The 126th (East Lancashire) Brigade was an

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, 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 ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It was assigned to the

42nd (East Lancashire) Division The 42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division was an infantry Division (military), division of the British Army. The division was raised in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force (TF), originally as the East Lancashire Division, and was redesignat ...

and served in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

and on the Western Front in the Great War. In the Second World War, now as the 126th Infantry Brigade, it served again with the 42nd (East Lancashire) Division in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and was evacuated at Dunkirk and then later converted into 11th Armoured Brigade. For most of its existence the brigade was composed of battalions of the

East Lancashire Regiment The East Lancashire Regiment was, from 1881 to 1958, a Line infantry, line infantry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment of Foot and 59t ...

and the

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 R ...

, although in the late 1930s and the Second World War it was composed of battalions of the

King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) The King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army. It served under various titles and fought in many wars and conflicts, including both the First and the Second World Wars, from 1680 to 1959. In 1959, the ...

and the

Border Regiment The Border Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot and the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot. After service in ...

Formation

On the creation of the

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 in ...

in 1908, two

Volunteer Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency ...

battalions from the

, the 4th and 5th, and two from the

, the 9th and 10th, were organised into an East Lancashire Brigade within the East Lancashire Division.Becke, pp. 35–41.

First World War

On the outbreak of the

, most of the men volunteered for overseas service and the division embarked at Southampton and sailed for

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

on 10 September 1914, the first TF division to leave England for foreign service. The division began disembarking at

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

on 25 September and the bulk (including the East Lancashire Brigade) concentrated at

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

Order of battle

During the war, the East Lancashire Brigade was constituted as follows: * 1/4th Battalion,

''(from

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the River Ribble, Ribble Valley, east of Preston ...

)'' ''(left February 1918)'' * 1/5th Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment ''(from

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

)'' * 1/9th Battalion,

''(from

Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 48,604 at the 2021 census. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, Greater Manchester, ...

)'' ''(left February 1918)'' * 1/10th Battalion, Manchester Regiment ''(from

Oldham Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers River Irk, Irk and River Medlock, Medlock, southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative cent ...

)'' * 126th 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 14 March 1916, moved to 42nd Battalion, Machine Gun Corps 23 February 1918)'' * 126th Trench Mortar Battery ''(joined 26 March 1917)'' * 1/8th Battalion, Manchester Regiment ''(from 127th Brigade February 1918)'' When British infantry brigades were reduced to three battalions in February 1918, 1/4th East Lancs and 1/9th Manchesters transferred to the

66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division The 66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division was an infantry Division (military), division of the British Army, part of the Territorial Force, which saw service in the Trench warfare, trenches of the Western Front (World War I), Western Front, duri ...

where they merged with their 2nd line battalions. 126th Brigade received 1/8th Manchesters from 127th Brigade in 42nd Division. At the same time, the machine gun company left to join a new divisional machine gun battalion.

Commanders

The following officers commanded the East Lancashire Brigade during the war: * Brigadier-General D. G. Prendergast * Brigadier-General

Viscount Hampden Viscount Hampden is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of Great Britain and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first creation came in the Peerage of Great Britain when the diplomat and politician Robert Hampden, ...

''(from 13 July 1915)'' * Brigadier-General A. W. Tufnell ''(from 1 January 1916)'' * Brigadier-General A. C. Johnston ''(from 14 September 1917; wounded 16 September)'' * Brigadier-General W. W. Seymour ''(from 19 September 1917)'' * Brigadier-General G. H. Wedgwood ''(from 25 May 1918)'' * Brigadier-General T. H. S. Marchant ''(from 5 September 1918)''

Egypt and Gallipoli

The East Lancashire Division remained in Egypt training and manning the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

defences until 1 May 1915 when it embarked at Alexandria for

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

. The East Lancashire Brigade first went into action at the

Third Battle of Krithia The Third Battle of Krithia ( Turkish: ''Üçüncü Kirte Muharebesi''), fought on the Gallipoli peninsula during World War I, was the last in a series of Allied attacks against the Ottoman defences aimed at achieving the original objectives of ...

In late May 1915 the division was numbered as

– taking the lowest number of any TF division in recognition that it was the first to go overseas – and the brigades were also numbered, the East Lancashire becoming 126th (1/1st East Lancashire) Brigade. The battalions adopted the prefix '1/' (becoming 1/4th East Lancs, for example) to distinguish them from their 2nd Line duplicates then training in the United Kingdom as the 198th (2/1st East Lancashire) Brigade in

. The 126th Brigade participated in the

Battle of Krithia Vineyard The Battle of Krithia Vineyard (6–13 August 1915) was fought during the Gallipoli Campaign during the First World War. It was originally intended as a minor British action at Helles on the Gallipoli peninsula to divert attention from the immin ...

