The 32nd (Midland) Anti-Aircraft Brigade was an air defence formation of

Anti-Aircraft Command Anti-Aircraft Command (AA Command, or "Ack-Ack Command") was a British Army command of the Second World War that controlled the Territorial Army anti-aircraft artillery and searchlight formations and units defending the United Kingdom. Origin ...

in Britain's Territorial Army (TA) from 1936 to 1955, charged with defending the

East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, L ...

of England.

Origin

The formation was raised on 1 November 1936 at Normanton House,

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

, as 32nd (South Midland) Anti-Aircraft Group, forming part of 2nd Anti-Aircraft Division. It comprised anti-aircraft (AA) 'brigades' of the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

(RA) and AA battalions of 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 ...

(RE), but when the RA redesignated its brigades as regiments in 1938, the group adopted the more usual title of 32nd (Midland) Ant-Aircraft Brigade in November 1938. On first formation the brigade comprised the following units:Frederick, pp. 1049–51. * 69th (The Royal Warwickshire Regiment) Anti-Aircraft Brigade RA (TA) – ''Heavy Anti-Aircraft (HAA) unit formed at

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

in 1936 by conversion of the

6th Battalion 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second ...

, Royal Warwickshire Regiment'' ** HQ, 190th, 191st, 192nd, 199th Anti-Aircraft Batteries * 40th (The Sherwood Foresters) Anti-Aircraft Battalion, RE (TA) – ''Searchlight unit formed at Chesterfield in 1936 by conversion of the

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 ...

'' ** HQ, 358th, 359th, 360th, 361st Anti-Aircraft Companies * 42nd (The Robin Hoods, Sherwood Foresters) Anti-Aircraft Battalion, RE (TA) – ''Searchlight unit formed at

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

in 1936 by conversion of 7th (Robin Hood Rifles) Battalion, Sherwood Foresters'' ** HQ, 366th, 367th, 368th, 369th Anti-Aircraft Companies * 44th (The Leicestershire Regiment) Anti-Aircraft Battalion, RE (TA) – ''Searchlight unit formed at

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

in 1936 by conversion of the 4th Battalion,

Leicestershire Regiment The Leicestershire Regiment (Royal Leicestershire Regiment after 1946) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, with a history going back to 1688. The regiment saw service for three centuries, in numerous wars and conflicts such as both W ...

'' ** HQ, 374th, 375th, 376th, 377th Anti-Aircraft Companies * 45th (The Royal Warwickshire Regiment) Anti-Aircraft Battalion, RE (TA) – ''Searchlight unit formed at Birmingham in 1936 by conversion of the

5th Battalion Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash that ...

, Royal Warwickshire Regiment'' ** HQ, 378th, 379th, 380th, 381st Anti-Aircraft Companies All these units had previously been infantry battalions of the former

46th (North Midland) Division The 46th (North Midland) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, part of the Territorial Force, that saw service in the First World War. At the outbreak of the war, the 46th Division was commanded by Major-General Hon. E.J. Mont ...

, which had been converted into 2 AA Division in 1935.''TA 1927'' and ''Army Lists''.

Second World War

Mobilisation

With the continued expansion of AA defences, especially after the

Munich Crisis The Munich Agreement ( cs, Mnichovská dohoda; sk, Mníchovská dohoda; german: Münchner Abkommen) was an agreement concluded at Munich on 30 September 1938, by Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy. It provided "cession to Ger ...

of 1938, new formations appeared, culminating in the creation of

, responsible for all TA air defence units in the UK. As a result of this expansion, some existing units transferred from 32 AA Bde to the new formations, while newly formed units replaced them, although the brigade remained within 2 AA Division. On the outbreak of war its order of battle was as follows: * 68 AA Regiment RA – ''HAA unit formed in 1936 by conversion of 62nd Field Brigade, Royal Artillery, also from 46th Division'' ** 200 & 220 (Derby) AA Btys at Derby ** 276 & 277 AA Btys at Nottingham * 42 (Robin Hoods) AA Battalion RE – ''see above'' * 44 (Leicester) AA Battalion RE – ''see above'' * 50 (Northamptonshire Regiment) AA Battalion RE – ''formed in 1937 by conversion of 4th Bn

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 ...

'' ** 400, 401, 402, 403 AA Coys * 32nd Anti-Aircraft Brigade Company,

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and do ...

Battle of Britain and Blitz

In 1940 the RE AA battalions were transferred to the RA, and that summer the AA regiments of the RA were redesignated Heavy Anti-Aircraft (HAA) to distinguish them from the new Light Anti-Aircraft (LAA) units being formed.

