The North Midland Brigade was an infantry formation of Britain's

Volunteer Force The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated ...

from 1888 to 1908.

Origins

The North Midland Brigade had its origin in the

Stanhope Memorandum The Stanhope Memorandum was a document written by Edward Stanhope, the Secretary of State for War of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, on 8 December 1888. It set out the overall strategic aims of the British Empire, and the way the Br ...

of December 1888. This proposed a Mobilisation Scheme for units of the

, which would assemble by brigades at key points in case of war. In peacetime the brigades provided a structure for collective training. Under this scheme the Volunteer Battalions of the

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

and the Sherwood Foresters (Derbyshire) Regiments would assemble at

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

. Later the

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

Battalion was added. The Brigade formed part of Northern Command.''Quarterly Army List'', various dates.

Organisation

The brigade had the following composition: * Headquarters: Drill Hall, Derby * 1st Volunteer Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment (joined from South Midland Brigade) * 1st Volunteer Battalion,

Lincolnshire Regiment The Royal Lincolnshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army raised on 20 June 1685 as the Earl of Bath's Regiment for its first Colonel, John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath. In 1751, it was numbered like most other Army regiments ...

* 2nd Volunteer Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment * 3rd Volunteer Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment (raised 1900; attached to

Humber Brigade The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between t ...

for training) * 1st Volunteer Battalion,

Derbyshire Regiment The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for just under 90 years, from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Worcestershire Regiment to ...

* 2nd Volunteer Battalion, Derbyshire Regiment * 1st (Robin Hood) Nottinghamshire Rifle Volunteer Corps * 4th (Nottinghamshire) Volunteer Battalion, Derbyshire Regiment * Supply Detachment, later designated an Army Service Corps Company * Bearer Company, later part of the

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 ...

Colonel

Charles Pierrepont, 4th Earl Manvers Charles William Sydney Pierrepont, 4th Earl Manvers, VD (2 August 1854 – 17 July 1926), known as Viscount Newark from 1860 to 1900, was a British nobleman and Conservative Party politician. Career Born in London, he was the eldest son of ...

(known by the

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but rather is used through custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some co ...

of Viscount Newark until 1900) was appointed to command the brigade on 15 January 1896.

Boer War

All the battalions provided volunteers to serve alongside the Regular regiments in the 2nd Boer War and gained the

Battle honour A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In European military t ...

South Africa 1900–02. The brigade was split into two in 1901, forming the Sherwood Foresters Brigade and the Leicester and Lincoln Brigade, each of four battalions. The Sherwood Foresters' HQ remained at Derby under the command of Earl Manvers, the Leicester and Lincolns were based at

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

under the commander of the regimental district. However, on 1 June 1906 all the Volunteer brigadiers received new commissions, and Earl Manvers was reappointed to the re-amalgamated North Midland Brigade.

Territorial Force

When the Volunteers ere subsumed into the new

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 ...

in 1908 under the

Haldane Reforms The Haldane Reforms were a series of far-ranging reforms of the British Army made from 1906 to 1912, and named after the Secretary of State for War, Richard Burdon Haldane. They were the first major reforms since the " Childers Reforms" of the ...

, the North Midland Brigade was incorporated into a new North Midland Division. It was once again split into two brigades of four battalions each: the Lincoln and Leicester Brigade, based at

Grantham Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) south of the Lincoln and ...

and the Nottingham and Derby Brigade (later the Sherwood Foresters Brigade) at

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

. These brigades, and their 2nd Line duplicates, fought on the Western Front during

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 ...

Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 61–7.

Commanders

* Col

, VD, (known by the courtesy title of Viscount Newark until 1900) was appointed to command the brigade on 15 January 1896, and reappointed on 1 June 1906.

Notes

References

* Maj A.F. Becke,''History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 2a: The Territorial Force Mounted Divisions and the 1st-Line Territorial Force Divisions (42–56)'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1935/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, . * Ian F.W. Beckett, ''Riflemen Form: A study of the Rifle Volunteer Movement 1859–1908'', Aldershot: Ogilby Trusts, 1982, . * Col John K. Dunlop, ''The Development of the British Army 1899–1914'', London: Methuen, 1938. * N.B. Leslie, ''Battle Honours of the British and Indian Armies 1695–1914'', London: Leo Cooper, 1970, . * Ray Westlake, ''Tracing the Rifle Volunteers'', Barnsley: Pen and Sword, 2010, {{ISBN, 978-1-84884-211-3. Volunteer Infantry Brigades of the British Army Military units and formations in Derbyshire Military units and formations in Derby Military units and formations in Leicestershire Military units and formations in Lincolnshire Military units and formations in Nottinghamshire Military units and formations established in 1888 Military units and formations disestablished in 1908 1908 disestablishments in the United Kingdom