The Liverpool Brigade, later 165th (Liverpool) 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 Britain's

Volunteer Force The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a Social movement, popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increa ...

that served during

World War I 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 ...

with the

55th (West Lancashire) Division The 55th (West Lancashire) Division was an infantry division of the British Army's Territorial Force (TF) that saw extensive combat during the First World War. It was raised initially in 1908 as the West Lancashire Division. Following the ou ...

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

World War II 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 ...

, again as part 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 ...

, the brigade remained in the United Kingdom.

Origin

The

of part-time soldiers was created following an invasion scare in 1859, and its constituent units were progressively aligned with the Regular

during the later 19th Century. The

Stanhope Memorandum The Stanhope Memorandum was a document written by Edward Stanhope, the Secretary of State for War of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, on 8 December 1888. It set out the overall strategic aims of the British Empire, and the way the B ...

of December 1888 introduced a Mobilisation Scheme for Volunteer units, which would assemble in their own brigades at key points in case of war. In peacetime these brigades provided a structure for collective training. The Mersey Brigade was one of the formations organised at this time. Brigade Headquarters was at 2 Islington Square in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and the commander was Major-General William De Wilton Roche Thackwell, a retired veteran of the

Crimean Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrai ...

and

Anglo-Egyptian War The British conquest of Egypt, also known as the Anglo-Egyptian War (), occurred in 1882 between Egyptian and Sudanese forces under Ahmed ‘Urabi and the United Kingdom. It ended a nationalist uprising against the Khedive Tewfik Pasha. It ...

s. Its task was to defend the important

Mersey Estuary The River Mersey () is a major river in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it h ...

, including the

Port of Liverpool The Port of Liverpool is the enclosed dock system that runs from Brunswick Dock in Liverpool to Seaforth Dock, Seaforth, on the east side of the River Mersey and the Birkenhead Docks between Birkenhead and Wallasey on the west side of ...

. Originally it was an unwieldy organisation:''Monthly Army Lists'', various dates. Mersey Brigade *

1st Volunteer Battalion, King's (Liverpool Regiment) 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 ...

* 2nd Volunteer Battalion, King's (Liverpool Regiment) * 3rd Volunteer Battalion, King's (Liverpool Regiment) * 4th Volunteer Battalion, King's (Liverpool Regiment) * 5th (Irish) Volunteer Battalion, King's (Liverpool Regiment) *

6th Volunteer Battalion, King's (Liverpool Regiment) The Liverpool Press Guard was a Rifle Volunteer Corps raised in the city of Liverpool in Lancashire, North West England, in 1861. Initially drawn from the newspaper and printing trades, it later recruited more widely in the Everton and Ormskirk ...

* 1st Volunteer Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers * 2nd Volunteer Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers * 3rd Volunteer Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers * 1st Volunteer 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 ...

* 2nd (Earl of Chester's) Volunteer Battalion, Cheshire Regiment * 1st Volunteer 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 ...

* 2nd Volunteer Battalion, South Lancashire Regiment * 1st Volunteer Battalion, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment * 2nd Volunteer Battalion, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment * 6th Volunteer 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 R ...

By 1895 the Lancashire Fusiliers, South Lancashire and most Cheshire Regiment VBs had been moved into a separate Cheshire and Lancashire Brigade under Maj-Gen Thackwell, while the North Lancashires had joined a Northern Counties Brigade, and the Manchesters joined the Manchester Brigade. This left the Mersey Brigade with the following organisation: * Headquarters: Altcar Camp, near Hightown, Liverpool, under retired Colonel Robert Shinkwin, who had served with the 59th Foot in the

Second China War The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Chinese War or ''Arrow'' War, was fought between the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and the United States against the Qing dynasty of China between 1856 and 1860. It was the second major ...

* 1st–6th Volunteer Battalions, King's (Liverpool) * 1st Volunteer Battalion, Cheshires * Bearer Company, Medical Staff Corps By 1899 the Brigade HQ had moved to 77 Shaw Street, Liverpool, and the command was held ''ex officio'' by the officer commanding the 8th and 40th Regimental District (the King's (Liverpool) district). When the King's raised an additional volunteer battalion – the 8th (Scottish) – during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

, it replaced the 1st Cheshire in the brigade. Brigade HQ also moved to

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

. In the reorganisation after the end of the Boer War in 1902, some battalions of the King's joined a nw South Lancashire Brigade, and the Mersey brigade was redesignated the Liverpool Brigade, now with the standard four-battalion organisation: * Brigade HQ at Warrington * 1st VB, King's (Liverpool Regiment) * 2nd VB, King's (Liverpool Regiment) * 4th VB, King's (Liverpool Regiment) * 5th VB, King's (Liverpool Regiment)

Territorial Force

When the Volunteers were subsumed into 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 ...

