The 214th Brigade was an infantry formation of the
British Army during
World War I. It was raised as a second line brigade of the
Territorial Force and initially assigned to the
71st Division for coast defence. Later it was reorganised as an all-arms brigade group for service in
North Russia
Russian North (russian: Русский Север) is an ethnocultural region situated in the northwestern part of Russia. It spans the regions of Arkhangelsk Oblast, the Republic of Karelia, Komi Republic, Vologda Oblast and Nenets Autonomous ...
, but this was cancelled and it was reassigned to the
67th Division, a training and home defence formation, until the end of the war.
Origin
In November 1916 the
War Office decided to organise new Home Service divisions composed of 2nd Line and Home Service units of the
Territorial Force (TF).
71st Division was one of these, formed in southern England. One of its brigades, the 214th, was created by simply redesignating
190th (2nd Durham Light Infantry) Brigade
The 190th (2nd Durham Light Infantry) Brigade was a 2nd Line Territorial Force formation of the British Army during World War I. Formed from List of battalions of the Durham Light Infantry, battalions of the Durham Light Infantry, it served in hom ...
from the disbanded
63rd (2nd Northumbrian) Division. This comprised three 2nd Line battalions of the
Durham Light Infantry (DLI) based at
Catterick Camp and it assumed its new identity at
Andover, Hampshire on 29 November 1916.
[Becke, Pt 2b, pp. 101–5.][71 Division at Long, Long Trail.]
/ref>
/ref>[Training Reserve at Long, Long Trail.]
/ref>
214th Special Brigade
In October 1917, 214th Bde was redesignated 214th Special Brigade and filled with men of A1 medical category for overseas service. It also had a field artillery brigade, cyclist battalions, a field engineer company and machine gun companies attached to it. This brigade group was intended to go to Murmansk as part of the North Russia Intervention, but this never happened and most of the A1 men were drafted as reinforcements to 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 ...
in March 1918 after the German Spring Offensive.[Becke, Pt 2b, pp. 75–82.]
71st Division in turn was broken up on 12 February 1918 and 214th Special Bde joined 67th Division. This had formerly been the 2nd Home Counties Division
The 2nd Home Counties Division was a 2nd Line Territorial Force division of the British Army in World War I. The division was formed as a duplicate of the 44th (Home Counties) Division in November 1914. As the name suggests, the division recruit ...
(TF), but had lost its regional and territorial distinctiveness. The divisional HQ moved to East Anglia
East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
, with 214th Bde remaining at Colchester.[67 Division at Long, Long Trail.]
/ref>
/ref>
After fit men had been 'combed out' for the Western Front in March 1918, 67th Division was mostly composed of training battalions but 2/7th Bn DLI was still formally a 2nd Line TF battalion, and a year after initially being selected to form part of the Allied expedition to North Russia it finally went there as a garrison battalion. It entrained at Colchester for Glasgow on 5 October 1918, embarking the following day and disembarking at Arkhangelsk on 24 October. It served there until demobilised at the end of August 1919.[Becke, Pt 2b, pp. 49–54.]
Disbandment
After the Armistice with Germany in November 1918, the brigade was thoroughly reorganised again, with different Graduated Battalions and also Special Reserve (SR) battalions. However, demobilisation began in early 1919, and by 17 March the whole of 67th Division had been disbanded.[
]
Order of battle
From first formation
The composition of 214th Brigade was as follows:[
* 2/6th Bn, Durham Light Infantry – ''joined 29 November 1916 from 190th (2nd DLI) Bde; left 1 September 1917 to 226th Mixed Bde''
* 2/7th Bn, DLI – ''joined 29 November 1916 from 190th (2nd DLI) Bde''
* 2/8th Bn, DLI – ''joined 29 November 1916 from 190th (2nd DLI) Bde; left by 9 July 1917''
* 255th Graduated Bn, TR – ''previously 9th (Reserve) Bn, ]The Buffs (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 ...
