The 213th Brigade was a Home Defence and training 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 both the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and

Second World Wars 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 opposing ...

First World War

The 213th Brigade was first organised in November 1916 as part of the 71st Division, a new a Home Service and training formation formed from the 6th Provisional Brigade.Becke, Pt 2b, pp. 101–5 The Brigade was disbanded in March 1918.

Order of Battle

The following units constituted the Brigade: * HQ:

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...

* 16th (Home Service) Battalion, Queen's (Royal West Surrey) Regiment: newly formed. * 25th (Garrison) Battalion, Middlesex Regiment: originally formed from depot companies of 18th, 19th and 26th (Public Works Pioneers) Battalions Middlesex Regiment; left for

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

22 December 1916. * 18th (Home Service) 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 regi ...

: newly formed 26 December 1916 to replace 25th Middlesex; disbanded December 1917. * 66th Provisional Battalion: became

16th Battalion, Essex Regiment The 6th Battalion, Essex Regiment was a volunteer unit of Britain's Territorial Army. First formed in the docks of East London in 1860, it served as infantry at Gallipoli and in Palestine during the First World War. It later formed searchlight u ...

; disbanded December 1917 * 252nd Battalion Training Reserve: joined 9 July 1917; became 52nd (Graduated) Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment * 253rd Battalion Training Reserve: joined 17 September 1917; became 51st (Graduated) Battalion,

Royal Sussex Regiment The Royal Sussex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1966. The regiment was formed in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot ...

Commander

* GOC: Brigadier-General W.MacL. Campbell

Second World War

Formation and Service

A new 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 continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

on 30 September 1940 by No 13 Infantry Training Group in

II Corps 2nd Corps, Second Corps, or II Corps may refer to: France * 2nd Army Corps (France) * II Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * II Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French ...

. Initially under the name of the 213th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home) it was composed of newly raised battalions.Joslen, p. 376 Between 1 November and 23 December 1940, it came under the command of the 18th Infantry Division, then moved it into the newly created

Norfolk County Division The Norfolk County Division was short lived of the British Army formed during the Second World War. It was formed on 24 December 1940, and disbanded on 18 November 1941 by being redesignated as the 76th Infantry Division.Joslen p. 114 It was co ...

. On 18 November 1941, the county division was re-designated as the 76th Infantry Division and simultaneously Brigade was renamed became the 213th Infantry Brigade.Joslen, pp. 99, 114. On 1 September 1944, 76th Division HQ was disbanded, and its brigades transferred to replace those in

47th (London) Infantry Division The 47th (London) Infantry Division was an infantry Division (military), division of the British Army that was formed during the Second World War and remained in the United Kingdom until the end of the war. In March 1939, after the re-emergenc ...

, which were disbanding. The 47th Division was recreated as the 47th (Reserve) Infantry Division and the 213th Brigade was re-designated as the 140th Infantry Brigade, replacing the disbanded 140th (London) Infantry Brigade. The 213th Brigade remained in the United Kingdom throughout its service.

Order of Battle

The following units constituted the brigade during the war: *As part of II Corps and the Norfolk County Division. ** 13th Battalion,

Royal Warwickshire Regiment The Royal Warwickshire Regiment, previously titled the 6th Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. The regiment saw service in many conflicts and wars, including the Second Boer War ...

''(30 September 1940 — 17 November 1941)'' ** 11th Battalion,

Worcestershire Regiment The Worcestershire Regiment was a line infantry regiment in the British Army, formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 29th (Worcestershire) Regiment of Foot and the 36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot. The regimen ...

''(30 September 1940 — 18 December 1940)'' ** 9th Battalion,

Royal Berkshire Regiment The Royal Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was created in 1881, as the Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment), by ...

''(30 September 1940 — 17 November 1941)'' ** 14th Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment ''(30 September 1940 — 17 November 1941)'' ** 13th Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment (''18 November — 8 December 1940'') *As part of 76th Division. ** 13th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment ''(18 November 1941 — 12 September 1942)'' ** 9th Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment ''(18 November 1941 — 16 November 1943)'' ** 14th Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment ''(18 November 1941 — 13 December 1942, converted into 103rd Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery)'' ** 7th Battalion,

Royal Norfolk Regiment The Royal Norfolk Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army until 1959. Its predecessor regiment was raised in 1685 as Henry Cornwall's Regiment of Foot. In 1751, it was numbered like most other British Army regiments and named ...

''(14 September — 20 October 1942)'' ** 9th Battalion,

King's Own Scottish Borderers The King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSBs) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division. On 28 March 2006 the regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Scots, the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's Own ...

''(14 December 1942 – 11 December 1943)'' ** 11th Battalion,

York and Lancaster Regiment The York and Lancaster Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was created in the Childers Reforms of 1881 by the amalgamation of the 65th (2nd Yorkshire, North Riding) Regiment of ...

''(17 December 1942 – 15 November 1943)'' ** 9th Battalion,

Seaforth Highlanders The Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Albany's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, mainly associated with large areas of the northern Highlands of Scotland. The regiment existed from 1881 to 1961, and saw servic ...

''(30 November 1942 – 16 November 1943)'' ** 1st Battalion,

Sherwood Foresters The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for just under 90 years, from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Worcestershire Regiment to f ...

''(15 November 1943 – 23 July 1944)'' ** 4th Battalion,

East Lancashire Regiment The East Lancashire Regiment was, from 1881 to 1958, a line infantry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment of Foot and 59th (2nd Nott ...

''(15 November 1943 – 23 July 1944)'' ** 7th 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 ...

''(15 November 1943 – 24 July 1944; re-designated 5th Battalion, Border Regiment 1 April 1944)'' ** 4th Battalion,

Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was a light infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1958, serving in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. The regiment was formed as a consequence of th ...

''(24 July—31 August 1944)'' **

6th Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment The 2nd Sussex Rifle Volunteers was a part-time unit of the British Army first raised from the county of Sussex in 1859. It later became the 4th Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment. A detachment served in the Second Boer War. During the First World W ...

''(30 July—31 August 1944)'' ** 7th Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment ''(3—31 August 1944)''

Commanders

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

J.V.R. Jackson (''acting until 21 October 1940'') * Brigadier E.E.F. Baker (''until 23 July 1942'') * Brigadier E.H.L. White

Notes

References

* A.F. Becke,''History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 2b: The 2nd-Line Territorial Force Divisions (57th–69th), with the Home-Service Divisions (71st–74th) and 74th and 75th Divisions'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1937/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, . *

Online sources

the Long, Long Trail

The Royal Artillery 1939–45
{{British infantry brigades of the Second World War Military units and formations established in 1917 Infantry brigades of the British Army Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War I Military units and formations disestablished in 1918 Military units and formations established in 1940 Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War II Military units and formations disestablished in 1944