The 157th (Highland Light 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. ...

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 ...

. The brigade fought in both the First and the

Second World Wars 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 opposing ...

, assigned to

52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division The 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that was originally formed as the Lowland Division, in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force. It later became the 52nd (Lowland) Division in 1915. The 52nd (Lowl ...

Origins

The Highland Light Infantry Brigade was originally a Volunteer Infantry Brigade formed in 1902 when the former Glasgow Brigade of the Volunteer Force was split up. The four Volunteer Battalions of the

Highland Light Infantry The Highland Light Infantry (HLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1881. It took part in the First and Second World Wars, until it was amalgamated with the Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1959 to form the Royal Highland Fus ...

(HLI) constituted one brigade, while the four Volunteer Battalions of the

Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) was a rifle regiment of the British Army, the only regiment of rifles amongst the Scottish regiments of infantry. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 26th Cameronian Re ...

formed the other (the Scottish Rifles Brigade, later the 156th (Scottish Rifles) Brigade of the TF).''Army List'', various dates. From 1902 to 1908 the Highland Light Infantry Brigade had the following composition: * 1st Volunteer Battalion, Highland Light Infantry, at 24 Hill Street, Garnethill,

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

* 2nd Volunteer Battalion, Highland Light Infantry, at Kelvinhaugh Road, Overnewtown * 3rd (Blythswood) Volunteer Battalion, Highland Light Infantry, at 105 West George Street, Glasgow * 9th Lanarkshire Volunteer Rifle Corps at

Lanark Lanark (; gd, Lannraig ; sco, Lanrik) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of Hamilton. The town lies on the River Clyde, at its confluence with Mouse Water. In 2016, the town had a population of 9 ...

* 5th (Glasgow Highland) Volunteer Battalion, Highland Light Infantry, at 81 Greendyke Street, Glasgow * Bearer Company,

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 ...

, later an Army Service Corps Company The Brigade Headquarters (HQ) was at

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilto ...

, later at 2 West Regent Street, Glasgow. Initially the brigade commander was the Officer Commanding the 26th and 71st Regimental Districts (the HLI districts), later it was

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

R.C. MacKenzie, former commanding officer of the 1st VB, HLI.

Territorial Force

After the

Volunteers Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

were 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 ...

(TF) 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 e ...

of 1908, the Scottish Rifles Brigade formed part of the Lowland Division of the TF with the following composition:Thompson, pp. 3–5.Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 109–15.52 (L) Division at Long, Long Trail.
/ref> * 5th (City of Glasgow) Battalion, Highland Light Infantry * 6th (City of Glasgow) Battalion, Highland Light Infantry * 7th (Blythswood) Battalion, Highland Light Infantry * 8th (Lanark) Battalion, Highland Light Infantry

First World War

Upon the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, the Lowland Division was mobilised immediately for full-time war service. In May 1915 the brigade became the 157th (1/1st Highland Light Infantry) Brigade and the division the

52nd (Lowland) Division The 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that was originally formed as the Lowland Division, in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force. It later became the 52nd (Lowland) Division in 1915. The 52nd (Lowl ...

. The battalions were also redesignated with the '1/' prefix, 1/4th HLI. This was to avoid confusion with the 2nd Line duplicates which were also forming up and training as the

196th (2/1st Highland Light Infantry) Brigade The 196th (2/1st Highland Light Infantry) Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army raised during the Great War in 1914. The brigade was formed as a 2nd Line of the 157th (Highland Light Infantry) Brigade and assigned to the 65th (2nd ...

65th (2nd Lowland) Division The 65th (2nd Lowland) Division of the British Army was a second-line Territorial Force division, formed in 1914, which served on home defence duties during the First World War. The division was formed as a duplicate of the 52nd (Lowland) Divisi ...

. The 2nd Line units consisted mainly of those few men who did not volunteer for overseas service when asked at the outbreak of war, together with the many recruits, and were intended to act as a reserve for the 1st Line units being sent overseas. During the war the brigade and division served in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

and later 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 ...

Order of battle

* 1/5th (

City of Glasgow Glasgow City Council is the local government authority for the City of Glasgow, Scotland. It was created in 1996 under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, largely with the boundaries of the post-1975 City of Glasgow district of th ...

) Battalion,

* 1/6th (City of Glasgow) Battalion, Highland Light Infantry * 1/7th (Blythswood) Battalion, Highland Light Infantry * 1/9th ( Glasgow Highlanders) Battalion, Highland Light Infantry ''(left November 1914)'' * 1/5th (

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Re ...

) Battalion,

Princess Louise's (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders) The 8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise's) (VIII CH) is an armoured regiment in the Canadian Army. It was formed on the 4 April 1848 in New Brunswick where it has served continually ever since. Today it is a reserve armoured reconnaissance regi ...

''(from April 1915, left 28 June 1918)'' * 157th Machine Gun Company ''(formed 14 March 1916, joined 52nd Battalion,

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 ...

28 April 1918)'' * 157th Trench Mortar Battery ''(formed 11 June 1917)''

Inter-war period

After the First World War both the brigade and division were disbanded, as was the rest of the Territorial Force. With the creation of the Territorial Army in 1921, the brigade was reconstituted within the 52nd Division as the 157th (Highland Light Infantry) Infantry Brigade, again composed of the 5th, 6th, 7th and 9th battalions of the Highland Light Infantry, and remained this until 1938. In 1938, due to an increasing need to strengthen the anti-aircraft defences of the country, the 7th Battalion, HLI 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 converted into 83rd (7th (Blythswood) Battalion, Highland Light Infantry) Anti-Aircraft Brigade, Royal Artillery. In the same year the 9th (Glasgow Highland) Battalion was redesignated 1st Battalion, Glasgow Highlanders but still retained the Highland Light Infantry as its parent regiment. In the following year the brigade was redesignated as 157th Infantry Brigade.

