Hampshire Brigade
Portsmouth Brigade Hampshire Brigade 128th (Hampshire) Brigade 128th Infantry Brigade | |
---|---|
Active | 1889–1919 1920–1946 1947–? |
Country | Manley Angell James Douglas Kendrew |
The Hampshire Brigade, previously the Portsmouth Brigade and later 128th (Hampshire) Brigade, was an
Volunteer Brigade
The
- Headquarters at 84 Piccadilly, London,
- 1st Volunteer Battalion, Hampshire Regiment – Winchester
- 2nd Volunteer Battalion, Hampshire Regiment – Southampton
- 3rd (Duke of Connaught's Own) Volunteer Battalion, Hampshire Regiment – Portsmouth
- 4th Volunteer Battalion, Hampshire Regiment
- 5th (Isle of Wight, 'Princess Beatrice's') Volunteer Battalion, Hampshire Regiment – Newport, Isle of Wight
- Supply Detachment (later termed an Army Service Corps (ASC) Company)
- Bearer Company (later Royal Army Medical Corps)
The first brigade commander was Colonel Sir
The volunteer brigades were extensively reorganised in 1902 but the Portsmouth Brigade was unchanged, apart from being retitled the Hampshire Brigade.[4] Colonel Crichton was knighted (KCB) in 1911 after he retired from the command.[5][6]
Territorial Force
Under the
- Bde HQ – 30 Carlton Place, Southampton
- 4th Bn, Hampshire Regiment – Winchester
- 5th Bn, Hampshire Regiment – Southampton
- 6th (Duke of Connaught's Own) Bn, Hampshire Regiment – Portsmouth
- 7th Bn, Hampshire Regiment – Bournemouth
- No 4 (Hampshire) Section, Wessex Divisional Signal Company, Royal Engineers
- Hampshire Brigade Company, ASC, at Drill Hall, Redan Hill, Aldershot
First World War
On 29 July 1914, the Wessex Division was on Salisbury Plain carrying out its annual training camp when 'precautionary orders' were received, and next day the division took up emergency war stations in Somerset, Devon and Cornwall. The order to mobilise arrived on the evening of 4 August. Between 10 and 13 August the division concentrated on Salisbury Plain and began war training.[7][9]
On the outbreak of war, TF units were invited to volunteer for Overseas Service and on 15 August the War Office issued instructions to separate those men who had signed up for Home Service only, and form these into reserve units. On 31 August, the formation of a reserve or 2nd Line unit was authorised for each 1st Line unit where 60 per cent or more of the men had volunteered for Overseas Service. The titles of these 2nd Line units would be the same as the original, but distinguished by a '2/' prefix. In this way duplicate battalions, brigades and divisions were created, mirroring those TF formations being sent overseas.[10]
On 24 September, at the special request of the
As soon as the Wessex Division had left for India, the 2nd Wessex Division and its brigades began to be organised from the 2nd Line battalions being raised by the home depots. Recruitment and training of the 2nd Wessex Division proceeded so well that it was also sent to India in December 1914, and later received the notional titles of 45th (2nd Wessex) Division and 134th (2/1st Hampshire) Brigade.[11][12] Brigadier-General G.H. Nicholson, who had commanded the Hampshire Brigade since 14 February 1914, took temporary command of the 2/1st Hampshire Brigade on its formation and went out to India in command of the 2nd Line troops before returning to the UK.[4][11]
By early 1915 the need was growing for troops to be sent from India to various theatres of war, and the first drafts and formed units from the Wessex Divisions began to go on active service, particularly to the Mesopotamian Front. By the end of the war only one battalion remained in India from the two Hampshire brigades.[7][9][11][12]
Order of battle
The brigades composition was as follows:[7][9]
- 1/4th Bn, Hampshire Regiment – went to Mesopotamia17 March 1915 with 33rd Brigade, 12th Indian Division
- 1/5th Bn, Hampshire Regiment – served in India throughout the war; served in Third Anglo-Afghan War
- 1/6th (DoCO) Bn, Hampshire Regiment – went to Mesopotamia 18 September 1917 with 52nd Brigade, 15th Indian Division
- 1/7th Bn, Hampshire Regiment – went to Aden 8 January 1918
Interwar
The Territorial Force was disbanded shortly after the war ended but reformed in the 1920s as the Territorial Army. The brigade was reformed in the Territorial Army, as the 128th (Hampshire) Infantry Brigade, in 1920 and was again part of the 43rd Division and again included four battalions of the Hampshire Regiment.[13]
However, the composition of the brigade changed over the years. The 5th and 7th battalions were merged in 1923 to become the 5th/7th Battalion, Hampshire Regiment[14] They were replaced in the brigade by the 8th (Isle of Wight Rifles) Battalion, Hampshire Regiment.
In 1937 the 8th (Isle of Wight Rifles) Battalion was converted to the
In the spring and summer of 1939 the Territorial Army was doubled in size and all units were ordered to form a duplicate unit and the 4th Battalion was split in two, to create the 1/4th and 2/4th battalions[17] and 5th/7th Battalion was split into the 5th and 7th battalions.[18] However, unlike, most Territorial divisions which formed an exact 'mirror' duplicate of 2nd Line units, the 43rd (Wessex) was instead split on a geographical basis. The units from Dorset, Wiltshire and Hampshire remained with the 43rd Division and units from Devonshire, Somerset and Cornwall joined the 45th Infantry Division. Therefore, the newly raised 7th Hampshire Regiment and the 4th Dorset Regiment were both transferred to the 130th Infantry Brigade. The 128th Brigade kept the 1/4th and 5th Hampshires, two 1st Line units, and the 2/4th Battalion, a 2nd Line unit.