(6–13 August), where

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

William Thomas Forshaw of the 1/9th Battalion,

was awarded the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

, and then for the rest of 1915 was engaged in

trench warfare Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising Trench#Military engineering, military trenches, in which combatants are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from a ...

. After the evacuation from Gallipoli, the division returned to Egypt in January 1916 with less than half the strength with which it had set out. It remained in the Canal Defences for the whole of 1916, rebuilding its strength, and taking part in the

Battle of Romani The Battle of Romani was the last ground attack of the Central Powers on the Suez Canal at the beginning of the Sinai and Palestine campaign during the First World War. The battle was fought between 3 and 5 August 1916 near the Egyptian town o ...

(4–5 August).

Western Front

In January 1917, 42nd Division was ordered to France, the move being completed by mid-March. It spent the remainder of the war on the Western Front. During 1917 it formed part of Fourth Army in 'quiet sectors' (though the brigade commander was wounded in September that year) and taking part in some minor operations along the

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

coast. In 1918 the division became part of

IV Corps 4 Corps, 4th Corps, Fourth Corps, or IV Corps may refer to: France * 4th Army Corps (France) * IV Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * IV Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperi ...

in Third Army, in which it remained for the rest of the war. During the

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

's Spring Offensive (

Operation Michael Operation Michael () was a major German military offensive during World War I that began the German spring offensive on 21 March 1918. It was launched from the Hindenburg Line, in the vicinity of Saint-Quentin, France. Its goal was to bre ...

or the First Battles of the Somme 1918), the troops of 42nd Division took part in the Battle of Bapaume (24–25 March), First Battle of Arras (28 March) and the Battle of Ancre (5 April). Then, during the Allied

Hundred Days Offensive The Hundred Days Offensive (8 August to 11 November 1918) was a series of massive Allied offensives that ended the First World War. Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the Western Front, the Allies pushed the Imperial Germa ...

, it participated in the Battle of Albert (21–23 August) and the Second Battle of Bapaume (31 August–3 September) during the fighting on the Somme. When the

Hindenburg Line The Hindenburg Line (, Siegfried Position) was a German Defense line, defensive position built during the winter of 1916–1917 on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in France during the First World War. The line ran from Arras to ...

was breached during the

Battle of the Canal du Nord The Battle of Canal du Nord was part of the Hundred Days Offensive of the First World War by the Allies against German positions on the Western Front. The battle took place in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, along an incomplete porti ...

on 27 September, 126th Brigade was holding the forward outpost line, but withdrew before Zero Hour for the rest of 42nd Division to attack through it. 125th Brigade's attack was only partially successful, but the advance was renewed after dark, and the following afternoon 126th Brigade passed through 127th to take Welsh ridge, the final objective. Third Army's advance in Picardy culminated in the

Battle of the Selle The Battle of the Selle (17–25 October 1918) took place between Allied forces and the German Army, fought during the Hundred Days Offensive of World War I. Prelude After the Second Battle of Cambrai, the Allies advanced almost and liberat ...

on 20 October. On 42nd Division's front, 1/5th East Lancashires (with its band playing) and 1/10th Manchesters of 126th Brigade led the attack over footbridges laid by the engineers over the River Selle. The Official History records that '' 'Very fierce fighting took place on the strongly held railway line, and it was two and a half hours before it was finally mopped up by the companies detailed for the purpose. The portion to the north of the attack up to the edge of Solesmes was dealt with by a company of the Manchester'.'' The rest of the division then moved on towards the final objective. After the Selle, 42nd Division was withdrawn into reserve and halted around

Beauvois-en-Cambrésis Beauvois-en-Cambrésis is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department in northern France. Population Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department References

Commune ...

from 24 October until the advance was resumed on 3 November. On 7 November the 42nd Division was tasked to take the high ground west of

Hautmont Hautmont () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is southwest of the centre of Maubeuge, and has 14,500 residents. On 3 August 2008 a narrow but strong F4 tornado swept through the town, as well as Maubeuge, Neuf-Mesn ...

and if possible to capture the town. The division was held up by

enfilade Enfilade and defilade are concepts in military tactics used to describe a military formation's exposure to enemy fire. A formation or position is "in enfilade" if weapon fire can be directed along its longest axis. A unit or position is "in de ...

fire from the right, and 126th Brigade did no more than occupy some of the high ground. 125th Brigade was therefore ordered to pass through it the next morning and advance to the objective. But the 126th, 'in an endeavour to atone for its slowness on the 7th', pushed on and reached Hautmont before 125th could catch up. By 10 November the most forward troops were on the

Maubeuge Maubeuge (; historical or ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department in northern France. It is situated on both banks of the Sambre (here canalized), east of Valenciennes and ab ...

