144th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)
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Gloucester and Worcester Brigade 144th (Gloucester and Worcester) Brigade 144th Infantry Brigade 144th Infantry (Reserve) Brigade | |
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Active | 1908-1919 1920-1946 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | Territorial Army |
Type | Infantry |
Size | Brigade |
Part of | 48th (South Midland) Division |
The 144th Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army that saw active service in the First World War and again in the early stages of the Second World War before being reduced to a reserve brigade and remained in the United Kingdom for the rest of the war. In both world wars the brigade served with 48th (South Midland) Division.
Formation
The Gloucester and Worcester Brigade was first raised under the
First World War
The South Midland Division was mobilised on 4 August 1914, a day after the outbreak of the First World War. Most of the men of the brigade, when asked, volunteered for overseas service. Those who did not were formed into 2nd Line duplicate battalions and brigade, forming the 2nd Gloucester and Worcester Brigade, part of the 2nd South Midland Division, later to become 183rd (2/1st Gloucester and Worcester) Brigade and 61st (2nd South Midland) Division. The 1st Line battalions were also assigned the '1/' prefix, becoming, for example, 1/7th Worcesters and the 2nd Line became 2/7th Worcesters.
On 15 May 1915 the brigade was numbered the 144th (Gloucester and Worcester) Brigade and the division became
Order of battle
- 1/4th (City of Bristol) Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment
- 1/6th Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment
- 1/7th Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment
- 1/8th Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment (left September 1918)
- 144th Machine Gun Company, Machine Gun Corps (formed 23 January 1916, moved to 48th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps 22 March 1918)
- 144th Trench Mortar Battery (formed 14 June 1916)[2]
Between the wars
Disbanded in 1919 after the war, the brigade was reformed in the Territorial Army in the 1920s as the 144th (Gloucester and Worcester) Infantry Brigade and again assigned to the 48th Division, again consisting of the two battalions of the Glosters and two of the Worcesters.[3]
The brigade saw little change during the inter-war years, apart from the 6th Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment being transferred to the
Second World War
The brigade and division were both mobilised on 1 September 1939, two days before the Second World War began, and when the war started, began training to eventually serve overseas.[5]
The 144th Infantry Brigade, commanded by
In May 1940 the brigade fought the
In late December 1942 the division was reduced to a Lower Establishment and eventually became a reserve training division with a draft finding role, in mid-1944, remaining in this capacity for the rest of the war. On 5 August 1944 the brigade was redesignated 144th Infantry (Reserve) Brigade,[10] and became a training brigade for Scottish infantry regiments for the rest of the war, being disbanded in 1946 with the rest of the division and was not reformed in the Territorial Army reorganisation of 1947.[11]
Order of battle
The 144th Infantry Brigade was constituted as follows during the war:[12]
- 5th Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment (until 21 May 1941, later became 43rd Reconnaissance Regiment, Reconnaissance Corps)
- 7th Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment(until 5 February 1940)
- 8th Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment (until 9 July 1944)
- 144th Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company (formed 2 November 1939, disbanded 11 February 1941)
- 2nd Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment (from 5 February until 9 December 1940)
- 11th Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment (from 9 December 1940 until 1 January 1943)
- 9th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry (from 20 May 1941 until 13 September 1942)
- 31st Battalion, Royal Ulster Rifles (from 12 until 27 September 1942)
- 7th Battalion, Royal Ulster Rifles (from 27 September 1942 until 14 November 1943)
- 17th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (from 10 December 1942 until 19 November 1943)
- 4th Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (from 2 November 1943 until 9 July 1944)
- 5th Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (from 19 November 1943 until 9 July 1944)
- 10th Battalion, Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) (from 23 July 1944)
- 9th Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders (from 22 July 1944)
- 10th Battalion, Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) (from 22 July 1944)
- 2nd Battalion, London Scottish (from 10 September 1944)
Commanders
The following officers commanded 144th Infantry Brigade during the war:[13]
- Brigadier J.M. Hamilton (until 10 October 1941)
- Acting, from 10 to 14 October 1941)
- Brigadier W.L. Dibben (from 14 October 1941 until 17 April 1944)
- Lieutenant-Colonel H.W. Stitt (Acting, from 17 April until 8 May 1944)
- Brigadier R.G.W. Callaghan (from 8 May 1944 until 19 March 1945)
- Brigadier I.M. Stewart (from 19 March 1945)
References
- ^ "The Long, Long Trail – Researching soldiers of the British Army in the Great War of 1914-1919".
- ^ "The Long, Long Trail – Researching soldiers of the British Army in the Great War of 1914-1919".
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "The Gloucestershire Regiment [UK]". www.regiments.org. Archived from the original on 3 January 2006. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Joslen, p. 329.
- ^ "Worcestershire Regiment (29th/36th of Foot)".
- ^ Fraser, p. 30.
- ^ "BBC - WW2 People's War - Brief account of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment in WW2".
- ^ Joslen, p. 329.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Joslen, p. 329.
- ^ Joslen, p. 329.
Bibliography
- Joslen, H. F. (2003) [1960]. Orders of Battle: Second World War, 1939–1945. Uckfield, East Sussex: Naval and Military Press. ISBN 978-1-84342-474-1.
- ISBN 978-0-304-35233-3.