The 223rd Brigade 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 ...

in 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 the Second World Wars. It existed under several variations of the 223 Brigade title, and was eventually converted into an airborne formation.

World War I

On the outbreak of

World War I 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 ...

, 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 i ...

(TF) immediately mobilised for home defence, but shortly afterwards (31 August 1914), its units were authorised to raise 2nd line battalions formed from those men who had not volunteered for, or were not fit for, overseas service, together with new volunteers, while the 1st Line went overseas to supplement the Regulars. Early in 1915 the 2nd Line TF battalions were raised to full strength to form new divisions, and began to form Reserve (3rd Line) units to supply drafts. The remaining Home Service men were separated out in May 1915 to form brigades of Coast Defence Battalions (termed Provisional Battalions from June 1915).Army Council Instructions, January 1916, Appendix 18. 'Provisional Brigades and Battalions' at Long, Long Trail.
/ref>

3rd Provisional Brigade

3rd Provisional Brigade was formed mainly from details of regiments from Eastern England, with the following composition: * 3rd Provisional Yeomanry Squadron (from the

Fife and Forfar Yeomanry The Fife and Forfar Yeomanry (FFY) was an Armoured Yeomanry Regiment of the British Army formed in 1793. It saw action in the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War. It amalgamated with the Scottish Horse to form the Fif ...

and the

Lovat Scouts The Lovat Scouts was a British Army unit first formed during the Second Boer War as a Scottish Highland yeomanry regiment of the British Army. They were the first known military unit to wear a ghillie suit and in 1916 formally became the British ...

) * 3rd Provisional Cyclist Company * 3rd Provisional Battery and Ammunition Column

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 ...

* 43rd Provisional Battalion (from home service details of

5th Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash tha ...

and 6th Battalions, King's Regiment (Liverpool)) * 62nd Provisional Battalion (from home service details of 2/4th Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment and 2/1st Battalion,

Cambridgeshire Regiment The Cambridgeshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army, and was part of the Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army. Originating in units of Volunteer Force (Great Britain), rifle volunteers formed in 1860, the regiment ...

)''Northamptons 1914–1918'', p. 341. * 64th Provisional Battalion (from home service details of 4th and 5th Battalions,

Suffolk Regiment The Suffolk Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army with a history dating back to 1685. It saw service for three centuries, participating in many wars and conflicts, including the First and Second World Wars, before bein ...

) Murphy, pp. 342–3. * 65th Provisional Battalion (from home service details of 4th Battalion Essex Regiment)Burrows, p. 357. * 66th Provisional Battalion (from home service details of 5th (part) and 6th Battalions, Essex Regiment) * 67th Provisional Battalion (from home service details of 5th (part) and

7th 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube (algebra), cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion ...

Battalions, Essex Regiment ) * 3rd Provisional Brigade Train Army Service Corps * 3rd Provisional Field Ambulance

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

(from 2nd Welsh Field Ambulance) Under the command of Brigadier-General H.J. Archdale, the brigade was attached to the

69th (2nd East Anglian) Division The 2nd East Anglian 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 54th (East Anglian) Division in November 1914. As the name suggests, the division recruited ...

in the area around Thetford, Newmarket and

Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market town, market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – ...

under the control of First Army of Central Force (18 September – 16 October 1915).Becke, pp. 91–8. When the 3rd Provisional Brigade left the 69th Division, it also had the following units attached to it: * 117th Heavy Battery

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) ...

* Half of 1/1st Devon Heavy Battery RGA * No 2 Armoured Train * 1/6th (Cyclist) Battalion Norfolk Regiment * 2/25th (Cyclist) Battalion London Regiment In March 1916 the Provisional Brigades were concentrated along the South and East Coast of England. 3rd Provisional Brigade came under the orders of Northern Army, with its battalions billeted across

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

as follows: * Brigade Headquarters:

Holt Holt or holte may refer to: Natural world *Holt (den), an otter den * Holt, an area of woodland Places Australia * Holt, Australian Capital Territory * Division of Holt, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives in Vic ...

