The 38th Light Anti-Aircraft Brigade (38 AA Bde) was an air defence formation of Britain's Territorial Army formed just before 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 opposin ...

, which protected London and Southern England during

the Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

and later converted into an infantry formation for the liberation of Europe.

Origins

The brigade headquarters was formed on 28 September 1938 by duplicating the

26th (London) Anti-Aircraft Brigade 26th (London) Anti-Aircraft Brigade (26 AA Bde) was an Air Defence formation of the British Army during the Second World War. It defended London during the Blitz. Origin German air raids by Zeppelin airships and Gotha bombers on London and othe ...

at the

Duke of York's Headquarters The Duke of York's Headquarters is a building in Chelsea in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, England. In 1969 it was declared a listed building at Grade II*, due to its outstanding historic or architectural special interest. History ...

Chelsea, London Chelsea is an affluent area in west London, England, due south-west of Charing Cross by approximately 2.5 miles. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the south-western postal area. Chelsea histori ...

, as part of the expansion of Britain's Anti-Aircraft (AA) defences before the Second World War. The brigade was composed of searchlight units of the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

(RA) and

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 ...

(RE) and formed part of 1st AA Division, which came under

Anti-Aircraft Command Anti-Aircraft Command (AA Command, or "Ack-Ack Command") was a British Army command of the Second World War that controlled the Territorial Army anti-aircraft artillery and searchlight formations and units defending the United Kingdom. Origin ...

the following year.Frederick, pp. 1050–1. The first brigade commander was

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. In ...

W.T.O. Crewdson (appointed 28 September 1938).

Mobilisation

The deterioration in international relations during 1939 led to a partial mobilisation of the TA in June, after which a proportion of TA AA units manned their war stations under a rotation system known as 'Couverture'. Full mobilisation of AA Command came in August 1939, ahead of the declaration of war on 3 September 1939. At this time the brigade had the following order of battle: * 26th (London) Anti-Aircraft Battalion (London Electrical Engineers), RE (TA) – ''from 26 AA Bde'' ** HQ, 303, 321 and 339 AA Companies at Duke of York's HQ, Chelsea ** 301 Company at

Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush is a district of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character, i ...

* 27th (London) Anti-Aircraft Battalion (London Electrical Engineers), RE (TA) – ''from 26 AA Bde'' ** HQ at

Streatham Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...

** 304, 305, 306 and 390 AA Companies at

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

* 75th (Middlesex) Searchlight Regiment, RA (TA) – ''formed May 1939''75 SL Rgt at RA 39–45
/ref>Litchfield, p. 180. ** HQ and 470, 471, 472 and 473 S/L Batteries at

Cowley, London Cowley is a village contiguous with the town of Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon. A largely suburban village with 16 listed buildings, Cowley is 15.4 miles (24.8 km) west of Charing Cross, bordered to the west by Uxbridge ...

* 38th AA Brigade Company,

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and dom ...

Blitz

90cm_Projector_Anti-Aircraft_Flickr_8616022073

In August 1940, the Royal Engineers AA battalions were transferred to the Royal Artillery and were termed Searchlight Regiments. By now, the 27th (London Electrical Engineers) had been transferred to 47 AA Bde covering

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, and had been exchanged with 35th (1st Surrey Rifles) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery.35 S/L Rgt at RA 39–45
/ref>Litchfield, p. 173.
/ref>Farndale, Annex D, p. 257.Routledge, Table LXV, p. 396. In October, 38 AA Bde was joined by the newly raised

79th Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery 79th Searchlight Regiment (79th S/L Rgt) was an air defence unit of Britain's Royal Artillery during World War II. It protected London and South East England as part of Anti-Aircraft Command from the The Blitz, Blitz of 1940 until Operation Diver ...

.79 S/L Rgt at RA 39–45
/ref> During the Blitz of 1940–41, 38 Light AA Bde provided the searchlight component of 1 AA Division, directing the Heavy (HAA) and Light (LAA) anti-aircraft guns defending

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. 1st AA Division had established a control centre at the disused

Brompton Road tube station Brompton Road is a disused station on the Piccadilly line of the London Underground, located between Knightsbridge and South Kensington stations. It was closed in 1934, nearly 28 years after being opened by the Great Northern, Piccadilly and ...

