erwin Rommel), attempted an envelopme ...

and the

Second Battle of El Alamein The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa had prevented th ...

. The 44th Division was broken up after Alamein, due to a shortage of manpower in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

, and the brigade's battalions were posted away during November and December. 132nd Brigade was officially disbanded in Egypt on 15 January 1943. The battalions were posted away to British Indian Army brigades, the 2nd Buffs joined the

26th Indian Infantry Brigade The 26th Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II. It was formed in March 1941, at Secunderabad, India and assigned to the 6th Indian Infantry Division. The brigade was part of the Line of Co ...

, the 4th Royal West Kents sent to the 161st Indian Infantry Brigade and the 5th Royal West Kents to the 21st Indian Infantry Brigade. The former two would both later fight in the Burma Campaign, the 4th Royal West Kents with distinction, winning a VC (belonging to

Lance Corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal, and is typically the lowest non-commissioned officer (NCO), usually equi ...

John Harman) in the

Battle of Kohima The Battle of Kohima proved the turning point of the Japanese U-Go offensive into India in 1944 during the Second World War. The battle took place in three stages from 4 April to 22 June 1944 around the town of Kohima, now the capital city of N ...

, whilst the latter, the 5th Royal West Kents, would see service throughout the Italian Campaign.

Post war

The brigade was reorganised postwar but disbanded by 1968.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * Fraser, David (1999)

983 Year 983 ( CMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Diet of Verona: Emperor Otto II (the Red) declares war against the Byza ...

And We Shall Shock Them: The British Army in the Second World War. Cassell military. .

External links

The Regimental Warpath 1914–1918

The Long, Long Trail
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Military units and formations established in 1908 Infantry brigades of the British Army Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War I Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War II Military units and formations disestablished in 1943