The 148th 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 mar ...

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. ...

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 Gurkha ...

that served in both the First and briefly in 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 ...

as part of the 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division and disbanded after the war.

History

Formation

The brigade was raised in 1908 upon the creation of the

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 ...

, which was formed by the amalgamation of the

Yeomanry Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units or sub-units of the British Army Reserve, descended from volunteer cavalry regiments. Today, Yeomanry units serve in a variety of different military roles. History Origins In the 1790s, f ...

and the Volunteer Force. The 3rd West Riding Brigade was assigned to the West Riding Division. The brigade consisted of two volunteer battalions of the King's Own (Yorkshire Light Infantry) and two of the York and Lancaster Regiment.

First World War

The division was mobilised shortly after the outbreak of war and started training. In 1915 the division became the 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division and the brigade was numbered 148th (1/3rd West Riding) Brigade. The battalions adopted the '1/' prefix (for example, 1/4th KOYLI) to differentiate them from their 2nd Line units being formed. The 2nd Line consisted of the few men who did not volunteer to serve overseas and was intended to act as home service and as a reserve for the 1st Line. The 2nd Line units were 187th (2/3rd West Riding) Brigade, 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division. With the 49th Division, the 148th Brigade saw service 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 maj ...

during the First World War from 1915 to 1918.

Order of battle

* 1/4th Battalion, King's Own (Yorkshire Light Infantry) * 1/5th Battalion, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry ''(left February 1918)'' * 1/4th Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment * 1/5th Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment * 148th Machine Gun Company,

Machine Gun Corps The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was a Regiment, 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 (World War I), Western Front in the World War I, First World War. Th ...

''(formed 6 February 1916, moved to 49th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps 1 March 1918)'' * 148th Trench Mortar Battery ''(formed 12 June 1916)'' Due to a shortage of manpower in the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) it was decided to reduce all British divisions serving on the Western Front from twelve to nine infantry battalions, all brigades reducing from four to three, and so the 1/5th KOYLI was transferred from 148th Brigade to the 187th (2/3rd) West Riding Brigade of 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division where they amalgamated with the 2/5th KOYLI and were renamed the 5th Battalion.

Inter-war period

Disbanded after the war, the brigade was reformed in the Territorial Army as the 148th (3rd West Riding) Infantry Brigade and continued to serve with 49th Division, which was also reformed. The brigade had the same composition it did before the First World War. However, during the years shortly before the

, all of the brigade's original battalions were converted to other roles or were gradually posted away. The 5th Battalion,

King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army. It officially existed from 1881 to 1968, but its predecessors go back to 1755. In 1968, the regiment was amalgamated with the Somerset and Cornwall ...

was transferred 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 ...

and became

53rd Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery 53 may refer to: * 53 (number) * one of the years 53 BC, AD 53, 1953, 2053 * FiftyThree, an American privately held technology company that specializes in tools for mobile creation and visual thinking * 53rd Regiment Alabama Cavalry * 53rd Regiment ...

and 5th Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment were also transferred to the Royal Artillery and converted into

67th (The York and Lancaster) Anti-Aircraft Brigade, Royal Artillery 67 may refer to: * 67 (number) * one of the years 67 BC, AD 67, 1967, 2067 * ''67'', a 1992 song by Love Battery from the album ''Between the Eyes'' * 67 (rap group), a drill music group from London See also * 67th Regiment (disambiguation) * 67th ...

and joined the 31st (North Midland) Anti-Aircraft Group, 2nd Anti-Aircraft Division. The remaining units, 4th Battalion, KOYLI and 4th (Hallamshire) Battalion, York and Lancs, were transferred to the 146th (2nd West Riding) Infantry Brigade of the 49th Division. They were replaced in the 148th Brigade by the 5th Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment and 5th and 8th battalions of the

Sherwood Foresters 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 ...

, all from the disbanded 46th (North Midland) Division (converted into 2nd AA Division). In 1939 the brigade was redesignated 148th Infantry Brigade.

Second World War

The British Army in the United Kingdom 1939-45 H13291

The British Army in the United Kingdom 1939-45 H18493

With the rest of the 49th Division, the brigade was mobilised on 1 September 1939, after the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week af ...

. The Second World War began two days later. In October the 1/5th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters was transferred to the 55th Infantry Brigade of the 18th Infantry Division and was replaced by the 2nd Battalion, South Wales Borderers, 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 ...

unit. The 148th Brigade, together with most of the rest of the 49th Division, was both poorly trained and equipped and was sent with most of the division to Norway and fought in the Norwegian Campaign, suffering heavy casualties, in early 1940 before being withdrawn. Instead of being sent to Iceland with the rest of the 49th Division, the brigade was sent to Northern Ireland, coming under command of British Troops Northern Ireland from 7 July 1940 until 26 April 1942, to counter a potential German invasion. It was later redesignated 148th Independent Infantry Brigade, complete with its own independent support units. The brigade was reorganised as a training brigade on 25 July 1942 for pre- OCU training of all OCTU candidates for the Army and, as a result, the independent support units were gradually posted away.

Order of battle

The 148th Brigade was constituted as follows during the war: * 1/5th Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment (until 24 July 1942) * 1/5th Battalion,

(until 29 October 1939) * 8th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (until 24 July 1942) * 2nd Battalion, South Wales Borderers (from 18 December 1939 until 1 April 1940, rejoined 6 December 1940 until 6 December 1941) * 148th Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company (formed 4 August 1940 until 7 January 1941) * 1st Battalion,

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 ...

(from 8 January 1941 until 20 July 1942) * 4th Battalion,

Royal Berkshire Regiment The Royal Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was created in 1881, as the Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment), b ...

(from 17 December 1940 until 24 July 1942) * 150th Field Regiment,

(from 23 November 1940 until 24 July 1942) * 266th Independent Anti-Tank Company (from 10 March 1941 until 24 July 1942) * 507th Field Company,

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 head ...

(from 29 November 1940 until 24 July 1942) * A Company, 5th Battalion,

Cheshire Regiment The Cheshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. The 22nd Regiment of Foot was raised by the Duke of Norfolk in 1689 and was able to boast an independent existence of over 300 years. ...

(Machine Gun Company) (from 13 until 31 December 1940) * 148th Independent Infantry Brigade Machine Gun Company (Cheshire Regiment) (from 1 January 1941 until 20 July 1942) * 148th Independent Infantry Brigade Reconnaissance Squadron,

Reconnaissance Corps The Reconnaissance Corps, or simply Recce Corps, was a corps of the British Army, formed during the Second World War whose units provided reconnaissance for infantry divisions. It was formed from infantry brigade reconnaissance groups on 14 Janu ...

(from 6 June 1942 until 24 July 1942)

Commanders

The following officers commanded the 148th Infantry Brigade during the war:Joslen, p. 333. *

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. ...

D.M.A. Sole (until 22 February 1940) * Brigadier H. de R. Morgan (from 22 February 1940 until 23 April 1941) *

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 ...

C.B. Callander (

Acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad r ...

, from 23 April until 27 May 1941) * Brigadier H.B. Hibbert (from 27 May until 29 May 1942) * Brigadier J.K. Edwards (from 29 May 1942)

References

Bibliography

* * * {{British infantry brigades of the Second World War 1908 establishments in the United Kingdom Military units and formations established in 1908 Military units and formations disestablished in 1946 Army Reserve (United Kingdom) Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War I Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War II