, with an elaborate network of dedicated telephone lines linking the AA sites across the Inner Artillery Zone (IAZ), including many isolated searchlight positions.Routledge, pp. 388–9. The London IAZ extended from

Cheshunt Cheshunt ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London on the River Lea and Lee Navigation. It contains a section of the Lee Valley Park, including much of the River Lee Country Park. To the north lies Broxbourne and Wormley, Hertfor ...

and

Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Forest ...

in the east to

Bexley Bexley is an area of south-eastern Greater London, England and part of the London Borough of Bexley. It is sometimes known as Bexley Village or Old Bexley to differentiate the area from the wider borough. It is located east-southeast of Char ...

and

Mitcham Mitcham is an area within the London Borough of Merton in South London, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross. Originally a village in the county of Surrey, today it is mainly a residential suburb, and includes Mitcham Common. It ha ...

in the south and to

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

and

Northolt Northolt is a town in West London, England, spread across both sides of the A40 trunk road. It is west-northwest of Charing Cross and is one of the seven major towns that make up the London Borough of Ealing. It had a population of 30,304 at ...

in the west, with three brigades of guns deployed. Superimposed across the IAZ were the 73 searchlight sites controlled by 38th AA Bde. In the absence of inland radar coverage, 1st AA Division's Chief Signals Officer, Lt-Col G.C. Wickens, devised a system of 14 fixed base-lines of sound locators to detect night raids approaching the IAZ. These were linked by automatic telephone equipment to the Brompton operations room, where the angular plots were resolved to indicate grid squares where the HAA guns in range could fire an unseen barrage. Detachments of 75th Searchlight Regiment from 38th AA Bde were trained to operate the base lines. This 'Fixed Azimuth' system came into action in June 1940, in time for the opening of the night

Blitz Blitz, German for "lightning", may refer to: Military uses *Blitzkrieg, blitz campaign, or blitz, a type of military campaign *The Blitz, the German aerial campaign against Britain in the Second World War *, an Imperial German Navy light cruiser b ...

on London. It was later replaced as searchlight control (SLC) and gunlaying (GL) radar systems were introduced. However, the performance of the AA defences in the early weeks of the Blitz was poor. AA Command moved 108 HAA guns to the IAZ from other divisions, and arranged 'fighter nights' when the guns remained silent and

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

(RAF)

night fighter A night fighter (also known as all-weather fighter or all-weather interceptor for a period of time after the Second World War) is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility. Night fighters began to be used i ...

s were allowed to operate over London with the searchlights. Gun-laying (GL) radar, modern sound-locators and larger (150 cm) searchlights were introduced as rapidly as possible, and by February 1941 Searchlight Control (SLC or 'Elsie') radar began to be issued, replacing the fixed azimuth system. The number of raiders shot down steadily increased until mid-May 1941, when the Luftwaffe scaled down its attacks.Pile's despatch.
/ref>

Order of Battle 1940–41

The_British_Army_in_the_United_Kingdom_1939-45_H35912

The composition of 38 LAA Bde during this period was as follows: * 26th (LEE) S/L Rgt ** 301, 302 S/L Btys – ''attached to 8 AA Division until Summer 1941'' ** 321, 339 S/L Btys * 35th (First Surrey Rifles) S/L Rgt – ''to 5 AA Division Summer 1941'' ** 340, 341, 343 S/L Btys ** 342 S/L Bty (attached to 5 AA Div) * 75th (Middlesex) S/L Rgt – ''converted into 75th LAA Rgt February 1941Farndale, Annex M. and joined 8 AA Division'' * 79th S/L Rgt ** 502, 503, 504 S/L Btys

Mid-War

The Blitz ended in May 1941, but there were occasional raids thereafter and AA Command continued to strengthen its defences. Newly formed units joining AA Command were increasingly 'mixed' ones into which women of the

Auxiliary Territorial Service The Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS; often pronounced as an acronym) was the women's branch of the British Army during the Second World War. It was formed on 9 September 1938, initially as a women's voluntary service, and existed until 1 Februa ...

were integrated. AA Command had a critical shortage of Light AA gun (LAA) units, and began a process of converting some S/L units to the role. At the same time, experienced units were posted away for service overseas. This led to a continual turnover of units, which accelerated in 1942 with the preparations for

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8 November 1942 – Run for Tunis, 16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of secu ...

