The 2nd Infantry Brigade (later 2 (South East) Brigade) was a regional

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. B ...

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 ...

, active since before 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 ...

. It was the regional formation of the Army in the South East of England–the Brigade commanded and administered soldiers throughout Kent, Surrey and Sussex–but also

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by t ...

. In December 2014 the Brigade merged with

145 (South) Brigade The 145th Infantry Brigade was a regional brigade of the British Army that saw active service in both the First and the Second World Wars, disbanding in 1943 and being reformed in the 1990s. The Brigade was renamed Headquarters 11th Infantry Br ...

to form Headquarters

11th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters South East The 11th Security Force Assistance Brigade is a brigade of the British Army which is intended to train and assist foreign forces. In 2021, under the Future Army changes, the brigade was redesignated, formerly being the 11th Infantry Brigade & HQ ...

Early history

Following the end of the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

in 1902 the army was restructured, and the 2nd Infantry Brigade was established as part of the 1st Division in the 1st Army Corps, stationed at Aldershot Garrison.

First World War

The Official Visits To the Western Front, 1914-1918 Q8992

The brigade, initially commanded by Brigadier-General Edward Bulfin, served with the 1st Division during the

, from 1914 to 1918 and served throughout the war on the Western Front as part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). The brigade fought in many of the major battles of the war, first fighting at Mons where they were forced to retreat, and later the

First Battle of Ypres The First Battle of Ypres (french: Première Bataille des Flandres; german: Erste Flandernschlacht – was a battle of the First World War, fought on the Western Front around Ypres, in West Flanders, Belgium. The battle was part of the Firs ...

, the

Second Battle of Ypres During the First World War, the Second Battle of Ypres was fought from for control of the tactically important high ground to the east and south of the Flemish town of Ypres in western Belgium. The First Battle of Ypres had been fought the pr ...

and later the Battle of the Somme and Battle of Passchendaele, the German spring offensive and the Hundred Days Offensive.

Order of Battle

The 2nd Brigade was constituted as follows during the war: * 2nd Battalion,

Royal Sussex Regiment The Royal Sussex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1966. The regiment was formed in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot a ...

* 1st Battalion, Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) ''(left February 1918)'' * 1st Battalion,

Northamptonshire Regiment The Northamptonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1960. In 1960, it was amalgamated with the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment to form the 2nd East Anglian Regiment (Duchess of Gloucester's O ...

* 2nd Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps * 1/5th (Cinque Ports) Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment ''(from February to August 1915)'' * 1/9th Battalion,

King's Regiment (Liverpool) The King's Regiment (Liverpool) was one of the oldest line infantry regiments of the British Army, having been formed in 1685 and numbered as the 8th (The King's) Regiment of Foot in 1751. Unlike most British Army infantry regiments, which were ...

''(from March to November 1915)'' * 1/5th Battalion,

King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) The King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army. It served under various titles and fought in many wars and conflicts, including both the First and the Second World Wars, from 1680 to 1959. In 1959, the r ...

''(from October 1915 until January 1916)'' * 2nd Machine Gun Company,

Machine Gun Corps The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was a 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 in the First World War. The Heavy Branch of the MGC was the first to use tanks ...

''(formed 26 January 1916, moved to 1st Battalion, Machine Gun Corps 28 February 1918)'' * 2nd Trench Mortar Battery ''(formed 27 November 1915)''

Commanders

The following officers commanded 2nd Brigade during the First World War: * Brigadier-General E. S. Bulfin (At mobilization) * Colonel C. Cunliffe-Owen (10 November 1914 - acting) * Brigadier-General C. B. Westmacott (23 November 1914) * Brigadier-General G. H. Thesiger (5 May 1915) * Brigadier-General J. H. W. Pollard (22 August 1915) * Brigadier-General H. F. Thuillier (5 October 1915) * Brigadier-General

A. B. Hubback Arthur Benison Hubback (13 April 1871 – 8 May 1948) was an English architect and soldier who designed several important buildings in British Malaya, in both Indo-Saracenic architecture and European "Wrenaissance" styles. Major works credited ...

