The 52nd Infantry Brigade was a formation 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 ...

, which was first formed in 1914 as part of

Kitchener's Army The New Army, often referred to as Kitchener's Army or, disparagingly, as Kitchener's Mob, was an (initially) all-volunteer portion of the British Army formed in the United Kingdom from 1914 onwards following the outbreak of hostilities in the Fi ...

. The brigade was disbanded in 1919, but reformed in British India during 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 ...

and disbanded in 1945. It was again formed in 1982, and existed until 2010.

History

First World War

It first formed in September 1914 as part of the

17th (Northern) Division The 17th (Northern) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, a Kitchener's Army formation raised during the Great War. Formation history The 17th (Northern) Division was created under Northern Command in September 1914, just a ...

, part of the ''K2 Army Group'' . It spent the whole war with the Division 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 ...

, until May 1919 when it was disbanded.

Order of battle

The following units served with the brigade. * 10th (Service) Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers (''left August 1917'') * 12th (Service) Battalion,

Manchester Regiment The Manchester Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1958. The regiment was created during the 1881 Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment of Foot and the 96th ...

* 9th (Service) Battalion,

Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment) The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, forming part of the King's Division. In 1702, Colonel George Hastings, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, was authorised to raise a new regiment, which he di ...

* 9th (Service) Battalion,

Northumberland Fusiliers The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Raised in 1674 as one of three 'English' units in the Dutch Anglo-Scots Brigade, it accompanied William III to England in the November 1688 Glorious Revolution ...

(''until August 1917'') * 3/4th Battalion,

Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army based in the county of Kent in existence from 1881 to 1961. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, originally as the Queen' ...

(''joined 3 August 1917, disbanded by 20 February 1918'') * 52nd Machine Gun Company (''joined 12 February 1916'', left 24 February 1918'') * 52nd Trench Mortar Battery (''formed by 15 June 1916'')

Second World War

The Brigade was reformed in September 1943 as a training formation for

jungle warfare Jungle warfare is a term used to cover the special techniques needed for military units to survive and fight in jungle terrain. It has been the topic of extensive study by military strategists, and was an important part of the planning for bo ...

replacements. It was redesignated as Headquarters Training Group on 1 August 1945, and ceased to exist as the 52nd Brigade.

Order of battle

The following units served with the brigade. * 20th Battalion,

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 ...

(''from 15 November 1943'') * 7th Battalion,

South Lancashire Regiment The South Lancashire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment, which recruited, as its title suggests, primarily from the South Lancashire area, was created as part of the Childers Re ...

(''from 20 November 1943'') * 12th Battalion,

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 ...

(''from 1 January 1944'') * 8th Battalion,

York and Lancaster Regiment The York and Lancaster Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was created in the Childers Reforms of 1881 by the amalgamation of the 65th (2nd Yorkshire, North Riding) Regiment ...

(''from 1 May 1945'')

1982-2010

The brigade was reformed in 1982, when the Lowland District was redesignated. The 52nd (Lowland) Brigade is linked with the historical

52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division The 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that was originally formed as the Lowland Division, in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force. It later became the 52nd (Lowland) Division in 1915. The 52nd (Lowl ...

. The brigade consisted of the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the

52nd Lowland Volunteers The 52nd Lowland Volunteers (52 LOWLAND) is a battalion in the British Army's Army Reserve or reserve force in the Scottish Lowlands, forming the 6th Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, also known as 6 SCOTS. Due to its erstwhile as ...

, as well as other TA units in the Scottish Lowlands. The Brigade was retitled 52 Infantry Brigade on 1 April 2002, taking command of Regular Army units in Scotland and the North West of England and giving up its regional and TA responsibilities to 51 Scottish Brigade. This freed 52 Brigade to parent regular light role battalions for operational deployments. 52 Infantry Brigade was transferred to 3rd (UK) Division on 1 April 2007. The Brigade was only used once operationally, for a deployment to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

in 2007/08.

