The 209th Infantry Brigade (209 Bde) was a Home Defence 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

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 ...

Origin

The brigade was formed for service in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

on 13 October 1940 by No 9 Infantry Training Group in the South West Area of Southern Command. Under the name of 209th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home) it was initially composed of newly raised battalions of the

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 ...

.Joslen, p. 372.

Composition

The composition of 209 Brigade was as follows: *As part of the Devon and Cornwall County Division ** 7th Battalion,

''(until 7 November 1941, when it converted to 141st Regiment Royal Armoured Corps)'' ** 8th Battalion, Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) ''(until 22 September 1942)'' ** 9th Battalion, Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) ''(21 October 1940 – 15 August 1941, 24 – 30 November 1941)'' ** 10th Battalion, Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) ''(until 30 November 1941)'' *As part of the 77th Infantry Division ** 8th Battalion, Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) ''(1 December 1941 – 22 September 1942)'' ** 9th Battalion, Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) ''(1 December 1941 – 25 October 1943)'' ** 10th Battalion, Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) ''(1 December 1941 – 25 October 1943)'' ** 11th ( Jersey Militia) Battalion,

Hampshire Regiment The Hampshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot and the 67th (South Hampshire) Regiment of Foot. The regim ...

''(24 September 1942 – 30 November 1944)'' ** 14th Battalion,

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 ...

''(25 September 1942 – 14 November 1944)'' ** 18th Battalion,

Welch Regiment The Welch Regiment (or "The Welch", an archaic spelling of "Welsh") was an infantry regiment of the line of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1969. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of ...

''(20 November 1943 – 19 September 1944)'' ** 6th Battalion,

Northamptonshire Regiment The Northamptonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1960. In 1960, it was amalgamated with the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment to form the 2nd East Anglian Regiment (Duchess of Gloucester's O ...

''(19 November 1943 – 30 November 1944)'' ** 2/5th (Glamorganshire) Battalion, Welch Regiment ''(19 – 30 September 1944)'' ** 11th Battalion,

South Staffordshire Regiment The South Staffordshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for only 68 years. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot an ...

''(15 – 30 November 1944)'' *As Part of the 45th Division (renamed as the 136th Infantry Brigade) ** 11th (Jersey Militia) Battalion, Hampshire Regiment ''(from 1 December 1944)'' ** 6th Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment ''(from 1 December 1944)'' ** 2/5th (Glamorganshire) Battalion, Welch Regiment ''(from 1 December 1944)'' ** 11th Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment ''(from 1 December 1944)''

Commanders

The commanders of 209 Brigade were: *

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 ...

C.C. Hewitt ''(until 21 May 1941)'' * Brigadier G. St G. Robinson ''(21 May–20 October 1941)'' * Brigadier R.C. Matthews ''(28 October 1941 – 17 August 1942)'' * Brigadier W.G. Hewett ''(10 August 1942 – 10 August 1944)'' * Brigadier N.P. Proctor ''(10 August 1944 – 14 February 1945)'' * Brigadier A. Gilroy ''(from 14 February 1945)''

Service

On 28 February 1941, HQ South West Area formed

Devon and Cornwall County Division The Devon and Cornwall County Division was a County Division of the British Army created during the Second World War. It was formed on 28 February 1941, from recently recruited soldiers, in response to the renewed threat of a German invasion. T ...

, which included the 209th Brigade. On 1 December 1941, the County Division was redesignated

77th Infantry Division 77th Division or 75th Infantry Division may refer to: * 77th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht), Germany * 77th Infantry Division of Khurasan, Iran * 77th Division (Imperial Japanese Army) * 77th Division (People's Republic of China) * 77th Division ( ...

and the brigade became 209th Infantry Brigade. The 77th was a Reserve Division, later designated a Holding Division with the role of sorting, retraining and temporarily holding personnel before they were reassigned to other units. It was formally disbanded on 1 September 1944 when its divisional and brigade HQs adopted the numbers of the recently disbanded 45th (Holding) Division. 209 Brigade was redesignated 135th Infantry Brigade. All these formations remained within the United Kingdom throughout the war.Joslen, pp. 73–4, 100, 321.

Notes

References

* George Forty, ''British Army Handbook 1939–1945'', Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 1998, . *
Land Forces of Britain, the Empire and Commonwealth
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Military units and formations established in 1940 Infantry brigades of the British Army Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War II Military units and formations disestablished in 1944