(TF) under the

Haldane Reforms The Haldane Reforms were a series of far-ranging reforms of the British Army made from 1906 to 1912, and named after the Secretary of State for War, Richard Burdon Haldane. They were the first major reforms since the " Childers Reforms" of the e ...

in 1908, the Liverpool Brigade continued as part of the West Lancashire Division, with the following organisation:Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 133–9.Frederick, pp. 127–8.James, p. 51.King's (Liverpool Regiment) at Long, Long Trail.
/ref>55th Division at Long, Long Trail.
/ref> * Brigade HQ at 73 Shaw Street, Liverpool * 5th (Rifle) Battalion, King's (Liverpool Regiment) – ''from 1st VB'' * 6th (Rifle) Battalion, King's (Liverpool Regiment) – ''from 2nd VB'' * 7th Battalion, King's (Liverpool Regiment) – ''amalgamation of 3rd and 4th VBs'' * 8th (Irish) Battalion, King's (Liverpool Regiment) – ''from 5th VB''

World War I

When

began in August 1914 most of the men of the brigade immediately volunteered for overseas service, although they were not obliged to do so, as the Territorial Force was initially intended to act as a home defence force during wartime. The Territorial Force was, therefore, split into a 1st Line and a 2nd Line. The 1st Line was liable for service overseas and the 2nd Line was intended to perform a home defence role and to send drafts of replacements to the 1st Line units serving overseas. The West Lancashire Division and Liverpool Brigade formed a duplicate 2nd Line units, the 2nd West Lancashire Division and 2nd Liverpool Brigade. To distinguish the 1st Line battalions from the 2nd Line, they adopted the fractional '1/', for all 1st Line units, (1/5th King's) and '2/' (2/5th King's) for all 2nd Line.Becke, Pt 2b, pp. 1–7. However, between November 1914 and March 1915, all the infantry battalions of the West Lancashire Division were sent overseas to France and Belgium to reinforce the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front which had suffered heavy casualties and was struggling to hold the line. As a result, the division was temporarily disbanded and the 1st Liverpool Brigade joined with its 2nd Line, now numbered as the 171st (2/1st Liverpool) Brigade, and the division

57th (2nd West Lancashire) Division The 57th (2nd West Lancashire) Division was an infantry formation of the Territorial Force created in 1914 as part of the massive expansion of the British Army during the First World War. It served on the Western Front during 1917 and 1918. The ...

. In early 1916 the West Lancashire Division was reformed, and now numbered as the

and the brigades were also numbered, the 1st Liverpool Brigade becoming 165th (1st Liverpool) Brigade. The brigade served with the 55th Division for the rest of the war on the Western Front at the

Third Battle of Ypres The Third Battle of Ypres (; ; ), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele ( ), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by the Allies against the German Empire. The battle took place on the Western Front, from July to November 1917, f ...

, Battle of Cambrai and the

Battle of Estaires The Battle of the Lys, also known as the Fourth Battle of Ypres, was fought from 7 to 29 April 1918 and was part of the German spring offensive in Flanders during the First World War. It was originally planned by General Erich Ludendorff as Op ...

in 1918.

Order of Battle

During World War I the brigade was composed as follows: * 1/5th Battalion,

King's Regiment (Liverpool) The King's Regiment (Liverpool) was one of the oldest line infantry regiments of the British Army, having been formed in 1685 when a single battalion was raised as The Anne, Queen of Great Britain, Princess Anne of Denmark's Regiment of Foot. ...

''(left 22 February 1915, rejoined January 1916)'' * 1/6th (Rifle) Battalion, King's Regiment (Liverpool) ''(left 25 February 1915, rejoined February 1916)'' * 1/7th Battalion, King's Regiment (Liverpool) ''(left 8 March 1915, rejoined January 1916)'' * 1/8th (Irish) Battalion, King's Regiment (Liverpool) ''(left February 1915)'' * 1/9th Battalion, King's Regiment (Liverpool) ''(from January 1916 to February 1918)'' * 165th Machine Gun Company, Machine Gun Corps ''(formed 26 February 1916, moved to 55th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps 7 March 1918)'' * 165th Trench Mortar Battery ''(formed March 1916)''

Between the wars

The brigade was disbanded after the war in 1919 when the Territorial Force was disbanded. It was later renamed in 1920 as the Territorial Army. The brigade came into existence again as the 165th (Liverpool) Infantry Brigade, again assigned to the 55th (West Lancashire Division) and again had the same four battalions of the King's Regiment (Liverpool). However, under the

Geddes Axe The Geddes Axe was the drive for public economy and retrenchment in UK government expenditure recommended in the 1920s by a Committee on National Expenditure chaired by Sir Eric Geddes and with Lord Inchcape, Lord Faringdon, Sir Joseph Maclay a ...

