The Hampshire Brigade, previously the Portsmouth Brigade and later 128th (Hampshire) 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 mar ...

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 ...

of the

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 ...

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 ...

(TF) and Territorial Army (TA) in existence from 1889 until after 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 opposi ...

. It served in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

during the

First World War 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 ...

, but not as a complete formation. During the

, the 128th Infantry Brigade fought in the

Tunisia Campaign The Tunisian campaign (also known as the Battle of Tunisia) was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces from 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943. Th ...

, in the Italian Campaign, and later in the

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος �όλεμος}, ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom and ...

. The brigade was composed entirely of battalions from the Hampshire Regiment (later Royal Hampshire Regiment).

Volunteer Brigade

The Stanhope Memorandum of December 1888 proposed a comprehensive Mobilisation Scheme for units of the

, which would assemble in their own brigades at key points in case of war. In peacetime these brigades provided a structure for collective training. Under this scheme four of the five Volunteer Battalions (VBs) of the

Hampshire Regiment The Hampshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot and the 67th (South Hampshire) Regiment of Foot. The regim ...

formed the Portsmouth Brigade (the 4th VB was initially in the Portland Brigade, but joined after that formation was disbanded in the early1890s):''Army List'', various dates. * Headquarters at 84 Piccadilly, London, * 1st Volunteer Battalion, Hampshire Regiment – Winchester * 2nd Volunteer Battalion, Hampshire Regiment –

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 ...

* 3rd (Duke of Connaught's Own) Volunteer Battalion, Hampshire Regiment –

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 ...

* 4th Volunteer Battalion, Hampshire Regiment * 5th (Isle of Wight, 'Princess Beatrice's') Volunteer Battalion, Hampshire Regiment –

Newport, Isle of Wight Newport is the county town of the Isle of Wight, an island county off the south coast of England. The town is slightly north of the centre of the island, and is in the civil parish of Newport and Carisbrooke. It has a quay at the head of the na ...

* Supply Detachment (later termed an Army Service Corps (ASC) Company) * Bearer Company (later Royal Army Medical Corps) The first brigade commander was Colonel Sir William Humphery, 1st Baronet, formerly commanding officer of the 1st VB, appointed 26 January 1889. He was succeeded by Col the Hon Henry Crichton, retired from the

21st Hussars The 21st Lancers (Empress of India's) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1858 and amalgamated with the 17th Lancers in 1922 to form the 17th/21st Lancers. Perhaps its most famous engagement was the Battle of Omdurman, where Wins ...

, who moved the brigade HQ to his home at Netley Castle.''Burke's'': Erne. The volunteer brigades were extensively reorganised in 1902 but the Portsmouth Brigade was unchanged, apart from being retitled the Hampshire Brigade. Colonel Crichton was knighted ( KCB) in 1911 after he retired from the command.

Territorial Force

Under the Haldane Reforms the Volunteer Force was subsumed into the

(TF), the volunteer battalions becoming numbered battalions of their parent units. The TF also introduced higher formations, the Hampshire Brigade now forming part of the Wessex Division. TF brigades now adiopted a standard four-battalion establishment, so the 8th (Isle of Wight Rifles, 'Princess Beatrice's) Bn remained unattached under the orders of Southern Command, allocated to 'Southern and South Western Coast Defences'. The composition of the brigade on the outbreak of the

was therefore:Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 43–8. * Bde HQ – 30 Carlton Place, Southampton * 4th Bn, Hampshire Regiment – Winchester * 5th Bn, Hampshire Regiment – Southampton * 6th (Duke of Connaught's Own) Bn, Hampshire Regiment – Portsmouth * 7th Bn, Hampshire Regiment – Bournemouth * No 4 (Hampshire) Section, Wessex Divisional Signal Company, Royal Engineers * Hampshire Brigade Company, ASC, at Drill Hall, Redan Hill,

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alder ...