.Routledge, pp. 399–404. The AA defences of Southern England were severely tested in the summer of 1942 by the ''

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

's'' 'hit-and-run' attacks along the South Coast, and there was much reorganisation, accounting for some of the turnover of units listed earlier. LAA units waiting to go overseas were sometimes lent back to AA Command to deal with the hit-and-run raiders.

Order of Battle 1941–42

From the autumn of 1941 onwards, the composition of 38 LAA Bde was as follows: * 26th (LEE) S/L Rgt – ''became Mixed July 1942; to 2 AA Group November 1942'' ** 301, 302, 321, 339 S/L Btys * 63rd (Queens) S/L Rgt, RA (TA) – ''joined Autumn 1941 from 5 AA Division; converted into 127th (Queens) LAA Rgt (with 416,420, 439 and 440 LAA Btys) January 1942 and transferred to 8 AA Division July 1942'' ** 438, 439, 440, 524 S/L Btys * 79th S/L Rgt ** 342 S/L Bty – ''from 35th (1st Surrey Rifles) S/L Rgt by May 1942; became Mixed July 1942'' ** 502, 503, 504 S/L Btys * 141st LAA Rgt – ''new unit formed July 1942; to 2 AA Group November 1942'' ** 451, 456, 466, 467 LAA Btys * 38 AA Bde Mixed Signal Office Section – ''part of 1 Company, 1 AA Division Mixed Signal Unit,

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communi ...

(RCS)''

Later war

A reorganisation of AA Command in October 1942 saw the abolition of its hierarchy of divisions and corps, which were replaced by a single tier of AA Groups more closely aligned with the organisation of

RAF Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War. It earned near-immortal fame during the Battle of Britai ...

. 38 AA Brigade was assigned to a new 1 AA Group covering London, and in November was reorganised as an HAA and LAA gun brigade rather than as a 'Light' AA brigade primarily controlling searchlights. In January 1943 the brigade came under the command of 2 AA Group covering

South East England South East England is one of the nine official regions of England at the ITL 1 statistical regions of England, first level of International Territorial Level, ITL for Statistics, statistical purposes. It consists of the counties of england, ...

outside London.Order of Battle of Non-Field Force Units in the United Kingdom, Part 27: AA Command, 1 October 1942, with amendments, TNA file WO 212/82.

Order of Battle 1942–44

During this period the brigade was constituted as follows (temporary attachments omitted):Order of Battle of AA Command, 27 April 1944, TNA file WO 212/85. * 100th HAA Rgt – ''joined December 1942; left AA Command January 1943, later to

Allied invasion of Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers ( Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It bega ...

(Operation Husky)''Routledge, p. 261. ** 304, 305, 321 HAA Btys * 105th HAA Rgt – ''left December 1942; later to

21st Army Group The 21st Army Group was a British headquarters formation formed during the Second World War. It controlled two field armies and other supporting units, consisting primarily of the British Second Army and the First Canadian Army. Established in ...

''Joslen, p. 463.Order of Battle of the Forces in the United Kingdom, Part 2: 21 Army Group, 24 July 1943, with amendments, TNA file WO 212/238. ** 326, 330, 333 HAA Btys * 131st HAA Rgt – ''from 4 AA Group May 1943; disbanded August 1943'' ** 310, 368, 376, 428 HAA Btys * 174th HAA Rgt – ''from 3 AA Group April 1943; to 21st Army Group May 1943'' ** 249, 331, 348 HAA Btys * 183rd (M) HAA Rgt – ''new unit formed October 1942'' ** 564, 591, 608 (M) HAA Btys ** 590 (M) HAA Bty – ''to 137th (M) HAA Rgt early 1943'' ** 640 (M) HAA Bty – ''new battery joined early 1943'' * 71st LAA Rgt – ''left December 1942; later to 21st Army Group'' ** 208, 209, 215 LAA Btys * 75th (Middlesex) LAA Rgt – ''rejoined December 1942; left AA Command January 1943, later to Operation Husky'' ** 233, 234, 303 LAA Btys * 84th LAA Rgt – ''from 35 AA Bde April 1943; to 5 AA Bde August 1943'' ** 201, 251, 448, 461 LAA Btys * 97th LAA Rgt – ''to 2 AA Group December 1942'' ** 221, 232, 301, 480 LAA Btys Loading Z battery Merseyside 1942 IWM H 21135