Order of Battle 1940–41

During

The Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

of 1940–41, 32 AA Bde controlled the following AA units defending the East Midlands:Order of Battle of Non-Field Force Units in the United Kingdom, Part 27: AA Command, 12 May 1941, with amendments, The National Archives (TNA), Kew, file WO 212/79. * 78 (1st East Anglian) HAA Regiment (part) – ''formed in 1937 by conversion of 84th (1st East Anglian) Field Brigade, RA; split into detachments during Battle of Britain; concentrated into 40 AA Bde by May 1941'' * 113 HAA Regiment (part) – ''new unit raised November 1940;Farndale, Annex M, pp. 334–6. split into detachments during Blitz; concentrated into new 66 AA Bde by May 1941'' **

359 __NOTOC__ Year 359 ( CCCLIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Eusebius and Hypatius (or, less frequently, year 1112 ' ...

, 362, 366, 391 HAA Btys * 27 LAA Regiment – ''raised in Northern Command before September 1939; 'left July 1941 for Eighth Army'' ** 107, 113, 149 LAA Btys * 38 LAA Regiment (part) – ''raised in Northern Command before September 1939'' * 64 LAA Regiment (part) – ''raised November 1940'' * 41st (5th North Staffordshire Regiment) Searchlight Regiment – ''formed at

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

in 1936 by conversion of 5th Bn

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 ...

from 46 Division'' ** 362, 363, 364, 365 S/L Btys * 44 Searchlight Regiment – ''see above'' ** 374, 375, 376, 377 S/L Btys * 58 (Middlesex) Searchlight Regiment – ''formed in 1938 as a duplicate of 36 (Middlesex) Searchlight Regiment'' ** 344, 425, 426 S/L Btys ** 511 S/L Bty – ''attached to 10 AA Division''

Mid-War

The Blitz ended in May 1941, but occasional raids continued.Pile's despatch.
/ref> The brigade's order of battle was now predominantly composed of searchlight (S/L) units. AA Command redeployed its S/L units during the summer of 1941 into 'Indicator Belts' of radar-controlled S/L clusters covering approaches to the RAF's

Night-fighter A night fighter (also known as all-weather fighter or all-weather interceptor for a period of time after the Second World War) is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility. Night fighters began to be used ...

sectors, repeated by similar belts covering AA Command's Gun Defence Areas (GDAs). Inside each belt was a 20-mile deep 'Killer Belt' of single S/Ls cooperating with night-fighters patrolling defined 'boxes'. The pattern was designed to ensure that raids penetrating deeply towards the Midlands GDAs would cross more than one belt, and the GDAs had more S/Ls at close spacing. The number of LAA units to protect Vital Points such as airfields was growing, albeit slowly. In June 1941,

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 ...

T.R. Anderson, MC, who had seen active service on 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 ...

and in

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

during 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, ...

, and had commanded 2 S/L Rgt 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 ...

, was promoted to

brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. ...

to command 32 AA Bde. During his command he worked closely with

Group Captain Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...

Basil Embry Air Chief Marshal Sir Basil Edward Embry, (28 February 1902 – 7 December 1977) was a senior Royal Air Force commander. He was Commander-in-Chief of Fighter Command from 1949 to 1953. Early life and career Basil Embry was born in Gloucesters ...

commanding

RAF Wittering Royal Air Force Wittering or more simply RAF Wittering is a Royal Air Force station within the unitary authority area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire. Although Stamford in Lincolnshire ...

Sector to defend the industrial Midlands, but died on 7 August 1943, which Embry attributed to overwork.Farndale, p. 19.Imperial War Museum War Memorial Register Ref 26603.
/ref>Spink & Sons catalogue entry for auction of Anderson's medals and memorabilia.
/ref> Newly formed units joining AA Command were increasingly 'mixed' ones into which women of the

Auxiliary Territorial Service The Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS; often pronounced as an acronym) was the women's branch of the British Army during the Second World War. It was formed on 9 September 1938, initially as a women's voluntary service, and existed until 1 Februa ...

were integrated. At the same time, experienced units were posted away for service overseas. This led to a continual turnover of units, which accelerated in 1942 with the preparations for

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8 November 1942 – 16 November 1942) was an Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of securing victory in North Africa while al ...