* 43rd Provisional Battalion Weybourne * 62nd Provisional Battalion

Sheringham Sheringham (; population 7,367) is an English seaside town within the county of Norfolk, United Kingdom.Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Explorer Map 252 - Norfolk Coast East''. . The motto of the town, granted in 1953 to the Sheringham Urban Distr ...

* 64th Provisional Battalion

Salthouse Salthouse is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the salt marshes of North Norfolk. It is north of Holt, west of Sheringham and north of Norwich. The village is on the A149 coast road between ...

* 66th Provisional Battalion Cley next the Sea * 67th Provisional Battalion

Darsham Darsham is a village in Suffolk, England. It is located approximately north east of Saxmundham. The village is bypassed by the A12 and is served by Darsham railway station, which is approximately one mile away from the village centre, on the ...

* 2/1st Highland (Fifeshire) Heavy Battery, RGA, Sheringham – ''joined September 1916 from

64th (2nd Highland) Division The 64th (2nd Highland) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, raised during the Great War. The division was formed in late 1914 as a second-line Territorial Force formation which served on home defence duties throughout the war. ...

223rd Mixed Brigade

The Military Service Act 1916 swept away the Home/Foreign service distinction, and all TF soldiers became liable for overseas service, if medically fit. The Provisional Brigades thus became anomalous, and at the end of 1916 their units became numbered battalions of their parent units. Part of their role was physical conditioning to render men fit for drafting overseas. The 3rd Provisional Brigade became the 223rd Mixed Brigade in December 1916, with its units re-designated as follows on 1 January 1917: * 43rd Provisional Battalion became 25th Battalion, King's (Liverpool Regiment)Frederick, pp. 184–5.Frederick, p. 128.James, p. 52.King's (Liverpool) Regiment at Long, Long Trail.
/ref> * 62nd Provisional Battalion became 9th Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment * 64th Provisional Battalion became 14th Battalion,

Frederick, p. 223.James, p. 56.Suffolk Regiment at Long, Long Trail.
/ref> * 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 ...

, and transferred to the 71st DivisionFrederick, p. 234.James, p. 86.Essex Regiment at Long, Long Trail.
/ref> * 67th Provisional Battalion became 17th Battalion, Essex Regiment * 2/1st Highland (Fifeshire) Heavy Battery, RGA (unchanged) * 3rd Provisional Field Company became 642nd (London) Field 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 ...

* 3rd Provisional Battery and Ammunition Column became 1205th (West Lancashire) Battery RFA * 3rd Provisional Brigade Train became 835th Company ASC * 3rd Provisional Field Ambulance became 331st Field Ambulance RAMC The brigade was attached to the 64th (2nd Highland) Division. In May 1918 each of the Mixed Brigades was called upon to provide a battalion (re-designated a Garrison Guard battalion) to reconstitute the

59th (2nd North Midland) Division The 59th (2nd North Midland) Division was an infantry Division (military), division of the British Army during World War I. It was formed in late 1914/early 1915 as a 2nd Line Territorial Force formation raised as a duplicate of the 46th (North ...

, which had been virtually destroyed during the German spring offensive. The 223rd Mixed Brigade supplied 25th King's (Liverpool Regiment) to the

176th (2/1st Staffordshire) Brigade The 176th (2/1st Staffordshire) Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army that saw active service in the First World War on the Western Front and disbanded in 1919. The brigade was raised again, now known as 176th Infantry Brigade, short ...

and immediately raised a new 27th (Home Service) Battalion, King's to take over its coast defence duties. The brigade remained with this composition until the end of the war, after which it was demobilised.

World War II

World War II 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 opposin ...

