The Home Counties Brigade was an administrative formation 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 ...

from 1948 to 1968. The

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 ...

administered the regular

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 ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

s of the Home Counties of south east

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. After 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 British Army had fourteen infantry depots, each bearing a letter. The depots were territorially organised, and Infantry Depot C at Howe Barracks in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

was the headquarters for the seven county regiments of the

City A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

and

County of London The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government A ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

and

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

. In 1948, the depots adopted names and this depot became the Home Counties Brigade, with all regiments being reduced to a single battalion at the same time. The Home Counties Brigade was formally formed on 14 July 1948, combining the depots of the following regiments: * The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) * The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) * The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) *

The East Surrey Regiment The East Surrey Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot, the 70th ( ...

The Royal Sussex Regiment The Royal Sussex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1966. The regiment was formed in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot a ...

The 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' ...

The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1966. The regiment was formed, as the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), in 1881 as part of the Childers Re ...

Under the

Defence Review A Defence Review is the process by which government of the United Kingdom decides upon its overall defence policy and upon the means and resources devoted to achieving its defence objectives. Such reviews can happen when political or economic facto ...

announced in July, 1957, the infantry of the line was reorganised: On 1 April 1958 the Royal Fusiliers were transferred to a newly created

Fusilier Brigade The Fusilier Brigade was an administrative brigade of the British Army from 1958 to 1968, that administered those English infantry regiments titled as fusiliers. History The Brigade was created as part of the 1957 Defence White Paper announced i ...

, and over the next three years the remaining six regiments were reduced to four by amalgamation. From 1958 all regiments in the Brigade adopted a common cap badge and brigade buttons, depicting an upright sword within a Saxon crown. The individual battalions were henceforth being distinguished by their collar badges. By 1961 the four regiments in the brigade were: On 31 December 1966 the four regiments of the Home Counties Brigade were merged to become a new "large regiment": The

Queen's Regiment The Queen's Regiment (QUEENS) was an infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1966 through the amalgamation of the four regiments of the Home Counties Brigade. Then, until 1971 the regiment remained one of the largest regiments in the ar ...

, with the four regular battalions redesignated as the 1st to 4th Battalions of the new regiment. On 1 July 1968 the Home Counties Brigade was united with the

Fusilier ''Fusilier'' is a name given to various kinds of soldiers; its meaning depends on the historical context. While ''fusilier'' is derived from the 17th-century French word – meaning a type of flintlock musket – the term has been used in cont ...

and

East Anglian Brigade The East Anglian Brigade (known as G Group until 1948) was an administrative brigade of the British Army from 1946 to 1968, that administered the regiments with recruiting grounds in East Anglia, and the East of England. History After the Second ...

s, to form the

Queen's Division The Queen's Division is a British Army training and administrative apparatus for infantry regiments from the East & South of England, and Gibraltar. Formation The Queen's Division was formed in 1968 with the regimentation of the Home Counti ...

.Whitaker's Almanack 1969, p. 473

References

{{British Infantry Infantry administrative brigades of the British Army Military units and formations established in 1948 Military units and formations disestablished in 1968 Home counties