; joined by 9 July 1917''
* 256th Graduated Bn, TR – ''previously 24th (Reserve) Bn, Middlesex Regiment; joined by 12 November 1917 from 213th Bde, 71st Division''
* 52nd (Graduated) Bn, Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) – ''previously 255th Graduated Bn, TR''
* 52nd (Graduated) Bn, Royal Sussex Regiment – ''previously 256th Graduated Bn, TR''
Special brigade
The brigade had the following composition when it was reorganised as a brigade group for potential service in North Russia:[
* 2/7th Bn, DLI – ''left by 23 September 1918 and joined Arkhangelsk Force''
* XLIX Brigade, ]Royal Field Artillery
The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of t ...
– ''new unit formed at Colchester 22 October 1917, re-using the old number of XLIX (Howitzer) Bde RFA (14th (Light) Division
The 14th (Light) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, one of the Kitchener's Army divisions raised from volunteers by Lord Kitchener during the First World War. All of its infantry regiments were originally of the fast marchin ...
), which had been broken up in October 1916;[ new unit disbanded by 25 March 1918''][
* 2/1st Warwickshire Yeomanry – ''cyclist unit joined on 26 October 1917; all fit men 'combed out' as reinforcements for the Western Front in March 1918; left by 2 September 1918''][
* 2/1st Hertfordshire Yeomanry – ''cyclist unit joined on 26 October 1917; 'combed out' in March 1918; left by 2 September 1918''][Hertfordshire Yeomanry at Long, Long Trail.]
/ref>
* 252nd Machine-Gun Company, 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 ...
(MGC) – ''joined on 9 November 1917''
* 253rd Machine-Gun Company, MGC – ''joined on 9 November 1917''
* 16th (Home Service) Bn, Queen's – ''joined from 213th Bde by 12 November 1917; left by 28 October 1918''
* 492nd (Home Counties) Field Company, Royal Engineers – ''transferred from 67th (2nd Home Counties) Division 12 February 1918; went to Murmansk with Syren Force late 1918''[Morling, pp. 36–7.]
* 71st Divisional Signal Company, Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...
– ''transferred with 214th Bde 12 February 1918''
December 1918 reorganisation
The brigade had the following composition after the December 1918 reorganisation:[
* 4th (Reserve) Bn, Buffs (SR)
* 4th (Reserve) Bn, Royal Welsh Fusiliers (SR)
* 51st (Graduated) Bn, Cheshire Regiment
* 52nd (Graduated) Bn, Cheshire Regiment
]
Commanders
The following officers commanded 214th Bde during its existence:[
* Brig-Gen W.C. Ross, from 1 November 1916
* Brig-Gen C.H. T Lucas, from 11 December 1916
* Brig-Gen F.J. Duncan, from 14 April 1917
* Brig-Gen L.E.A Price-Davies, VC, from 8 November 1917
* Brig-Gen A.G. Pritchard from 8 April 1918
* Brig-Gen F.W. Towsey, from 5 July 1918
]
See also
* British infantry brigades of the First World War
During the First World War, 259 infantry brigades were raised by the British Army, two by the Royal Navy, and one from the Royal Marines. Of these brigades, fifty-three were held in reserve or only used for training, while another nine only serv ...
References
Bibliography
* Maj 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–73rd) and 74th and 75th Divisions,'' London: HM Stationery Office, 1937/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, .
* Maj A.F. Becke,''History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 3a: New Army Divisions (9–26)'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1938/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, .
* Clive Dunn, ''The Fighting Pioneers: the Story of the 7th Durham Light Infantry'', Barnsley: Pen & Sword, 2015, .
*
* Col L.F. Morling, ''Sussex Sappers: A History of the Sussex Volunteer and Territorial Army Royal Engineer Units from 1890 to 1967'', Seaford: 208th Field Co, RE/Christians–W.J. Offord, 1972.
External links
The Long, Long Trail
{{DEFAULTSORT:214th Brigade
Infantry brigades of the British Army
Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War I
Military units and formations established in 1916
Military units and formations disestablished in 1919