Second World War

The British Army in North-west Europe 1944-45 BU3149

During 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 ...

, the brigade served with the 52nd Division during Operation Aerial in France in mid-1940 to cover the withdrawal of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) being evacuated from France. In 1942 to June 1944 the division was trained in

mountain warfare Mountain warfare (also known as alpine warfare) is warfare in mountains or similarly rough terrain. Mountain ranges are of strategic importance since they often act as a natural border, and may also be the origin of a water source (for example, ...

, but was never used in the role. They were then trained in airlanding operations but were again never utilised in the role. In October 1944 they were sent to Belgium to join the

21st Army Group The 21st Army Group was a British headquarters formation formed during the Second World War. It controlled two field armies and other supporting units, consisting primarily of the British Second Army and the First Canadian Army. Established in ...

and were attached to the

First Canadian Army The First Canadian Army (french: 1reArmée canadienne) was a field army and a formation of the Canadian Army in World War II in which most Canadian elements serving in North-West Europe were assigned. It served on the Western Front from July 1944 ...

and fought in the

Battle of the Scheldt The Battle of the Scheldt in World War II was a series of military operations led by the First Canadian Army, with Polish and British units attached, to open up the shipping route to Antwerp so that its port could be used to supply the Alli ...

. The brigade took part in Operation Blackcock in 1945 and ended the war by the

River Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Rep ...

. James Cassels, a future

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

and

Chief of the Imperial General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) has been the title of the professional head of the British Army since 1964. The CGS is a member of both the Chiefs of Staff Committee and the Army Board. Prior to 1964, the title was Chief of the Imperial G ...

(CIGS), was a brigade major with this brigade from May 1940−October 1941.

Order of battle

The 157th Infantry Brigade was constituted as follows during the war: * 5th Battalion,

* 6th Battalion, Highland Light Infantry (''to 12 February 1945'') * 1st Battalion, Glasgow Highlanders (''to 12 March 1945'') * 157th Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company ''(formed 12 May 1940, disbanded 7 January 1941)'' * 5th Battalion,

King's Own Scottish Borderers The King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSBs) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division. On 28 March 2006 the regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Scots, the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's O ...

(''from 12 February 1945'') * 7th Battalion,

(''from 14 March 1945'') On 12 August 1944 the brigade was organised as a Brigade Group to be the sea echelon for 52nd (L) Division's projected airlanding operations. 157 Brigade Group moved to NW Europe independently with the following additional units under command: * 52nd Reconnaissance Regiment,

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the component of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 Tank and the Scimitar Reconnaissance Vehicle. It includes most of the ...

79th (Lowland) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery 79th (Lowland) Field Regiment was a Royal Artillery (RA) unit of Britain's part-time Territorial Army (TA) during World War II. It was descended from the 1st Ayrshire and Galloway Artillery Volunteers, first raised in Scotland in 1859. It serv ...

* 304 A/T Battery, 54th (Queen’s Own Royal Glasgow Yeomanry) Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery * 354 LAA Battery,

108th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery The 108th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, (108th LAA Rgt) was an air defence unit of the British Army during World War II. Initially raised as an infantry battalion of the Green Howards in 1940, it transferred to the Royal Artiller ...

* 243 Field Park 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 ...

* 17 Bridging Platoon, Royal Engineers * 529 Infantry Brigade Company,

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and do ...

* 76 Divisional Troops Company, Royal Army Service Corps * 157 Field Ambulance,

* 52 Field Maintenance Section,

Royal Army Ordnance Corps The Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) was a corps of the British Army. At its renaming as a Royal Corps in 1918 it was both a supply and repair corps. In the supply area it had responsibility for weapons, armoured vehicles and other military equip ...

* Detachment 52 Divisional Ordnance Field Park, Royal Army Ordnance Corps * 157 Brigade Workshops,

Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME ) is a corps of the British Army that maintains the equipment that the Army uses. The corps is described as the "British Army's Professional Engineers". History Prior to REME's for ...

* Two Sections, 52 Divisional Field Provost Company,

Royal Military Police The Royal Military Police (RMP) is the corps of the British Army responsible for the policing of army service personnel, and for providing a military police presence both in the UK and while service personnel are deployed overseas on operations ...

The brigade and attached units reverted to divisional command when 52nd (L) Division arrived by sea in October to take part in ground operations.

Commanders

The following officers commanded the 157th Infantry Brigade during the war: *

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. ...

N.R. Campbell ''(until 23 April 1940)'' * Brigadier Sir J.E. Laurie, Bart ''(from 23 April 1940 until 30 March 1941)'' * Brigadier E. Hakewill Smith ''(from 30 March 1941 until 22 March 1942)'' * Brigadier F.L. Johnston ''(from 22 March 1942 until 22 November 1943)'' * Brigadier J.D. Russell ''(from 22 November 1943 until 26 January 1945)'' * Brigadier E.H.G. Grant ''(from 26 January until 24 July 1945)'' *

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 ...

R.L.C. Rose ''(

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 24 July 1945)''

Notes

Bibliography

* 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, . * 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, . * R.R. Thompson, ''The Fifty-Second (Lowland) Division 1914–1918'', Glasgow: Maclehose, Jackson 1923/Uckfield: Naval & Military, 2004, .

External sources

Mark Conrad, ''The British Army, 1914'' (archive site)

The Long, Long Trail

{{British infantry brigades of the Second World War Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War I Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War II Military units and formations of Scotland Military units and formations established in 1908 Military units and formations disestablished in 1947 Highland Light Infantry