103rd (Tyneside Irish) Brigade

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103rd Tyneside Irish Brigade
103rd Brigade
A support company of the Tyneside Irish Brigade advancing on 1 July 1916
Active1914 – 1918
Country United Kingdom
Branch British Army
TypeInfantry
RoleLine Infantry
SizeFour New Army Battalions
Two Reserve Battalions
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Neville Cameron

The Tyneside Irish Brigade was a British

First World War infantry brigade of Kitchener's Army, raised in 1914. Officially numbered the 103rd (Tyneside Irish) Brigade, it contained four Pals battalions from Newcastle upon Tyne, largely made up of men of Irish extraction. (Another Newcastle brigade — the 102nd (Tyneside Scottish) — contained Tynesiders with Scottish
connections).

History

The brigade's four battalions were known as the 1st to 4th Tyneside Irish. When taken over by the British Army, these became battalions of the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers:[2]

The reserve battalions were the 30th and 34th (Reserve) Battalions, Northumberland Fusiliers (Tyneside Irish).[3]

Along with the 101st and 102nd Brigades, the Tyneside Irish made up the

La Boisselle.[4] The brigade's task was to follow up the main attack by the 101st and 102nd Brigades and advance on a line from Pozières to Contalmaison.[4]

Advancing at the same time as the main attack, the brigade started from the reserve trenches on the

Sausage Valley' and pass through the German front-line. Two small parties met up behind the German support trench and pushed on towards their objective of Contalmaison. Their effort was in vain as they were eventually killed or captured.[4]

The 1st battalion suffered 620 casualties on 1 July (18 officers and 602

Brigadier General N.J.G. Cameron.[5]

The brigade's losses on 1 July were so severe that on the 6th, it, along with the 102nd (Tyneside Scottish) Brigade, was transferred to the 37th Division, swapping with the 112th Brigade. The two brigades returned to the 34th Division on 22 August.[6]

In February 1918 the 1st, 3rd and 4th Tyneside Irish battalions were disbanded and the remaining battalion, the 2nd, was transferred to the

116th Brigade of the 39th Division. From then on the Tyneside Irish Brigade ceased to exist and the brigade was simply the 103rd Brigade.[7]

References

  1. Northumberland Fusiliers
    .
  2. ^ "Tyneside Irish 1914-1918". Tyneside Scottish. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  3. ^ "The Tyneside Irish". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 18 October 2007. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  4. ^ a b c "Tyneside Irish Brigade". St Mary's Cathedral. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  5. ISBN 978-1843420507
    .
  6. ^ "34th Division". Warpath. Archived from the original on 20 January 2011. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  7. ^ "Tyneside Irish". Combined Irish Regiments Association. Retrieved 6 September 2017.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=103rd_(Tyneside_Irish)_Brigade&oldid=1162444756"