The 139th (Sherwood Foresters) 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 ...

that saw active service in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

with the 46th (North Midland) Division. Later designated the 139th Infantry Brigade, the brigade also saw service with the 46th Infantry Division in 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 ...

Origins

When Volunteer Infantry Brigades were introduced in 1888, the Volunteer Battalions of the Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) formed part of the

North Midland Brigade The North Midland Brigade was an infantry formation of Britain's Volunteer Force from 1888 to 1908. Origins The North Midland Brigade had its origin in the Stanhope Memorandum of December 1888. This proposed a Mobilisation Scheme for units of t ...

, although from 1901 to 1906 they formed a separate Sherwood Foresters Brigade.''Army List'', 1888–1908 When the Volunteer Force was 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 ...

in 1908, a new Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Brigade was formed, as part of the North Midland Division. The brigade was composed of four Volunteer battalions of the Sherwood Foresters: the 5th (Derbyshire), 6th, 7th ( Robin Hood Rifles) and 8th.Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 61–7.

First World War

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

inspected the division on 19 February 1915, shortly before its departure for France, and gave permission for the Notts & Derby Brigade to change its title to Sherwood Foresters Brigade. (However, its 2nd Line duplicate, formed in January 1915, remained the 2/1st Notts & Derby Brigade throughout the war.) In May, when the TF formations were numbered, the brigade became 139th (Sherwood Foresters) Brigade in the 46th (North Midland) Division. The brigade saw service with the 46th Division throughout the

in the

trenches A trench is a type of excavation or in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a wider gully, or ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or pit). In geology, trenches result from erosi ...

of 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 ...

from 1915 to 1918.

Order of battle, First World War

* 1/5th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) * 1/6th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) * 1/7th (Robin Hood Rifles) Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) ''(left February 1918)'' * 1/8th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) * 1/4th Battalion,

Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment ...

''(joined and left November 1915)'' * 1/3rd (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (

Royal Fusiliers The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many wars ...

) ''(joined and left November 1915)'' * 139th Machine Gun Company,

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 ...

''(formed 16 February 1916, moved to 46th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps 26 February 1918)'' * 139th Trench Mortar Battery ''(formed 9 March 1916)''

Between the wars

Disbanded after the war in 1919, the brigade was reformed as the 139th (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire) Infantry Brigade in the Territorial Army and again assigned to the 46th (North Midland) Division. However, in 1936 the division was disbanded and its HQ was redesignated 2nd Anti-Aircraft Division. The 6th and 7th

Sherwood Foresters The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for just under 90 years, from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Worcestershire Regiment to ...

were both transferred to the

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 ...

and converted into anti-aircraft searchlight battalions. The 5th and 8th Sherwood Foresters were both transferred to the 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division. With all of its battalions posted away, the 139th Infantry Brigade was disbanded.

Second World War

The brigade number was reactivated again when the Territorial Army was doubled in size in spring and summer 1939, in order to meet the threat of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. The 139th Infantry Brigade, formed as a 2nd Line duplicate of 148th Infantry Brigade, was assigned to the 46th Infantry Division, which itself was formed as a duplicate of the 49th Division. The brigade saw service with the 46th Division throughout the

, which began in September 1939. Sent to France with the rest of 46th Division in April 1940 to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), the brigade was both poorly equipped and trained and lacked any of their signals,

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during si ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considerin ...

or other support units. The division was sent, along with the 12th and 23rd divisions, to complete their training and to help construct defences and airfields. As a result, the division was battered when facing the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

blitzkrieg Blitzkrieg ( , ; from 'lightning' + 'war') is a word used to describe a surprise attack using a rapid, overwhelming force concentration that may consist of armored and motorized or mechanized infantry formations, together with close air ...

during the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France during the Second Wor ...

in May 1940 and was forced to retreat to Dunkirk had to be evacuated to England. The British Army in Italy 1944 NA18124

After being evacuated, the brigade and division spent the next few years on home defence and training to repel an expected German invasion which never arrived. In late 1942 the 46th Division was sent to

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 ...

where it became part of British First Army and saw action in the final stages of the

Tunisia Campaign The Tunisian campaign (also known as the Battle of Tunisia) was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces from 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943. Th ...

. The division did not see service in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

but landed at Salerno in September 1943 as part of the

US Fifth Army The United States Army North (ARNORTH) is a formation of the United States Army. An Army Service Component Command (ASCC) subordinate to United States Northern Command (NORTHCOM), ARNORTH is the joint force land component of NORTHCOM.

during the initial invasion of Italy. The brigade saw service in Italy until late 1944, transferring to Greece to help calm the

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος �όλεμος}, ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom and ...

, and returning to Italy in April 1945 for the final offensive, but did not take part in any actual fighting.

Order of battle, Second World War

* 2/5th Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment * 2/5th Battalion,

''(redesignated 5th Battalion on 1 March 1943)'' * 9th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters ''(until 28 December 1939)'' * 139th Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company ''(formed 17 August 1940, disbanded 10 July 1941)'' * 16th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry ''(from 28 December 1940)''

Commanders

* 1911–1917: Charles Tyrell Shipley * 1917–1918: George Glas Sandeman Carey * 1918–1918: Phillip Richard Wood * 1918–1919: John Harington * 1920–1924: Godfrey Davenport Goodman * 1924– : B. A. Smith * 1940–1943: Raleigh Chichester-Constable * 1943–1943:

Robert Stott Robert Stott (13 July 1858 – 21 April 1928) was a constable and later police commissioner in the Northern Territory of Australia. Early life Robert Stott was born in the blacksmith's croft at Nigg in Kincardineshire, Scotland, the s ...

* 1943–1945: Allen Block

Victoria Cross recipients

Sergeant Sergeant ( abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other ...

William Henry Johnson, 1/5th (Derbyshire) Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment), Great War * Acting

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 ...

Bernard Vann, 1/8th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment), Great War *

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Geoffrey Vickers Sir (Charles) Geoffrey Vickers, VC (13 October 1894 – 16 March 1982) was an English lawyer, administrator, writer and pioneering systems scientist. He had varied interests with roles at different times with the London Passenger Transport Board ...

, 1/7th (Robin Hood Rifles) Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment), Great War

Notes

References

* Anon, '' 'The Robin Hoods': 1/7th, 2/7th and 3/7th Battns Sherwood Foresters'', J & H Bell, 1921/Uckfield: Naval and Military Press, 2009, . * 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, . * 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, . * Alan MacDonald, ''A Lack of Offensive Spirit? The 46th (North Midland) Division at Gommecourt, 1st July 1916'', West Wickham: Iona Books, 2008, . {{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 established in 1908 Military history of Derbyshire Military history of Nottinghamshire