The 106th Brigade was a formation 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 ...

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 ...

. It was raised as part of the new army also known as

Kitchener's Army The New Army, often referred to as Kitchener's Army or, disparagingly, as Kitchener's Mob, was an (initially) all-volunteer portion of the British Army formed in the United Kingdom from 1914 onwards following the outbreak of hostilities in the Fi ...

and assigned to the 35th Division. The brigade served on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

History

The infantry was originally composed of Bantams, that is soldiers who would otherwise be excluded from service due to their short stature. This became a regular infantry Brigade with the end of the Bantam experiment at the end of 1916, after it was noted that bantam replacements were not up to the physical standards of the original recruits. The brigade was disbanded in April 1919 at Ripon, the brigade was not reformed in the Second World War.

Order of Battle

The composition of the brigade was as follows: *17th Battalion, (Rosebery),

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 ...

*17th Battalion, (2nd Leeds),

West Yorkshire Regiment ) , march = ''Ça Ira'' , battles = Namur FontenoyFalkirk Culloden Brandywine , anniversaries = Imphal (22 June) The West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) was ...

''(left November 1917)'' *19th Battalion, (2nd County of Durham),

Durham Light Infantry The Durham Light Infantry (DLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1968. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) and t ...

''(left February 1918)'' *18th Battalion, (4th Glasgow),

Highland Light Infantry The Highland Light Infantry (HLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1881. It took part in the First and Second World Wars, until it was amalgamated with the Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1959 to form the Royal Highland Fusi ...

''(disbanded February 1918)'' * 4th (Extra Reserve) Battalion,

North Staffordshire Regiment The North Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was in existence between 1881 and 1959. The 64th (2nd Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot was created on 21 April 1758 from the 2nd Battali ...

''(joined November 1917, left, to 105th Brigade, February 1918)'' *12th Battalion, Highland Light Infantry ''(joined February 1918)'' *106th Machine Gun Company ''(joined April 1916, left for division MG battalion February 1918)'' *106th Trench Mortar Battery ''(joined April 1916)''

Commanders

*Brig-Gen H O'Donnell ''to 13 May 1916'' *Brig-Gen J H W Pollard C.B., C.M.G. ''from 13 May 1916, to March 1919''

References

Bibliography

*{{cite book , last1=Davson , first1=H.M. , title=The History of the 35th Division in the Great War , date=1926 , publisher=Naval & Military Press , location=London , isbn=9781843426431 , pages=81–82 , edition=2020 Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War I Pals Brigades of the British Army