, the brigade number was reactivated as the 223rd Independent Infantry Brigade (Home), 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 ...

in Eastern Command. The brigade was attached to the

15th (Scottish) Infantry Division The 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that served during the Second World War. It was raised on 2 September 1939, the day before war was declared, as part of the Territorial Army (TA) and served in ...

(31 October 1940 – 26 February 1941) and then the

Essex County Division The Essex County Division was a short-lived formation of the British Army formed in the Second World War on 18 February 1941 by the redesignation of the West Sussex County Division. It was disbanded on 7 October. It had one commanding officer, M ...

(26 February – 22 July 1941) before coming under the command of

XI Corps 11 Corps, 11th Corps, Eleventh Corps, or XI Corps may refer to: * 11th Army Corps (France) * XI Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * XI Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army * XI ...

. While in this formation it was re-designated as the 223rd Independent Infantry Brigade.Joslen, p. 386.

Order of Battle

For its entire career as the 223rd Brigade it was commanded by Brigadier Sir Alexander Stanier, Bart and was initially composed of newly raised infantry battalions. *As part of the 15th Infantry Division and the Essex County Division. ** 6th Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment ''(18 October 1940 — 22 July 1941)'' ** 8th Battalion,

''(24 October 1940 — 22 July 1941)'' ** 10th Battalion, Essex Regiment ''(31 October — 22 July 1941)'' ** 10th Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment ''(17 November 1940 21 February 1941)'' *As part of the 223rd Independent Infantry Brigade ** 6th Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment ''(22 July 1941 — 13 September 1942)'' ** 8th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment ''(22 July 1941 — 4 September 1942)'' ** 10th Battalion, Essex Regiment ''(22 July 1941 — 6 November 1942)'' ** 10th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry ''(4 September 1942 — 6 November 1942)'' ** 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 ...

''(13 September 1942 — 6 November 1942)'' **223rd Field Ambulance ''(from 22 July 1941)''

3rd Parachute Brigade

The 223rd Independent Infantry Brigade was converted into the 3rd Parachute Brigade on 7 November 1942, and its battalions were converted as follows:Joslen, p. 411. * 10th Battalion, Essex Regiment became 9th Battalion, Parachute Regiment * 10th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry became 7th Battalion, Parachute Regiment * 13th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment became 8th Battalion, Parachute Regiment The 223rd Brigade number has never been reactivated.

Notes

References

* 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, . * John Wm. Burrows, ''Essex Units in the War 1914–1919'', Vol 5, ''Essex Territorial Infantry Brigade (4th, 5th, 6th and 7th Battalions), Also 8th (Cyclist) Battalion The Essex Regiment'', Southend: John H. Burrows & Sons, 1932. * * J.B.M. Frederick, ''Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660–1978'', Vol I, Wakefield: Microform Academic, 1984, ISBN 1-85117-007-3. * Brig E.A. James, ''British Regiments 1914–18'', London: Samson Books, 1978, ISBN 0-906304-03-2/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2001, ISBN 978-1-84342-197-9. * Lt-Col H.F. Joslen, ''Orders of Battle, United Kingdom and Colonial Formations and Units in the Second World War, 1939–1945'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1960/London: London Stamp Exchange, 1990, ISBN 0-948130-03-2/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2003, ISBN 1-843424-74-6. * Lt-Col C.C.R. Murphy, ''The History of the Suffolk Regiment 1914–1927'', London: Hutchinson, 1928/Uckfield: Naval & Military, 2002, ISBN 978-1-84342-245-7. * Regimental History Committee, ''The Northamptonshire Regiment, 1914–1918'', Aldershot: Gale & Polden, 1932/Uckfield: Naval & Military, 2005, . * War Office, ''Army Council Instructions Issued During January 1916'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1916.

External sources

Chris Baker, ''The Long, Long Trail''

David Porter's work on Provisional Brigades at Great War Forum
\ {{DEFAULTSORT:223 Independent Infantry Brigade (Home) 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 established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1942