The 56th Infantry 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 ...

that saw active service in both the

First First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and the

Second World Wars 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 ...

History

First World War

The 56th Brigade was raised soon after the outbreak of 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 ...

in September 1914 from men, mainly from Lancashire and Northern England, volunteering for Kitchener's New Armies. The 56th Brigade was assigned to the

19th (Western) Division The 19th (Western) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, part of Kitchener's Army, formed in the Great War. Formation history The 19th (Western) Division was created under Western Command in September 1914, shortly after th ...

and served on the Western Front from 1915 and was disbanded after the war. The brigade saw service at the

Battle of Loos The Battle of Loos took place from 1915 in France on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front, during the First World War. It was the biggest British attack of 1915, the first time that the British used Chemical weapons in World War I, ...

in late 1915, and at during the

Somme offensive The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

, at

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert Computers, Inc., a computer manufacturer in the 1980s * Albert Czech Republic, a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street mar ...

and

Pozières Pozières (; ) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography The commune is situated on the D929 road, northeast of Amiens between Albert and Bapaume, on the Pozières ridge. Southwest of the village ...

and later at

Messines Messines may refer to: * Mesen (in French: Messines), a village in Belgium **Battle of Messines (disambiguation), World War I battles * Messines, Quebec, a municipality in Canada * São Bartolomeu de Messines São Bartolomeu de Messines, also ref ...

in June 1917, Third Ypres and, in 1918, at

Sambre The Sambre () is a river in northern France and in Wallonia, Belgium. It is a left-bank tributary of the Meuse, which it joins in the Wallonian capital Namur. The source of the Sambre is near Le Nouvion-en-Thiérache, in the Aisne department. ...

, part of the

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 ...

Order of battle

* 7th (Service) Battalion,

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 ...

''(disbanded February 1918)'' * 7th (Service) Battalion,

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 ...

''(disbanded February 1918)'' * 7th (Service) 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 Ref ...

''(disbanded February 1918)'' * 7th (Service) Battalion,

Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) The Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) (until 1921 known as the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Lancashire R ...

''(disbanded February 1918)'' *

4th (Extra Reserve) Battalion, King's (Liverpool Regiment) Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'', a 1972 Soviet drama ...

''(from 3 December 1915 to 19 December 1915)'' * 56th 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 February 1916, moved to 19th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps 14 February 1918)'' * 56th Trench Mortar Battery ''(formed 17 June 1916, broken up 5 February 1918, reformed 6 March 1918)'' * 9th (Service) Battalion,

Cheshire Regiment The Cheshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. The 22nd Regiment of Foot was raised by the Henry Howard, 7th Duke of Norfolk in 1689 and was able to boast an independent existence ...

''(from February 1918)'' * 1/4th Battalion,

King's Shropshire Light Infantry The King's Shropshire Light Infantry (KSLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in the Childers Reforms of 1881, but with antecedents dating back to 1755. It served in the Second Boer War, World War I, World War II and Korea ...

''(from February 1918)'' * 8th (Service) Battalion,

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 Battali ...

''(from February 1918)''

Commanders

* Brigadier-General B. G. Lewis ''(from 18 September 1914, sick 17 December 1915)'' * Lieutenant-Colonel C. S. Shepherd ''(Acting, from 17 December 1915 until 19 December 1915)'' * Lieutenant-Colonel C. R. P. Winser ''(Acting, from 19 December 1915 until 22 December 1915)'' * Brigadier-General C. A. C. van Straubenzee ''(from 22 December 1915 until 6 June 1916)'' * Lieutenant-Colonel T. Fitzjohn ''(Acting, from 6 June 1916 until 11 June 1916)'' * Lieutenant-Colonel C. R. P. Winser ''(Acting, from 11 June 1916 until 13 June 1916)'' * Brigadier-General F. G. M. Rowley ''(from 13 June 1916 until 20 November 1916)'' * Brigadier-General W. Long ''(from 20 November 1916, KIA 28 January 1917)'' * Colonel C. V. Trower ''(Acting, from 28 January 1917 until 1 February 1917)'' * Brigadier-General E. Craig-Brown ''(from 1 February 1917 until 5 September 1917)'' * Lieutenant-Colonel T. Fitzjohn ''(Acting, from 5 September 1917 until 6 September 1917)'' * Lieutenant-Colonel C. R. P. Winser ''(Acting, on 6 September 1917)'' * Brigadier-General F. G. Willan ''(from 6 September 1917, sick 7 April 1918)'' * Brigadier-General R. M. Heath ''(from 7 April 1918)''

Second World War

During 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 ...

the 56th Independent Infantry Brigade was reformed in the United Kingdom on 15 February 1944. The brigade consisted of three

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 ...

infantry battalions that had all seen service overseas: the 2nd Battalion,

South Wales Borderers The South Wales Borderers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for 280 years. It came into existence in England in 1689, as Sir Edward Dering's Regiment of Foot, and afterwards had a variety of names and headquarters. In ...

(SWB), which had fought in the Norwegian Campaign in 1940, 2nd Battalion,

Essex Regiment The Essex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment served in many conflicts such as the Second Boer War and both World War I and World War II, serving with distinction in all three. ...

and 2nd Battalion,

Gloucestershire Regiment The Gloucestershire Regiment, commonly referred to as the Glosters, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 until 1994. It traced its origins to Colonel Gibson's Regiment of Foot, which was raised in 1694 and later became the ...

, which both fought at the

Battle of Dunkirk The Battle of Dunkirk () was fought around the French Third Republic, French port of Dunkirk, Dunkirk (Dunkerque) during the Second World War, between the Allies of World War II, Allies and Nazi Germany. As the Allies were losing the Battle ...

in 1940.