* 143rd LAA Rgt – ''from 71 AA Bde August 1943; to 102 AA Bde April 1944'' ** 403, 410, 413 LAA Btys ** 484 LAA Bty – ''disbanded by March 1944'' * 79th S/L Rgt – ''to 47 AA Bde by March 1944'' ** 502, 503, 504 S/L Btys * 93rd (M) S/L Rgt – ''new unit formed October 1942; to 47 AA Bde by March 1944'' ** 301 (M), 342 (M), 495 S/L Btys * 20th (M) AA 'Z' Rgt – ''equipped with

Z Battery A Z Battery was a short range anti-aircraft weapon system, launching diameter rockets from ground-based single and multiple launchers, for the air defence of Great Britain in the Second World War. The rocket motors were later adapted with a ne ...

rocket-launchers; to 3 AA Group April 1943'' ** 194, 198 (M) Z Btys – ''left January 1943'' ** 111, 143, 220 (M) Z Btys – ''joined January 1943'' * 38 AA Bde Mixed Signal Office Section – ''initially part of 1 Mixed Signal Company, RCS, 1 AA Group, then 2 AA Group''

Operations Overlord and Diver

By early 1944 AA Command was being forced to release manpower to 21st Army Group for the planned Allied invasion of continental Europe (

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The operat ...

), and a number of AA batteries, regiments and formations had to be disbanded or merged. At the end of April 1944, 38 AA Bde consisted solely of 183rd (M) HAA Rgt and 22 AA Area Mixed Rgt (as 'Z' regiments were now termed). However, AA Command now brought in additional units from other parts of the UK to defend the Overlord embarkation ports. 47 AA Brigade in the

area of 2 AA Group was disbanded and 38 AA Bde took over much of its responsibilities, once again taking control of a number of S/L units across South East England. Shortly after

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

, the Germans began launching

V-1 flying bombs The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buzz bomb or doodlebug and in Germany as ...

, codenamed 'Divers', against London. These presented AA Command's biggest challenge since the Blitz. Defences had been planned against this new form of attack (

Operation Diver Operation Diver was the British codename for countermeasures against the V-1 flying bomb campaign launched by the German in 1944 against London and other parts of Britain. Diver was the codename for the V-1, against which the defence consisted of ...

), but it presented a severe problem for AA guns, and after two weeks' experience AA Command carried out a major reorganisation. In August, 38 AA Bde was transferred to the command of 6 AA Group, which had earlier been brought from Scotland to defend the Overlord build-up in the

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

–

Solent The Solent ( ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and Great Britain. It is about long and varies in width between , although the Hurst Spit which projects into the Solent narrows the sea crossing between Hurst Castle and Colwell Bay to ...

area. It returned to 2 AA Group in December.

Order of Battle 1944

During the rest of 1944, 38 AA Brigade's composition was as follows: * 179th (M) HAA Rgt – ''from 4 AA Group May 1944; to 3 AA Group November 1944'' ** 584, 606, 607 (M) HAA Btys * 183rd (M) HAA Rgt – ''to 102 AA Bde May 1944'' ** 564, 591, 608, 640 (M) HAA Btys * 88th LAA Rgt – ''from 4 AA Group May 1944; to 102 AA Bde July 1944'' ** 178, 289, 293 LAA Btys * 147th LAA Rgt – ''from unbrigaded December 1944; left January 1945'' ** 492, 493, 495 LAA Btys * 28th (Essex) S/L Rgt – ''from 47 AA Bde June 1944'' ** 309/311, 312, 438 S/L Btys * 38th (King's Rgt) S/L Rgt – ''from 27 (Home Counties) AA Bde May, returned June 1944'' ** 350, 351, 352 S/L Btys * 50th (Northamptonshire Rgt) SL Rgt – ''from 47 AA Bde June 1944'' ** 401, 402, 403 S/L Btys * 61st (South Lancashire Rgt) S/L Rgt – ''from 27 (Home Counties) AA Bde May, returned June 1944'' ** 432, 433, 434 S/L Btys * 93rd (M) S/L Rgt – ''returned from 47 AA Bde June 1944; to 1 AA Group January 1945'' ** 301, 342, 495 S/L Btys * 22nd AA Area Mixed Regiment – ''joined April 1944; left January 1945'' ** 194, 198 (M) Z Btys By October 1944, the brigade's HQ establishment was 10 officers, 8 male other ranks and 25 members of the ATS, together with a small number of attached drivers, cooks and mess orderlies (male and female). In addition, the brigade had a Mixed Signal Office Section of 5 male other ranks and 19 ATS, which was formally part of the Group signal unit.

