The Fusilier Brigade was an administrative brigade 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 ...

from 1958 to 1968, that administered the fusilier regiments.

History

The Brigade was created as part of the

1957 Defence White Paper The 1957 White Paper on Defence (Cmnd. 124) was a British white paper issued in March 1957 setting forth the perceived future of the British military. It had profound effects on all aspects of the defence industry but probably the most affected w ...

announced in July 1957. It was formed on 1 April 1958, when the three fusilier regiments were transferred from existing regional brigades: * The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers (from the Yorkshire and Northumberland Brigade) *

The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many wa ...

(from the

Home Counties Brigade The Home Counties Brigade was an administrative formation of the British Army from 1948 to 1968. The Brigade administered the regular infantry regiments of the Home Counties of south east England. After the Second World War the British Army had fou ...

) *

The Lancashire Fusiliers The Lancashire Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that saw distinguished service through many years and wars, including the Second Boer War, the First and Second World Wars, and had many different titles throughout its 28 ...

(from the

Lancastrian Brigade The Lancastrian Brigade was an administrative formation of the British Army from 1948 to 1968. The Brigade administered the regular infantry regiments of northwest England. After the Second World War the British Army had fourteen infantry depots, e ...

) The three regiments adopted common cap and collar badges consisting of a fired grenade bearing

Saint George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldie ...

and the dragon within a laurel wreath beneath a crown. The grenade was a badge common to all fusilier regiments, while the other elements were each taken from the cap badges of the three regiments. The regiments were distinguished by a coloured feather hackle worn behind the badge in some forms of head dress: red and white (Royal Northumberland Fusiliers), white (Royal Fusiliers), or primrose yellow (Lancashire Fusiliers) respectively. From 1960 the Fusilier Brigade was based at St George's Barracks in Sutton Coldfield. In 1962 the

Forester Brigade The Forester Brigade (known as the Midland Brigade until 1958) was an administrative formation of the British Army from 1948 to 1964. The Brigade administered the regular infantry regiments of the English Midlands. After the Second World War the ...

was dissolved and the

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 ...

was transferred to the Fusilier Brigade, being retitled the Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers in the following year, and adopting a hackle in the regimental colours of orange and royal blue. A new button was designed for the Brigade in 1963, bearing the ancient antelope badge of the Royal Warwickshires within The Garter. On 23 April 1968, (

St George's Day Saint George's Day is the feast day of Saint George, celebrated by Christian churches, countries, and cities of which he is the patron saint, including Bulgaria, England, Georgia, Portugal, Romania, Cáceres, Alcoy, Aragon and Catalonia. Sai ...

) all four regiments were amalgamated into the single "large regiment", the

Royal Regiment of Fusiliers The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (often referred to as the Royal Fusiliers or, simply, the Fusiliers) is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division. Currently, the regiment has two battalions: the 1st battalion, part o ...

. The RRF continues to wear the Fusilier Brigade badges and buttons, with the red over white hackle of the Northumberland Fusiliers. On 1 July 1968 the Fusilier Brigade was united with the

and East Anglian Brigades, to form the

Queen's Division The Queen's Division is a British Army training and administrative apparatus for infantry regiments from the east and south of England and the remaining regiment of Fusiliers. Formation The Queen's Division was formed in 1968 with the regime ...

Units

Throughout its existence, the brigade was made up of the following units: , style="text-align:left; width:50%; vertical-align:top;",

Regular battalions

*1st Battalion,

Royal Northumberland Fusiliers The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Raised in 1674 as one of three 'English' units in the Dutch Anglo-Scots Brigade, it accompanied William III to England in the November 1688 Glorious Revolution an ...

(1958–1968) *1st Battalion,

Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many wars ...

(1958–1968) *1st Battalion,

Lancashire Fusiliers The Lancashire Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that saw distinguished service through many years and wars, including the Second Boer War, the First and Second World Wars, and had many different titles throughout its 28 ...

(1958–1968) *1st Battalion,

Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a c ...

(1962–1968) , style="text-align:left; width:50%; vertical-align:top;",

Territorial battalions

*6th (City) Battalion, Royal Northumberland Fusiliers (1958–1967) *7th Battalion, Royal Northumberland Fusiliers (1958–1968) *4th/5th Battalion, Royal Northumberland Fusiliers (1958–1967) *4th/5th/6th Battalion, Royal Northumberland Fusiliers (1967–1968) *8th (1st City of London) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) (1958–1961) *The City of London Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) (1961–1967) *5th (Bury) Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers (1958–1967) *7th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers (1962–1967)

References

External links

Fusilier Brigade (regiments.org)
{{British Infantry Infantry administrative brigades of the British Army Military units and formations established in 1958 Military units and formations disestablished in 1968 1958 establishments in the United Kingdom