First World War

On 29 July 1914, the Wessex Division was on Salisbury Plain carrying out its annual training camp when 'precautionary orders' were received, and next day the division took up emergency war stations in

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

and

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. The order to mobilise arrived on the evening of 4 August. Between 10 and 13 August the division concentrated on Salisbury Plain and began war training.Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 43–8.43rd (1st Wessex) Division at Long, Long Trail.
/ref> On the outbreak of war, TF units were invited to volunteer for Overseas Service and on 15 August 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 ...

issued instructions to separate those men who had signed up for Home Service only, and form these into reserve units. On 31 August, the formation of a reserve or 2nd Line unit was authorised for each 1st Line unit where 60 per cent or more of the men had volunteered for Overseas Service. The titles of these 2nd Line units would be the same as the original, but distinguished by a '2/' prefix. In this way duplicate battalions, brigades and divisions were created, mirroring those TF formations being sent overseas. On 24 September, at the special request of the Secretary of State for War, Earl Kitchener of Khartoum, the Wessex Division accepted liability for service in

to relieve the Regular units there for service on the Western Front. The division's infantry battalions (without their brigade headquarters) embarked at

on 8 October and then were convoyed to

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...

. They were immediately distributed to garrisons across India, reverting to peacetime service conditions, and the Hampshire Brigade never saw service as a whole, though it was formally numbered the 128th (Hampshire) Brigade in May 1915. As soon as the Wessex Division had left for India, the 2nd Wessex Division and its brigades began to be organised from the 2nd Line battalions being raised by the home depots. Recruitment and training of the 2nd Wessex Division proceeded so well that it was also sent to India in December 1914, and later received the notional titles of 45th (2nd Wessex) Division and

134th (2/1st Hampshire) Brigade The 134th Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the Territorial Force, part of the British Army. It was formed in the First World War as a duplicate of the Hampshire Brigade and was originally formed as the 2nd/1st Hampshire Brigade in 19 ...

.Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 55–60.45th (2nd Wessex) Division at Long, Long Trail.
/ref> Brigadier-General G.H. Nicholson, who had commanded the Hampshire Brigade since 14 February 1914, took temporary command of the 2/1st Hampshire Brigade on its formation and went out to India in command of the 2nd Line troops before returning to the UK. By early 1915 the need was growing for troops to be sent from India to various theatres of war, and the first drafts and formed units from the Wessex Divisions began to go on active service, particularly to the Mesopotamian Front. By the end of the war only one battalion remained in India from the two Hampshire brigades.

Order of battle

The brigades composition was as follows: * 1/4th Bn, Hampshire Regiment – went to

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

17 March 1915 with 33rd Brigade, 12th Indian Division * 1/5th Bn, Hampshire Regiment – served in India throughout the war; served in

Third Anglo-Afghan War The Third Anglo-Afghan War; fa, جنگ سوم افغان-انگلیس), also known as the Third Afghan War, the British-Afghan War of 1919, or in Afghanistan as the War of Independence, began on 6 May 1919 when the Emirate of Afghanistan inv ...

* 1/6th (DoCO) Bn, Hampshire Regiment – went to Mesopotamia 18 September 1917 with 52nd Brigade, 15th Indian Division * 1/7th Bn, Hampshire Regiment – went to Aden 8 January 1918

Interwar

The Territorial Force was disbanded shortly after the war ended but reformed in the 1920s as the Territorial Army. The brigade was reformed in the Territorial Army, as the 128th (Hampshire) Infantry Brigade, in 1920 and was again part of the 43rd Division and again included four battalions of the Hampshire Regiment. However, the composition of the brigade changed over the years. The 5th and 7th battalions were merged in 1923 to become the 5th/7th Battalion, Hampshire Regiment They were replaced in the brigade by the 8th (

Isle of Wight Rifles The 1st Isle of Wight Rifle Volunteers, later the 8th (Isle of Wight, 'Princess Beatrice's Own') Battalion, Hampshire Regiment, but known informally as the 'Isle of Wight Rifles', was an auxiliary unit of the British Army formed to defend the Isl ...