, the 8th (Irish) Battalion was disbanded on 31 March 1922 and were replaced in the brigade by the 10th (Scottish) Battalion, previously from the 166th (South Lancashire) Infantry Brigade. The composition of the brigade remained unchanged throughout most of the inter-war years. In the late 1930s, however, many infantry battalions of the Territorial Army were converted to new roles, mainly anti-aircraft or searchlight units. The 6th (Rifle) Battalion was transferred to the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

and converted to 38th (The King's) Anti-Aircraft Battalion, Royal Engineers, assigned to the 33rd (Western) Anti-Aircraft Group, 2nd Anti-Aircraft Division, serving alongside other units converted from infantry battalions. They were replaced in the brigade by the 4th/5th Battalion,

. In 1938, the 10th (Scottish) Battalion was transferred to the

Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders or 79th (The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1793. It amalgamated with the Seaforth Highlanders (the Duke of Albany's) to form ...

and was re-titled as the

Liverpool Scottish The Liverpool Scottish, known as "the Scottish", was a unit of the British Army, part of the Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Army Reserve (formerly the Territorial Army), raised in 1900 as an infantry battalion of the King's Regiment (Liverpool), K ...

but remained with the brigade. In the same year, when all infantry brigades of the British Army were reduced from four to three battalions, the 7th Battalion, King's was transferred to 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 ...

and became

40th (The King's) Royal Tank Regiment The 40th (The King's) Royal Tank Regiment (40 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 by converting the 7th ...

, assigned to 23rd Army Tank Brigade. The 7th Battalion was replaced by 4th Battalion,

, previously from 166th (South Lancashire) Infantry Brigade. The brigade no longer being solely from Liverpool, it was redesignated 165th (Merseyside) Infantry Brigade, and finally simply 165th Infantry Brigade.Joslen, pp. 90–1, 353.

World War II

The brigade again served in

with the 55th Division throughout the war, but by October 1941 was no longer was an operational formation to be sent overseas. In January 1942 it was reduced to a Lower Establishment yet it was not reduced to a training division as were most other low establishment formations. In December 1943, with the division, the brigade was sent to

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 ...

and was raised to a Higher Establishment in May 1944, before returning to the United Kingdom in July. It served there until the war finally ended in 1945 and the division was disbanded in 1946 and was not reformed.

Order of Battle

During World War II the brigade was composed as follows: *

5th Battalion, King's Regiment (Liverpool) The 5th Battalion, King's Regiment (Liverpool) (5th King's) was a volunteer unit of the King's Regiment (Liverpool) of the British Army. It traced its heritage to the raising in 1859 of a number rifle volunteer corps in Liverpool, which were soon ...

''(to 1 April 1943)'' * 1st Battalion,

, (

) ''(to 13 July 1944)'' * 2nd Battalion, Liverpool Scottish, (Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders) ''(to 13 September 1942)'' * 165th Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company ''(formed 14 September 1940, disbanded 26 December 1941)'' * 10th Battalion,

Duke of Wellington's 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 ...

''(from 13 September 1942 to 13 July 1944)'' * 9th Battalion, King's Regiment (Liverpool) ''(from 12 April 1943 to 12 July 1944)'' * 4th Battalion, Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) ''(from 26 July 1944)'' * 2nd Battalion,

Royal Irish Fusiliers The Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's) was an Irish line infantry (later changed to light infantry) regiment of the British Army, formed by the amalgamation of the 87th (Prince of Wales's Irish) Regiment of Foot and the 89th (Princess ...

''(from 26 July 1944)'' * 5th Battalion,

West Yorkshire Regiment The West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) was an infantry regiment of the British Army. In 1958 it amalgamated with the East Yorkshire Regiment (15th Foot) to form the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire which was ...

''(from 26 July 1944)''

Recipients of the Victoria Cross

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 ...

Arthur Herbert Procter Arthur Herbert Procter VC (11 August 1890 – 27 January 1973) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth for ...

, 1/5th Battalion, King's Regiment (Liverpool)

Notes

References

* Maj 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, ISBN 1-847347-39-8. * Maj A.F. Becke,''History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 2b: The 2nd-Line Territorial Force Divisions (57th–69th), with the Home-Service Divisions (71st–73rd) and 74th and 75th Divisions,'' London: HM Stationery Office, 1937/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, ISBN 1-847347-39-8. * Ian F.W. Beckett, ''Riflemen Form: A Study of the Rifle Volunteer Movement 1859–1908'', Aldershot: Ogilby Trusts, 1982, ISBN 0 85936 271 X. * Col John K. Dunlop, ''The Development of the British Army 1899–1914'', London: Methuen, 1938. * J.B.M. Frederick, ''Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660–1978'', Vol I, Wakefield: Microform Academic, 1984, ISBN 1-85117-007-3. * Lt-Col H.G. Hart, ''The New Annual Army List, and Militia List'' (various dates from 1840). * Brig E.A. James, ''British Regiments 1914–18'', London: Samson Books, 1978, ISBN 0-906304-03-2/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2001, ISBN 978-1-84342-197-9. * Lt-Col H.F. Joslen, ''Orders of Battle, United Kingdom and Colonial Formations and Units in the Second World War, 1939–1945'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1960/London: London Stamp Exchange, 1990, ISBN 0-948130-03-2/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2003, ISBN 1-843424-74-6. * War Office, ''Titles and Designations of Formations and Units of the Territorial Army'', London: War Office, 7 November 1927.

External sources

Chris Baker, ''The Long, Long Trail''
{{British infantry brigades of the Second World War Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War I Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War II B165 Military units and formations in Liverpool Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 Military units and formations established in 1920 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945