(10 March 1916) * Brigadier-General G. C. Kemp (6 July 1917) * Lieutenant-Colonel R. Bellamy (2 March 1918 - acting) * Brigadier-General Sir W. A. I. Kay, Bt. (5 March 1918) * Lieutenant-Colonel R. Bellamy (17 March 1918 - acting) * Lieutenant-Colonel G. St. G. Robinson (21 March 1918 - acting) * Brigadier-General G. C. Kelly (23 March 1918) * Lieutenant-Colonel D. S. Johnson (26 September 1918 - acting) * Brigadier-General G. C. Kelly (21 November 1918)

Second World War

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 2nd Infantry Brigade saw active service in many of the major campaigns that the British Army fought in, from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

with the BEF to

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

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 ...

and finally

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and saw some extremely hard fighting at the Battle of Anzio where, during a German counterattack, the brigade was surrounded and nearly destroyed. In April 1943, during the fighting in Tunisia,

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 ...

Willward Alexander Sandys-Clarke of the 1st Battalion, Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) was posthumously awarded the brigades' only

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

(VC) of the war.

Order of battle

The 2nd Infantry Brigade was constituted as follows during the war: * 1st Battalion, Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) * 2nd Battalion,

North Staffordshire Regiment The North Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was in existence between 1881 and 1959. The 64th (2nd Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot was created on 21 April 1758 from the 2nd Battalio ...

* 1st Battalion,

Gordon Highlanders Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gord ...

(''left 7 March 1940'') * 2nd Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company (''formed 3 September 1939, disbanded 28 December 1940'') * 6th Battalion, Gordon Highlanders (''from 7 March 1940'')

Commanders

The following officers commanded 2nd Infantry Brigade during the war: * Brig. Charles Hudson; 1938 - 1940 * Brig.

Arthur Dowler Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Arnhold Bullick Dowler KCB KBE DL (16 July 1895 – 14 November 1963) was a senior British Army officer who was General Officer Commanding (GOC) East Africa Command. Military career Educated at Tonbridge Sch ...

; 1940 - 1941 * Brig. Eric Edward James Moore; 1941 - 1944 * Brig. Adrian Clements Gore; 1944 * Brig. Charles Edward Anson Firth; 1944 * Brig. Richard Neville Anderson; 1944 - 1945

Post-Second World War

The brigade was reformed as a regional brigade by the 1980s. In the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

on 8 January 2002 the

Secretary of State for Defence The secretary of state for defence, also referred to as the defence secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the business of the Ministry of Defence. The incumbent is a membe ...

said that "The two light infantry brigade headquarters (52 Lowland) Brigade and 2 (South East) Brigade) are being re-roled from regional brigade headquarters to provide better command and control arrangements for the light infantry role battalions, all of which are currently deployable. Thus the reorganisation of the two brigades will not result in an increase in the number of deployable troops. The change will bring greater coherence to the way that these units prepare for operations, through improved co-ordination of training". Following broad reorganisation under the Future Army Structures, 2nd Infantry Brigade was renamed 2nd (South East) Brigade in 2007. The name was in line with its revised role as a Regional Brigade, responsible largely for Territorial Army units. The brigade became part of the United Kingdom's Support Command as the 2nd (South East) Brigade. It was not listed under the

Army 2020 Army 2020, was the name given to the restructuring of the British Army, in light of the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review. Background The British Government gave an indication of its proposals for the future structure of the Army in ea ...

plan. In December 2014 the Brigade merged with

to form Headquarters

References

External links

2 (South East) Brigade
- on British Army official website
Official site for the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (The Tigers)

Official site for 103 Battalion REME (V)

Official site for the Royal Gurkha Rifles

The British Army in Brunei
- official website * {{British infantry brigades of the Second World War Infantry brigades of the British Army Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War I Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War II Military units and formations established in 1908 Military units and formations disestablished in 2014