Conversion

By the end of 1944,

was suffering a severe manpower shortage, particularly among the infantry. At the same time the German ''

'' was suffering from such shortages of pilots, aircraft and fuel that serious aerial attacks on 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 ...

could be discounted. In January 1945 the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

began to reorganise surplus AA and coastal artillery regiments in the UK into infantry battalions, primarily for line of communication and occupation duties in North West Europe, thereby releasing trained infantry for frontline service. A number of AA Brigade HQs in 2 AA Group were also converted: on 22 January 1945, HQ 38 AA Bde was converted into 304th Infantry Brigade under Brigadier C.A.H. Chadwick with the following units under command:Joslen, p. 400.304 Infantry Brigade at RA 39–45
/ref> * 630th (Essex) Infantry Regiment, RA, formed by 28th (Essex) S/L Rgt (''see above'') * 637th (Northamptonshire Regiment) Infantry Regiment, RA, formed by 50th (Northamptonshire Regiment) S/L Rgt (''see above'') * 638th (Royal Northumberland Fusiliers) Infantry Regiment, RA, formed by 53rd (Royal Northumberland Fusiliers) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery. After infantry training, the brigade went to Norway in June 1945 to help oversee the surrender of the German occupying forces there.

Postwar

When the TA was reformed in 1947, 38 AA Bde was renumbered 64 AA Brigade, with the following order of battle:AA Bdes at British Army units 1945 on
/ref> * 451 (Chelsea) HAA Regiment * 497 (Hammersmith) HAA Regiment474–519 Regiments at British Army units 1945 on
/ref> * 499 (Mixed) HAA Regiment (Kensington) * 562 Searchlight Regiment ''(formerly 27 (London Electrical Engineers) S/L Regt)'' * 570 LAA Regiment (1st Surrey Rifles) ''(formerly 35 (1st Surrey Rifles) S/L Regt)''564–591 Regiments at British Army units 1945 on
When AA Command was disbanded in March 1955 the brigade was placed into suspended animation on 31 October, and formally disbanded at the end of 1957.

Footnotes

Notes

References

* Maj L. F. Ellis, ''History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series: Victory in the West'', Vol II: ''The Defeat of Germany'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1968/Uckfield: Naval & Military, 2004, . * Gen Sir

Martin Farndale General Sir Martin Baker Farndale, (6 January 1929 – 10 May 2000) was a British Army officer who reached high office in the 1980s. Military career Educated at Yorebridge Grammar School, Askrigg, and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Farnda ...

, ''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: The Years of Defeat: Europe and North Africa, 1939–1941'', Woolwich: Royal Artillery Institution, 1988/London: Brasseys, 1996, . * J.B.M. Frederick, ''Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660–1978'', Vol II, Wakefield, Microform Academic, 1984, . * * Norman E.H. Litchfield, ''The Territorial Artillery 1908–1988 (Their Lineage, Uniforms and Badges)'', Nottingham: Sherwood Press, 1992, .
Gen Sir Frederick Pile's despatch: "The Anti-Aircraft Defence of the United Kingdom from 28th July, 1939, to 15th April, 1945" ''London Gazette'' 18 December 1947
* Brig N.W. Routledge, ''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: Anti-Aircraft Artillery 1914–55'', London: Royal Artillery Institution/Brassey's, 1994, .

External sources

British Army units from 1945 on

British Military History

Orders of Battle at Patriot Files

* ttps://ra39-45.co.uk The Royal Artillery 1939–45
Graham Watson, ''The Territorial Army 1947''
{{British anti-aircraft brigades of the Second World War Military units and formations established in 1938 Air defence brigades of the British Army Anti-Aircraft brigades of the British Army in World War II Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 Military units and formations in London Military units and formations in Chelsea, London