The 55th Infantry 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. B ...

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 Gurk ...

that saw active service in both the First and the

Second World Wars 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 opposing ...

First World War

The brigade was originally raised in 1914, as the 55th Brigade, in the First World War as part of Kitchener's New Armies and joined the 18th (Eastern) Division, serving with it throughout the war mainly on the Western Front from 1915 to 1918.

Order of battle

* 7th (Service) Battalion, Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) * 7th (Service) Battalion, Buffs (East Kent Regiment) * 8th (Service) Battalion, East Surrey Regiment * 7th (Service) Battalion, Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) ''(left February 1918)'' * 55th Machine Gun Company,

Machine Gun Corps The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was a 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 in the First World War. The Heavy Branch of the MGC was the first to use tanks ...

''(formed 13 February 1916, moved to 18th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps 16 February 1918)'' * 55th Trench Mortar Battery ''(formed 17 June 1916)''

Second World War

The brigade was disbanded after the war in 1919. However, it was reformed as the 55th Infantry Brigade in 1939 in the Territorial Army shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and joined the 18th Infantry Division. It remained in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

on home defence and training duties, preparing for a possible

German invasion German invasion may refer to: Pre-1900s * German invasion of Hungary (1063) World War I * German invasion of Belgium (1914) * German invasion of Luxembourg (1914) World War II * Invasion of Poland * German invasion of Belgium (1940) * G ...

which, fortunately, never arrived. The 55th Infantry Brigade, along with the rest of the 18th Division, was sent to Singapore in 1942 where it surrendered to the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

in the short but violent

Battle of Singapore The Fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore,; ta, சிங்கப்பூரின் வீழ்ச்சி; ja, シンガポールの戦い took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire of ...

. The men of the brigade would spend the next three years as Japanese prisoners in harsh and degrading imprisonment.

Order of battle

* 1st Battalion, Cambridgeshire Regiment * 2nd Battalion, Cambridgeshire Regiment ''(to 30 October 1939)'' * 5th Battalion,

Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment was the final title of a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was originally formed in 1688. After centuries of service in many conflicts and wars, including both the First and Second World W ...

* 1/5th 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 8 July 1940)'' * 55th Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company ''(formed 9 October, disbanded 14 December 1940)''

Commanders

* Brig. W.M. Ozanne * Brig. T.H. Massey-Beresford

References

Bibliography

* * * * Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War I Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War II {{UK-mil-unit-stub