–

Avesnes-sur-Helpe Avesnes-sur-Helpe (; ), Picard language, Picard: ''Avinne-su-Helpe'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department in northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of ...

road. This was the end of the fighting, because the

Armistice with Germany {{Short description, none This is a list of armistices signed by the German Empire (1871–1918) or Nazi Germany (1933–1945). An armistice is a temporary agreement to cease hostilities. The period of an armistice may be used to negotiate a peace t ...

came into the effect the following day. In December the division moved into quarters in the

Charleroi Charleroi (, , ; ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It is the largest city in both Hainaut and Wallonia. The city is situated in the valley of the Sambre, in the south-west of Belgium, not ...

area and by mid-March 1919 most of its troops had gone home for demobilisation.

Between the wars

The division and brigade were both disbanded shortly after the end of the war, along with the rest of the

. However, in the 1920s, the TF was reformed as the Territorial Army and both the 42nd Division and the 126th (East Lancashire) Infantry Brigade were themselves also reformed, with the brigade including the same battalions as it had before the First World War. However, the brigade's order of battle saw many changes over the years: in 1921 the 4th and 5th battalions of the

were amalgamated into the 4th/5th Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment. The 9th Battalion,

was transferred to the 127th (Manchester) Infantry Brigade, of the 42nd Division, and the brigade received the 4th (Westmorland) and 5th (Cumberland) battalions of the

in exchange, both of which had previously been attached to the division, but not part of it, as Army Troops. The 10th Battalion, Manchester Regiment became a battalion of the

Royal Tank Regiment The Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) is the oldest tank unit in the world, being formed by the British Army in 1916 during the World War I, First World War. Today, it is an Armoured warfare, armoured regiment equipped with Challenger 2 main battle tanks ...

in 1938, becoming the

41st (Oldham) Royal Tank Regiment The 41st (Oldham) Royal Tank Regiment (41 RTR) was an armoured regiment of the British Army from 1938 until 1956. It was part of the Royal Tank Regiment, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps. It was originally formed before World War II by the ...

, later to serve with the 24th Army Tank Brigade. In the same year, the 4th/5th Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment transferred to the 127th Brigade and received the 5th Battalion,

in return, previously from the 164th (North Lancashire) Infantry Brigade, of the

55th (West Lancashire) Infantry Division The 55th (West Lancashire) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army's Territorial Army (TA) that was formed in 1920 and existed through the Second World War, although it did not see combat. The division had originally ...

. Sometime in 1939, the brigade was redesignated as the 126th Infantry Brigade.

Second World War

The 42nd Division, along with the rest of the Territorial Army, was mobilised in late August 1939, and days later the

launched its

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

. When the

began, on 3 September 1939, the 126th Infantry Brigade was once again fully mobilised and embodied for full-time war service as a 1st Line Territorial Army brigade and the units were soon brought up to their War Establishment strength as some, in particular the 5th Battalion,

, were under-strength. Soon after mobilisation, the 4th Battalion,

was posted away to become part of 25th Infantry Brigade on

lines of communications A line of communication (or communications) is the route that connects an operating military unit with its supply base. Supplies and reinforcements are transported along the line of communication. Therefore, a secure and open line of communicat ...

duties in France. They were replaced by the 1st Battalion,

, a

Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a ...

unit that had been stationed in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, under command of Northern Ireland District. The brigade and the rest of the division then began training for war, although, with most of the British Army at the time, with obsolete tactics in

dating from the 1914-1918 war.

Order of battle

The 126th Infantry Brigade was constituted as follows during the war:Joslen, p. 311. * 5th Battalion,

* 4th Battalion,

''(left 29 October 1939, to 25th Brigade)'' * 5th Battalion, Border Regiment * 1st Battalion,

''(joined 10 November 1939, left to 127th Brigade 8 September 1941)'' * 126th Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company ''(formed 20 January 1940, disbanded 21 January 1941)'' * 5th Battalion,

''(from 127th Brigade 8 September 1941)''

Commanders

The following officers commanded 126th Infantry Brigade during the war: *

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 (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

E.G. Darwell ''(until 13 January 1940)'' * Brigadier E.G. Miles ''(from 13 January until 20 September 1940)'' * Brigadier L. Bootle-Wilbraham ''(from 20 September 1940 until 22 September 1941)'' * Brigadier H.L. Birks ''(from 22 September 1941)''

France and Dunkirk

The 126th Infantry Brigade, under the command of

Eric Miles DSO MC–a tough but highly competent

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

of the

King's Own Scottish Borderers The King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSBs) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division. On 28 March 2006 the regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Scots, the Royal Highland Fusiliers, Royal Highland Fusiliers ...