Second World War
During the Second World War, the 128th Brigade was mobilised in September 1939, soon after the outbreak of war. The brigade continued to serve with the 43rd Division and was preparing to go overseas to the Franco-Belgian border to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). The brigade was at the time commanded by Brigadier Frederick Browning, a Regular Army officer of the Grenadier Guards. However, the BEF's retreat and evacuation from Dunkirk during the Battle of France cancelled these plans and the division instead remained in Kent on the defensive and prepared for a potential German invasion of England.
On 6 June 1942 the 43rd (Wessex) Division was reorganised as a 'Mixed Division' and
The 128th Infantry Brigade fought in many battles in Italy including the Salerno landings in September 1943, Naples, and at the Gothic Line. It ended the war in Austria.
Order of battle
128 Brigade had the following composition during the war:[19]
- 1/4th Battalion, Hampshire Regiment
- 5th Battalion, Hampshire Regiment
- 2/4th Battalion, Hampshire Regiment (until 9 May 1943)
- 128th Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company (formed 19 May 1940, disbanded 20 December 1941)
- 2nd Battalion, Hampshire Regiment (from 10 May 1943)
Postwar
When the TA was reconstituted on 1 January 1947, 128 Bde was reformed in 43 Division with the following composition and so was no longer a solely Hampshire formation:[17][20]
- 4th Bn Royal Hampshire Regiment – Winchester
- 4th Bn Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry – Oxford
- 4th/6th Bn Royal Berkshire Regiment – Reading, Berkshire
The brigade appears to have been finally disbanded in the 1960s.
Commanders
The following officers commanded the Portsmouth/Hampshire Brigade:[4][7]
- Col Sir William Humphery, 1st Bt, 26 January 1889
- Col Hon H.G.L. Crichton, Reserve of Officers, 9 May 1895, until 1911
- Col G.H. Nicholson, 14 February 1914 (promoted Brig-Gen on outbreak of war)
The following officers commanded 128th Brigade during the Second World War:[19]
- Brigadier E.D.H. Tollemache (until 31 October 1939)
- Brigadier C.H. Woodhouse (from 31 October 1939 until 19 April 1940)
- Acting, from 19 to 28 April 1940)
- Brigadier R.F.H. Massy-Westrop (from 28 April until 14 May 1940)
- Brigadier F.A.M Browning (from 14 May 1940 until 20 February 1941)
- Brigadier M.A. James VC(from 20 February 1941 until 21 May 1943)
- Lieutenant-Colonel H.C.C. Newnham (Acting, from 21 May until 10 June 1943)
- Brigadier M.A. James VC (from 10 June until 20 September 1943)
- Brigadier J.L. Spencer (from 20 September until 5 November 1943)
- Lieutenant-Colonel R. Chandler (Acting, from 5 to 14 November 1943)
- Brigadier T.P.D. Scott (from 14 November 1943 until 24 January 1944)
- Brigadier D.A. Kendrew (from 24 January until 8 December 1944)
- Lieutenant-Colonel J.H.H. Robinson (Acting, from 8 December 1944 until 28 January 1945)
- Brigadier D.A. Kendrew (from 28 January 1945)
Victoria Cross recipients
- Captain Richard Wakeford, 2/4th Battalion, Hampshire Regiment, Second World War
- Lieutenant Gerard Ross Norton, 1/4th Battalion, Hampshire Regiment, Second World War
See also
- 134th (2/1st Hampshire) Brigade for the 2nd Line formation
- British infantry brigades of the First World War
- British brigades of the Second World War
Notes
- ^ Beckett, pp. 135, 185–6.
- ^ Dunlop, pp. 60–1; Appendix A.
- ^ Spiers, pp. 228–9.
- ^ a b c d e Army List, various dates.
- ^ a b Burke's: Erne.
- ^ London Gazette, 19 June 1911.
- ^ a b c d e f Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 43–8.
- ^ Conrad 1914.
- ^ a b c d 43rd (1st Wessex) Division at Long, Long Trail.
- ^ Becke, Pt 2b, p. 6.
- ^ a b c Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 55–60.
- ^ a b 45th (2nd Wessex) Division at Long, Long Trail.
- ^ "43 Division" (PDF). [permanent dead link]
- ^ "Volunteers, Militia Territorial Formations of the Hampshire Regiment". 1rhamps.com. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
- ^ "Princess Beatrice's Isle of Wight Rifles [UK]". Archived from the original on 30 December 2005. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
- ^ "6th Battalion, The Royal Hampshire Regiment [UK]". Archived from the original on 30 December 2005. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
- ^ a b "4th Battalion, The Royal Hampshire Regiment [UK]". Archived from the original on 30 December 2005. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
- ^ "5th Battalion, The Royal Hampshire Regiment [UK]". Archived from the original on 30 December 2005. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
- ^ a b Joslen, p. 313.
- ^ Watson, TA 1947.
References
- Maj 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, ISBN 1-847347-39-8.
- Maj A.F. Becke,History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 2b: The 2nd-Line Territorial Force Divisions (57th–69th), with the Home-Service Divisions (71st–73rd) and 74th and 75th Divisions, London: HM Stationery Office, 1937/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, ISBN 1-847347-39-8.
- Ian F.W. Beckett, Riflemen Form: A Study of the Rifle Volunteer Movement 1859–1908, Aldershot: Ogilby Trusts, 1982, ISBN 0 85936 271 X.
- Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 100th Edn, London, 1953.
- Col John K. Dunlop, The Development of the British Army 1899–1914, London: Methuen, 1938.
- 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.
- Edward M. Spiers, The Army and Society 1815–1914, London: Longmans, 1980, ISBN 0-582-48565-7.