The 56th Brigade took part in the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944, as part of the

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 ( D-Day) with the ...

, where it formed the right flank of the

50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division The 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that saw distinguished service in the Second World War. Pre-war, the division was part of the Territorial Army (TA) and the two ''Ts'' in the divisional in ...

Gold Beach Gold, commonly known as Gold Beach, was the code name for one of the five areas of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of German military administration in occupied France during World War II, German-occupied France in the Normandy la ...

. It remained attached to the 50th Division until 10 June, after which it was attached to the 7th Armoured Division until 12 June, then reverting to the 50th Division and came under command of the

59th (Staffordshire) Infantry Division The 59th (Staffordshire) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that was formed during the Second World War and fought in the Battle of Normandy. In March 1939, after Germany re-emerged as a significant military power ...

in early August 1944. On 20 August the brigade was permanently attached to the

49th (West Riding) Infantry Division The 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division was an infantry Division (military), division of the British Army. The division fought in the World War I, First World War in the Trench warfare, trenches of the Western Front (World War I), Western Front ...

, then commanded by Major General

Evelyn Barker General (United Kingdom), General Sir Evelyn Hugh Barker, (22 May 1894 – 23 November 1983) was a British Army officer who saw service in both the First World War and the Second World War. During the latter, he commanded the 10th Infantry Br ...

, a decorated veteran of the Great War. Serving alongside the 56th Brigade in the division were the 146th and 147th Infantry Brigades, along with supporting divisional units. The brigade replaced the 70th Brigade, which was disbanded due to heavy losses. The 56th Brigade took part in the Normandy landings, liberated Bayeux on 7 June leaving the town mainly intact. All its battalions were involved in the taking of Tilly-sur-Seulles with the 2nd Essex finally investing the town. Later actions were north of St Germain d'Ectot and the liberation of Thury-Harcourt in the Suisse Normande. It was prominent in the drive towards

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

and the 49th was one of the assault divisions taking the city in

Operation Astonia Operation Astonia was the code name for an Allied attack on the German-held Channel port of Le Havre in France, during the Second World War. The city had been declared a '' Festung'' (fortress) by Hitler, to be held to the last man. Fought from ...

in September 1944. Continuing to fight in Belgium at Poppel and then the Netherlands it was the assault brigade for the final assault on Arnhem in April 1945. The 56th served well, and ended the war in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The division came mainly under command of

First Canadian Army The First Canadian Army () was a field army and a formation of the Canadian Army in World War II in which most Canadian elements serving in North-West Europe were assigned. It served on the Western Front from July 1944 until May 1945. It was Cana ...

throughout the campaign.

Order of battle

British 56th Infantry Brigade plaque cathedral Bayeux

* 2nd Battalion,

''(until 27 April 1945)'' * 2nd Battalion,

* 2nd Battalion,

* 7th (Merionethshire & Montgomeryshire) Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers ''(from 27 April 1945)''

Commanders

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.C. Pepper ''(from 27 February 1944 until 4 July 1944)'' * Brigadier M.S. Ekin ''(from 4 July 1944, KIA 4 November 1944)'' * Lieutenant-Colonel M. Lewis ''(

Acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad range of sk ...

, from 4 to 9 November 1944)'' * Brigadier W.F.H. Kempster ''(from 9 November until 3 December 1944)'' * Lieutenant-Colonel T.H. Wilsey ''(Acting, from 3 to 9 December 1944)'' * Brigadier W.F.H. Kempster ''(from 9 December 1944 until 20 January 1945)'' * Lieutenant Colonel R.H.C. Bray ''(Acting, from 20 to 23 January 1945)'' * Brigadier R.H. Senior ''(from 23 to 27 January 1945)'' * Lieutenant-Colonel R.H.C. Bray ''(Acting, from 27 January until 6 February 1945)'' * Brigadier R.H. Senior ''(from 6 February until 14 August 1945)'' * Brigadier K.G. Exham ''(from 14 August 1945)''

Post War

In 1986, in accordance with the latest policy of having all units in the UK under a Brigade headquarters, 56 (London) Brigade was formed with its headquarters in Horse Guards. (The Brigade was named in memory and recognition of 56 Division of Second World War fame.) The Foot Guards Lieutenant Colonels therefore ceased to command their Regiments. The Brigade Headquarters, commanded first by Brigadier DH B-H Blundell, was made responsible for administration and training of all London District units. The Gulabin sources gave the Deputy Commander London District and Brigade Commander, March 1985-May 1988 as Dermot H. Blundell-Hollinshead-Blundell.

Antony Beevor Sir Antony James Beevor, (born 14 December 1946) is a British military historian. He has published several popular historical works, mainly on the Second World War, the Spanish Civil War, and most recently the Russian Revolution and Civil War. ...

's book ''Inside the British Army'' gave the formation date of the brigade as January 1987. Brigadier A G Ross, Scots Guards, was in command of the brigade when the 1992/93 training directive was issued. The brigade was disbanded in 1993.Regiments.org
(Disbandment date)
Lindsey also writes the brigade was disbanded in 1993 (p. 359).

Victoria Cross recipients

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 ...

Thomas Orde Lawder Wilkinson Thomas Orde Lawder Wilkinson Victoria Cross, VC (29 June 1894 – 5 July 1916), was an England, English-born Canadian Army, Canadian and British Army officer who was a recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest and most prestigious awa ...

, 7th (Service) Battalion, Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire), 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 ...

James Miller, 7th (Service) Battalion, King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster), First World War

Footnotes

References

External links

*
Administrative Order No. 1: 56th Brigade
- administrative orders issued in May 1944 in preparation for the Normandy landings {{DEFAULTSORT:56 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 1914 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919