The 54th Infantry Brigade was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...

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 ...

that saw active service in 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.

First World War

The Battle of the Somme, July-november 1916 Q79478

The brigade was originally raised in September 1914, as the 54th Brigade, in the First World War as part of Kitchener's New Armies and joined the

18th (Eastern) Division The 18th (Eastern) Division was an infantry division of the British Army formed in September 1914 during the First World War as part of the K2 Army Group, part of Lord Kitchener's New Armies. From its creation the division trained in England u ...

, serving with it throughout the war mainly on 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 ...

from 1915 to 1918.

Order of battle

The 54th Brigade was constituted as follows during the war: * 10th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) ''(left October 1914)'' * 11th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) * 12th (Service) Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment ''(left February 1915)'' * 12th (Service) Battalion,

Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment) The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1966. The regiment was formed, as the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), in 1881 as part of the Childers Ref ...

''(disbanded February 1918)'' * 8th (Service) Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment ''(from November 1914)'' * 7th (Service) Battalion,

Bedfordshire Regiment The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment was the final title of a Line infantry, line infantry regiment of the British Army that was originally formed in 1688. After centuries of service in many conflicts and wars, including both the World War ...

''(joined February 1915)'' * 2nd (Service) Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment ''(from May 1918)'' * 54th 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 ...

''(formed 13 February 1916, moved to 18th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps 16 February 1918)'' * 54th Trench Mortar Battery ''(formed 1 June 1915)''

Second World War

The brigade was disbanded in 1919 after the war. Reformed in 1939 in the Territorial Army (TA) as the 54th Infantry Brigade, it was part of the 18th Infantry Division. The brigade spent the early years of 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 ...

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 home defence and training duties, anticipating a German invasion. With the rest of the division, the brigade was sent to Singapore, under the command of

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 ...

Edward Backhouse Edward Backhouse (1808–1879) was a Quaker philanthropist and writer on church history. He was also one of the founding fathers of the ''Sunderland Echo'' newspaper. He was recognised as having the gift of vocal ministry in 1854. Early life ...

, in 1942 and, after the

Battle of Singapore The Fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore,; ta, சிங்கப்பூரின் வீழ்ச்சி; ja, シンガポールの戦い took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire of ...

against the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

, surrendered along with the rest of the Singapore garrison. They became

prisoners A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...

of the Japanese for the next three years in harsh and degrading treatment.

Order of battle

The 54th Brigade was constituted as follows during the war: * 4th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * 4th Battalion,

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 ...

* 5th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment * 54th Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company ''(formed 7 November, disbanded 14 December 1940)''

Postwar

In the 1980s, the 54th Brigade was again active as 54th (East Anglia) Brigade, a Territorial Army regional brigade in the United Kingdom. Structure in 1989: ** 1st Battalion,

Royal Highland Fusiliers The Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland (2 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. Prior to 28 March 2006, the Royal Highland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment in its own right, c ...

- Light Role Infantry Battalion ** Queen's Own Mercian Yeomanry (TA) - Armored Car Reconnaissance Regiment ** 3rd Battalion, Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment (TA) - Light Role Reserve Infantry Battalion ** 3rd Battalion,

Yorkshire Volunteers The Yorkshire Volunteers was an infantry regiment of the British Territorial Army. The regiment was raised on 1 April 1967 and disbanded on 25 April 1993. Following subsequent amalgamations and reorganisations the regiment is represented by th ...

(TA) - Light Role Reserve Infantry Battalion ** 4th Battalion, Yorkshire Volunteers (TA) - Light Role Reserve Infantry Battalion ** 6th Battalion,

Royal Anglian Regiment The Royal Anglian Regiment (R ANGLIAN) is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It consists of two Regular battalions and one Reserve battalion. The modern regiment was formed in 1964, making it the oldest of the Line Regiments now operating i ...

(TA) - Light Role Reserve Infantry Battalion It was amalgamated with 49 Brigade and thus disbanded in 1995.

References

External links

* {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War I Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War II