) Battalion, Hampshire Regiment. In 1937 the 8th (Isle of Wight Rifles) Battalion was converted to 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 ...

role as The Princess Beatrice's (Isle of Wight Rifles) Heavy Regiment. The following year, in 1938, all infantry brigades of the British Army were reduced from four infantry battalions to three. As a consequence of this, the 6th (Duke of Connaught's Own) Battalion, Hampshire Regiment was, like the 8th Battalion, transferred to the Royal Artillery and redesignated the 59th (Duke of Connaught's Hampshire) Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery and became the anti-tank regiment for the 43rd Division. They were replaced in the brigade by the 4th Battalion,

Dorset Regiment The Dorset Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958, being the county regiment of Dorset. Until 1951, it was formally called the Dorsetshire Regiment, although usually known as "The Dorsets". In 1 ...

, originally from the 129th (South Western) Infantry Brigade. The brigade, shortly afterwards, was redesignated the 128th Infantry Brigade. In the spring and summer of 1939 the Territorial Army was doubled in size and all units were ordered to form a duplicate unit and the 4th Battalion was split in two, to create the 1/4th and 2/4th battalions and 5th/7th Battalion was split into the 5th and 7th battalions. However, unlike, most Territorial divisions which formed an exact 'mirror' duplicate of 2nd Line units, the 43rd (Wessex) was instead split on a geographical basis. The units from Dorset, Wiltshire and Hampshire remained with the 43rd Division and units from Devonshire, Somerset and Cornwall joined the 45th Infantry Division. Therefore, the newly raised 7th Hampshire Regiment and the 4th Dorset Regiment were both transferred to the 130th Infantry Brigade. The 128th Brigade kept the 1/4th and 5th Hampshires, two 1st Line units, and the 2/4th Battalion, a 2nd Line unit.

Second World War

During the

, the 128th Brigade was mobilised in September 1939, soon after the outbreak of war. The brigade continued to serve with the 43rd Division and was preparing to go overseas to the Franco-Belgian border to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). The brigade was at the time commanded by

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. I ...

Frederick Browning Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick Arthur Montague "Boy" Browning, (20 December 1896 – 14 March 1965) was a senior officer of the British Army who has been called the "father of the British airborne forces". He was also an Olympic bobslei ...

, a

Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a standin ...

officer of the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

. However, the BEF's retreat and evacuation from Dunkirk during the Battle of France cancelled these plans and the division instead remained in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

on the defensive and prepared for a potential German invasion of England. The British Army in Italy 1944 NA18067

On 6 June 1942 the 43rd (Wessex) Division was reorganised as a 'Mixed Division' and 34th Tank Brigade arrived to replace the 128th Infantry. The brigade was, therefore, transferred to the 46th Infantry Division on 15 August, and would remain with the division for the rest of the war. The 128th Brigade remained with the 46th for the rest of the war. With this division the brigade served in Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

. It then bore the brunt of a German offensive,

Operation Ochsenkopf (Operation Ox Head) also known as the Battle of Sidi Nsir and the Battle of Hunts Gap was an Axis offensive operation in Tunisia from 1943, during the Tunisia Campaign of the Second World War. The offensive and a subsidiary operation was intende ...