Order of Battle 1941–42

During this period the division was composed as follows (temporary detachments omitted):Order of Battle of Non-Field Force Units in the United Kingdom, Part 27: AA Command, 1 October 1942, TNA file WO 212/82. * 136th HAA Rgt – ''new regiment formed October 1941'' ** 182, 409 (Suffolk), 432 HAA Btys ** 198 HAA Bty – ''to new 165 HAA Rgt July 1942'' ** 468 HAA Bty – ''joined from 78th (1st East Anglian) HAA Rgt July 1942'' * 64th LAA Rgt – ''from 66 AA Bde Autumn 1941; to

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

control for Operation Torch August 1942'' ** 191, 193, 285 LAA Btys ** 458 LAA Bty – ''new battery joined February 1942; to new 138th LAA Rgt July 1942'' * 120th LAA Rgt – ''converted from 86th S/L Rgt; joined September 1942'' ** 11, 393, 394, 395 LAA Btys * 134th LAA Rgt – ''new regiment joined April 1942; left June 1942'' ** 192, 230, 275, 287 LAA Btys * 41st S/L Rgt ** 362, 363, 364 S/L Btys ** 365 S/L Bty – ''to 83rd S/L Rgt January 1942'' * 44th S/L Rgt – ''to 66 AA Bde December 1941'' ** 374, 375, 376, 377 S/L Btys * 58th S/L Rgt ** 344, 425, 426 S/L Btys ** 511 S/L Bty – ''to 30th (Surrey) S/L Rgt January 1942'' * 60th (Middlesex) S/L Rgt – ''from 41 AA Bde January 1942; left and converted to 126th LAA Rgt March 1942'' ** 371, 429, 430, 431 S/L Btys * 65th (Essex Regiment) S/L Rgt – ''from 41 AA Bde Autumn 1941'' ** 444, 445, 446 S/L Btys * 32 AA Bde Signal Office Mixed Sub-Section (part of No 2 Company, 2 AA Division Mixed Signal Unit,

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield commun ...

) When the AA Divisions were disbanded in 1942, 32 AA Bde came under the command of 5 AA Group, based in Nottingham, and remained with it until the end of its wartime service.

Late war

At the end of 1942, 120th LAA Rgt left for mobile training, and in the early part of 1943 41st (5NSR) S/L Rgt moved to the Humber defences and 58th (Middlesex) S/L Rgt left for 41 AA Bde. Although 43rd (5th Duke of Wellington's Regiment) S/L Rgt joined, by March 1943 32 AA Bde had been reduced to one battery of 136th HAA Rgt (the others being distributed to other brigades) and the six S/L batteries of 43 and 65 S/L Rgts. All these units had left by August 1943, after which the brigade was entirely composed of Mixed (M) units, including some armed with

Z Battery A Z Battery was a short range anti-aircraft weapon system, launching diameter rockets from ground-based single and multiple launchers, for the air defence of Great Britain in the Second World War. The rocket motors were later adapted with a ...

rocket projectiles that were partly manned by members of the

Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting w ...

Order of Battle 1943–44

From August 1943 the brigade had the following composition:Order of Battle of AA Command, 27 April 1944, with amendments, TNA file WO 212/85. * 127th HAA Rgt – ''from 2 AA Group Autumn 1943; to 40 AA Bde November 1943'' ** 396, 411, 422, 433 HAA Btys * 139th (M) HAA Rgt – ''to 63 AA Bde February 1944'' ** 483, 484, 485, 518 (M) HAA Btys * 161st (M) HAA Rgt – ''from 63 AA Bde August 1943'' ** 447, 478, 558 (M) HAA Btys ** 593 (M) HAA Bty – ''left by April 1944'' * 172nd (M) HAA Rgt – ''to 63 AA Bde August 1943; returned February 1944; to 65 AA Bde May 1944'' ** 517, 570, 573 (M) HAA Btys ** 582 (M) HAA Bty – ''joined by February, left by March 1944'' ** 668 (M) HAA Btys – ''left by March 1944'' * 81st LAA Rgt – ''from 8 AA Group March, to 2 AA Group April 1944'' ** 199, 261, 307 LAA Btys * 15th (M) 'Z' AA Rgt ** 120, 180, 181, 219 (M) 'Z' Btys * 16th (M) 'Z' AA Rgt – ''joined from 39 AA Bde April 1943'' ** 126, 195, 227 (M) 'Z' Btys 'Z' AA Rgts were redesignated AA Area Mixed Rgts in April 1944

Order of Battle 1944–45

The composition of 32 AA Bde remained stable during the summer of 1944. Then in October there was a further reorganisation: * 161st (M) HAA Rgt ** 447, 478, 558 (M) HAA Btys * 182nd (M) HAA Rgt ** 588, 592, 594 (M) HAA Btys * 6th AA Area Mixed Rgt ** 146, 183, 209 (M) 'Z' Btys * 15th AA Area Mixed Rgt ** 120, 180, 181, 219 (M) 'Z' Btys * 16th AA Area Mixed Rgt ** 126, 195, 227 (M) 'Z' Btys * 32nd AA Area Mixed Rgt ** 170, 20, 207, 225 (M) 'Z' Btys By this time, the brigade's HQ establishment was 8 officers, 7 male other ranks and 22 members of the ATS, together with a small number of attached drivers, cooks and mess orderlies (male and female). In addition, the brigade had a Mixed Signal Office Section of 5 male other ranks and 19 ATS, which was formally part of the Group signal unit.