Operation Herrick VII

In November 2006, it was reported that

Land Command Land Command (or 'HQ Land') was a military command and part of the structure of the British Army from 1995 to 2008. Its headquarters was at Erskine Barracks, at Fugglestone St Peter, some four kilometres northwest of Salisbury in Wiltshire. It a ...

planners had offered up HQ 52 Infantry Brigade, under the command of Brigadier

Andrew Mackay Andrew James MacKay (born 27 August 1949) is a British Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Birmingham Stechford from 1977 to 1979, East Berkshire from 1983 to 1997 and for Bracknell in Berkshire fro ...

for a November 2007 deployment to Afghanistan for

Operation Herrick Operation Herrick was the codename under which all British operations in the War in Afghanistan were conducted from 2002 to the end of combat operations in 2014. It consisted of the British contribution to the NATO-led International Security Ass ...

VII, and that the rotation plan 'was now awaiting final approval by government ministers.', In July 2007, the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

announced that 52 Brigade would provide the command element for the UK Task Force on Operation Herrick VII in

. They served in Afghanistan between 7 September and 8 March, and were relieved in spring 2008 by

16 Air Assault Brigade 16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team, from 1999 to 2021 16 Air Assault Brigade, is a formation of the British Army based in Colchester in the county of Essex. It is the Army's rapid response airborne formation and is the only brigade in the Britis ...

. During the time that the Brigade were in Afghanistan, they successfully retook the strategic Taliban stronghold of Musa Qala. Brigadier MacKay subsequently received a CBE for his work.

=2007 Order of Battle

= The Brigade in 2007 consisted of the Brigade HQ which was split between

Redford Barracks Redford Cavalry and Infantry Barracks is located on Colinton Road, near the Edinburgh City Bypass, east of the suburb of Colinton in Edinburgh, Scotland. Redford Barracks was built between 1909 and 1915 by the War Office and designed by Harry ...

and

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age, although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. ...

and the following units: * 52 Infantry Brigade Headquarters and Signal Squadron (258 Signal Squadron) *1st Battalion,

The Rifles The Rifles is an infantry regiment of the British Army. Formed in 2007, it consists of four Regular battalions and three Reserve battalions, plus a number of companies in other Army Reserve battalions. Each battalion of The Rifles was formerl ...

(Light Role Support Infantry Battalion) –

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

*3rd Battalion, The Rifles (Light Role Infantry Battalion) – Redford Barracks *2nd Battalion,

Royal Gurkha Rifles The Royal Gurkha Rifles (RGR) is a rifle regiment of the British Army, forming part of the Brigade of Gurkhas. Unlike other regiments in the British Army, RGR soldiers are recruited from Nepal, which is neither a dependent territory of the Uni ...

(Light Role Infantry Battalion) – Sir John Moore Barracks *2nd Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment (Light Role Infantry Battalion) –

Weeton Barracks Weeton Barracks is a military installation at Weeton-with-Preese in Lancashire, England. History The barracks were established, using tented accommodation, as Weeton Camp in 1916 during the First World War. The Royal Air Force also used Weeton ...

*2nd (

Royal Highland Fusiliers The Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland (2 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. Prior to 28 March 2006, the Royal Highland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment in its own right, ...

) Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (Light Role Infantry Battalion) – Edinburgh

Disbandment

On its return the Brigade returned to Regional tasks including being a Regional Training Centre and involvement in the Edinburgh Tattoo. The headquarters of 52 Infantry Brigade were located at Edinburgh's

, with some administrative functions located in the New Barrack Block at

. The unit no longer exists under

Army 2020 Army 2020, was the name given to the restructuring of the British Army, in light of the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review. Background The British Government gave an indication of its proposals for the future structure of the Army in ea ...

, and was disbanded in 2010.

References

{{British infantry brigades of the Second World War

External links

52 Infantry Brigade
– on British Army official website Military units and formations of Scotland Edinburgh Castle Military units and formations established in 1914 Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War I Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War II Military units and formations of the United Kingdom in the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) 1914 establishments in the United Kingdom

History

First World War

Order of battle

Second World War

Order of battle

1982-2010

Operation Herrick VII

=2007 Order of Battle

Disbandment

See also

References

External links