, in Northern

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

during the Spring of 1943. After the Axis surrender in May 1943, it then went on to fight in the Italian Campaign from September 1943 until late 1944, when it was then deployed to Greece to help calm the

. The 128th Infantry Brigade fought in many battles in Italy including the

Salerno landings Operation Avalanche was the codename for the Allied landings near the port of Salerno, executed on 9 September 1943, part of the Allied invasion of Italy during World War II. The Italians withdrew from the war the day before the invasion, b ...

in September 1943,

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, and at the Gothic Line. It ended the war in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Order of battle

128 Brigade had the following composition during the war:Joslen, p. 313. * 1/4th Battalion,

* 5th Battalion, Hampshire Regiment * 2/4th Battalion, Hampshire Regiment (''until 9 May 1943'') * 128th Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company ''(formed 19 May 1940, disbanded 20 December 1941)'' * 2nd Battalion, Hampshire Regiment (''from 10 May 1943'')

Postwar

When the TA was reconstituted on 1 January 1947, 128 Bde was reformed in 43 Division with the following composition and so was no longer a solely Hampshire formation:Watson, ''TA 1947''.
/ref> * 4th Bn Royal Hampshire Regiment – Winchester * 4th Bn

Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was a light infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1958, serving in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. The regiment was formed as a consequence of th ...

–

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

* 4th/6th Bn Royal Berkshire Regiment –

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, Southeast England, southeast England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers River Thames, Thames and River Kennet, Kennet, the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 mot ...

The brigade appears to have been finally disbanded in the 1960s.

Commanders

The following officers commanded the Portsmouth/Hampshire Brigade: * Col Sir William Humphery, 1st Bt, 26 January 1889 * Col Hon H.G.L. Crichton, Reserve of Officers, 9 May 1895, until 1911 * Col G.H. Nicholson, 14 February 1914 (promoted Brig-Gen on outbreak of war) The following officers commanded 128th Brigade during the Second World War: *

E.D.H. Tollemache ''(until 31 October 1939)'' * Brigadier C.H. Woodhouse ''(from 31 October 1939 until 19 April 1940)'' *

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

A.L. Scaife ''( Acting, from 19 to 28 April 1940)'' * Brigadier R.F.H. Massy-Westrop ''(from 28 April until 14 May 1940)'' * Brigadier F.A.M Browning ''(from 14 May 1940 until 20 February 1941)'' * Brigadier M.A. James VC ''(from 20 February 1941 until 21 May 1943)'' * Lieutenant-Colonel H.C.C. Newnham ''(Acting, from 21 May until 10 June 1943)'' * Brigadier M.A. James VC ''(from 10 June until 20 September 1943)'' * Brigadier J.L. Spencer ''(from 20 September until 5 November 1943)'' * Lieutenant-Colonel R. Chandler ''(Acting, from 5 to 14 November 1943)'' * Brigadier T.P.D. Scott ''(from 14 November 1943 until 24 January 1944)'' * Brigadier D.A. Kendrew ''(from 24 January until 8 December 1944)'' * Lieutenant-Colonel J.H.H. Robinson ''(Acting, from 8 December 1944 until 28 January 1945)'' * Brigadier D.A. Kendrew ''(from 28 January 1945)''

Victoria Cross recipients

* Captain Richard Wakeford, 2/4th Battalion, Hampshire Regiment, Second World War *

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

Gerard Ross Norton, 1/4th Battalion, Hampshire Regiment, Second World War

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, ISBN 1-847347-39-8. * 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, ISBN 1-847347-39-8. * Ian F.W. Beckett, ''Riflemen Form: A Study of the Rifle Volunteer Movement 1859–1908'', Aldershot: Ogilby Trusts, 1982, ISBN 0 85936 271 X. * ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage,'' 100th Edn, London, 1953. * Col John K. Dunlop, ''The Development of the British Army 1899–1914'', London: Methuen, 1938. * * Edward M. Spiers, ''The Army and Society 1815–1914'', London: Longmans, 1980, ISBN 0-582-48565-7.

External sources

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

{{British infantry brigades of the Second World War Volunteer Infantry Brigades of the British Army Military units and formations in Hampshire Royal Hampshire Regiment Military units and formations established in 1902 Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War II

Volunteer Brigade

Territorial Force

First World War

Order of battle

Interwar

Second World War

Order of battle

Postwar

Commanders

Victoria Cross recipients

See also

Notes

References

External sources