Disbandment

During the Summer of 1944 London and South-East England had been bombarded with

V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Ministry of Aviation (Nazi Germany), Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buz ...

s. Once the launching sites were overrun by 21st Army Group, the ''

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

'' began launching them from aircraft over the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

. 5 AA Group had to reorganise its defences, stripping HAA guns from inland sites and moving them to the coast of East Anglia. AA Command was also suffering a personnel shortage, as fit men were posted to make up losses in 21st Army Group fighting in

North West Europe Northwestern Europe, or Northwest Europe, is a loosely defined subregion of Europe, overlapping Northern and Western Europe. The region can be defined both geographically and ethnographically. Geographic definitions Geographically, Northw ...

. In November 1944 all the brigade's units left except 15th and 16th AA Area Mixed Rgts, which were joined by 9th (Londonderry) HAA Rgt (24, 25, 26 HAA Btys) returned from service in the Italian Campaign. Then at the end of the year the Home Guard was stood down and all the Z Btys disappeared. By the beginning of 1945 the brigade only had four AA Area Mixed Rgt HQs (2nd, 15th, 16th, 17th) left under its command. It was briefly joined on 1 January by 72nd (Middlesex) S/L Rgt at Hatfield Militia Camp near

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

, which consolidated the personnel of 72nd, 80th and 82nd S/L Rgts while they awaited posting elsewhere.82 S/L Rgt War Diary 1945, The National Archives (TNA), Kew, file WO 166/16822. 32nd AA Brigade HQ was disbanded on 31 January 1945.

Postwar

The Brigade was reformed in the TA in 1947, still based at Derby, but renumbered as 58 AA Brigade (TA), with the following composition:67–106 Brigades at British Army 1945 on
/ref> * 262 (North Midlands) HAA Regt at Derby – formerly 68 (North Midland) HAA (''see above'')
/ref> * 526 HAA Regt at Derby – formerly 26 LAA Regiment520–563 Regiments at British Army 1945 on
/ref> * 528 LAA Regt at Nottingham – formerly 28 LAA Regiment * 575 (6th Battalion, The Sherwood Foresters) S/L Regt at Chesterfield – formerly 149 LAA, and before that 40 S/L (''see above'')564–591 Regiments at British Army 1945 on
* 577 (The Robin Hoods, Sherwood Foresters) S/L Regt at Nottingham – formerly 42 S/L (''see above'') In 1954, 262 and 526 HAA Regiments amalgamated as 262 Regiment. Then on 10 March 1955, AA Command was disbanded and a number of AA units were disbanded or merged. From 58 AA Bde, 262 HAA Regiment became P (North Midland) Battery of a new 438 LAA Regiment (which also included the former Leicester and Northampton Searchlight Regiments, ''see above''), while 528 and 577 Regiments merged into 350 Regiment in Nottingham. Finally, the brigade was placed in suspended animation on 31 October 1955, and completely disbanded on 31 December 1957.

Footnotes

Notes

References

* Gen Sir

Martin Farndale General Sir Martin Baker Farndale, (6 January 1929 – 10 May 2000) was a British Army officer who reached high office in the 1980s. Military career Educated at Yorebridge Grammar School, Askrigg, and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Farnd ...

, ''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: The Years of Defeat: Europe and North Africa, 1939–1941'', Woolwich: Royal Artillery Institution, 1988/London: Brasseys, 1996, . * J.B.M. Frederick, ''Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660–1978'', Vol II, Wakefield, Microform Academic, 1984, . * ''Monthly Army Lists''. *
Sir Frederick Pile's despatch: "The Anti-Aircraft Defence of the United Kingdom from 28th July, 1939, to 15th April, 1945" ''London Gazette'' 18 December 1947
* Brig N.W. Routledge, ''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: Anti-Aircraft Artillery 1914–55'', London: Royal Artillery Institution/Brassey's, 1994, . * ''Titles and Designations of Formations and Units of the Territorial Army'', London: War Office, 7 November 1927.

Online sources

British Army units from 1945 on

British Military History

Orders of Battle at Patriot Files

* ttps://ra39-45.co.uk The Royal Artillery 1939–45{{British anti-aircraft brigades of the Second World War Military units and formations established in 1936 Air defence brigades of the British Army Anti-Aircraft brigades of the British Army in World War II Military units and formations in Derbyshire Military units and formations in Derby Military units and formations disestablished in 1957