, with the nickname of "Miles the soldier"–landed, with most of the rest of the division, in France on 15 April 1940 to reinforce the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Franco-Belgian border. The 42nd Division, led by Major-General William Holmes DSO, came under command of

III Corps III or iii may refer to: Companies * Information International, Inc., a computer technology company * Innovative Interfaces, Inc., a library-software company * 3i, formerly Investors in Industry, a British investment company Other uses * I ...

, serving alongside the 5th Division, a Regular Army formation, and the

44th (Home Counties) Division The Home Counties Division was an infantry division of the Territorial Force, part of the British Army, that was raised in 1908. As the name suggests, the division recruited in the Home Counties, particularly Kent, Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex ...

, a Territorial. The latter division had, along with the 42nd, initially been held back from reinforcing the BEF sooner to participate in potential operations in

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other ge ...

, although this plan had never come to fruition and both were sent overseas in the same month. During the

Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...

in May 1940 42nd Division helped to hold the line of the

River Escaut The Scheldt ( ; ; ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to Old English ("shallow" ...

and the canals, until, with the rest of the BEF, it was forced to withdraw to Dunkirk. When most of the 42nd Division was evacuated from

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

, 126th Brigade remained behind, transferring to the 1st Division for the final part of the battle and only being evacuated on 2 June. After arriving back in England the brigade rejoined the 42nd Division, then serving in Northern Command. During the evacuation

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

Marcus Ervine-Andrews Lieutenant-Colonel Harold Marcus Ervine-Andrews, VC (29 July 1911 – 30 March 1995) was a British Army officer and an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry that can be awarded to British and the Commonwealth ...

Officer Commanding The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually giv ...

(OC) B Company of the 1st Battalion,

, was awarded the regiment's, the brigade and division's first and only

of the war. He was also the first of eight Irish military personnel to be awarded the VC throughout the Second World War. After returning to England, the brigade was reorganised and, due to the very heavy losses sustained in France, absorbed large numbers of

conscripted Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it contin ...

men as replacements, most of whom had no prior military experience, and was tasked mainly with coastal and home defence and training in an anti-invasion role to repel a potential German invasion of England. The invasion never arrived, mainly due to events that happened during the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...

in the summer of 1940, and the brigade was able to begin training for offensive operations.

Conversion

On 1 November 1941, the 42nd Division was converted into 42nd Armoured Division, and 126th Brigade was converted into and redesignated 11th Armoured Brigade. Its infantry battalions became tank regiments of the

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the armoured arm of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 and the Warrior tracked armoured vehicle. It includes most of the Ar ...

as 107th Regiment RAC (King's Own) (previously 5th King's Own), 110th Regiment RAC (Border Regiment) (formerly 5th Borders) and 111th Regiment RAC (Manchester Regiment) (5th Manchesters, transferred from 127th Brigade, replacing 1st East Lancs).Joslen, pp. 165, 311.

Recipients of the Victoria Cross

William Thomas Forshaw, 1/9th Battalion, Manchester Regiment, First World War *

Private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

Walter Mills, 1/10th Battalion, Manchester Regiment, First World War * 2nd Lieutenant

Alfred Victor Smith Second Lieutenant Alfred Victor Smith VC (22 July 1891 – 22 December 1915), known to his family as Victor, was a British Army officer and an English recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in ...

, 1/5th Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment, First World War *

, 1st Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment, Second World War

Notes

References

* 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, . * James Edmonds, ''History of the Great War: Military Operations, France and Belgium 1918'', Vol V, ''26 September–11 November, The Advance to Victory'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1947/Imperial War Museum and Battery Press, 1993, . * * David Fraser (1999)

983 Year 983 ( CMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Diet of Verona: Emperor Otto II (the Red) declares war against the Byzantine Empire and the Emirate of Sicily ...

And We Shall Shock Them: The British Army in the Second World War. Cassell military. .

External sources

The Long, Long Trail

The Regimental Warpath 1914–1918
{{British infantry brigades of the Second World War Military units and formations established in 1908 Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War I Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War II Military units and formations disestablished in 1941 B126 1908 establishments in the United Kingdom