224th Brigade (United Kingdom)

4th Provisional Brigade
224th Mixed Brigade
224th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home)
Active1915–1919
10 October 1940 – 22 December 1941
Country United Kingdom
Branch British Army
TypeInfantry Brigade
RoleTraining and Home Defence
Part ofDurham and North Riding County Division (1941)

The 224th Brigade was a Home Defence formation of the British Army in World War I and World War II. It existed under several variations of the 224th Brigade title.

World War I[edit]

On the outbreak of the World War I, the Territorial Force (TF) immediately mobilised for home defence, but shortly afterwards (31 August 1914), its units were authorised to raise 2nd battalions formed from those men who had not volunteered for, or were not fit for, overseas service, together with new volunteers, while the 1st Line went overseas to supplement the Regulars.[1] Early in 1915 the 2nd Line TF battalions were raised to full strength to form new divisions, and began to form Reserve (3rd Line) units to supply drafts.[2] The remaining Home Service men were separated out in May 1915 to form brigades of Coast Defence Battalions (termed Provisional Battalions from June 1915). [3][4][5] The 4th Provisional Brigade was formed mainly from details of regiments from Wales and North-West England, with the following composition:[5][6]

Order of Battle[edit]

In March 1916 the Provisional Brigades were concentrated along the South and East Coast of England. The units of the brigade moved from their home depots to Norfolk, where it was attached to 64th (2nd Highland) Division under the control of Northern Army of Central Force, with its battalions billeted across Norfolk as follows:[15]

In September 1916 the brigade was joined by 2/1st Home Counties (Kent) Heavy Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery (4 x 4.7-inch guns) at Mundesley.[16]

224th Mixed Brigade[edit]

The Military Service Act 1916 swept away the Home/Foreign service distinction, and all TF soldiers became liable for overseas service, if medically fit. The Provisional Brigades thus became anomalous, and at the end of 1916 their units became numbered battalions of their parent units. Part of their role was physical conditioning to render men fit for drafting overseas. The 4th Provisional Brigade became the 224th Mixed Brigade in December 1916, with its units re-designated as shown below:[17][5][18] In May 1918 each of the Mixed Brigades was called upon to provide a battalion (re-designated a Garrison Guard battalion) to reconstitute the 59th (2nd North Midland) Division, which had been virtually destroyed during the German spring offensive. The Brigade supplied the 23rd Cheshire Regiment to the 178th (2/1st Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire) Brigade and immediately raised a new 24th (Home Service) Battalion, Cheshires to take over its coast defence duties.[8][19][20] The brigade remained with this composition until the end of the war, after which it was demobilised.

  • 4th Provisional Battery became 1206th (East Anglia) Battery RFA
  • 2/1st Home Counties (Kent) Heavy Battery RGA[16]
  • 4th Provisional Field Company became 643rd (East Anglia) Field Company and 224th Mixed Brigade Signal Section RE
  • 46th Provisional Battalion became 23rd Battalion, Cheshire Regiment [17][7][8][21][19]
  • 47th Provisional Battalion became 23rd Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers[17][9][10][22][23][24]
  • 48th Provisional Battalion became 4th Battalion, Monmouthshire Regiment [17][11][12][25][26]
  • 49th Provisional Battalion became 14th Battalion, South Lancashire Regiment[17][27][28][29][30]
  • 2/9th (Cyclist) Battalion, Hampshire Regiment, (joined April 1918)[18]
  • 4th Provisional Brigade Train became 836th Horse Transport Company ASC in 64th Division[5]
  • 4th Provisional Field Ambulance became 310th and 312th Field Ambulances RAMC

Second World War[edit]

Formation and Service[edit]

In 1940, during the Second World War, the brigade number was reactivated for the 224th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home), formed for service in the United Kingdom under the South Wales Area headquarters of Home Forces on 10 October 1940. It was commanded by Brigadier P. Gottwaltz, and comprised newly raised infantry battalions [31] After a brief spell attached to 59th (Staffordshire) Infantry Division, 224th Brigade became part of the Durham and North Riding County Division on 11 March 1941.[32] The brigade was disbanded on 22 December 1941.[31]

Composition[edit]

The composition of 224th Brigade was as follows:[31]

The 224th Brigade number has never been reactivated.

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Becke, p. 6.
  2. ^ Becke, pp. 6, 65.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Army Council Instructions, January 1916, Appendix 18.
  4. ^ 'Provisional Brigades and Battalions' at Long, Long Trail.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Porter". Archived from the original on 16 February 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  6. ^ 4th Provisional Brigade War Diary, The National Archives (TNA), Kew, file WO 95/5458.
  7. ^ a b James, p. 65.
  8. ^ a b c Cheshire Regiment at Long, Long Trail.
  9. ^ a b James, pp. 67–8.
  10. ^ a b RWF at Long, Long Trail.
  11. ^ a b James, p. 112.
  12. ^ a b Monmouthshire Regiment at Long, Long Trail.
  13. ^ James, p. 117.
  14. ^ Herefordshire Regiment at Long, Long Trail.
  15. ^ Distribution of Northern and Southern Armies (Home Defence), TNA file WO 33/765.
  16. ^ a b Becke, pp. 75–82.
  17. ^ a b c d e Frederick, pp. 184–5.
  18. ^ a b "'Miscellaneous Units and Unalloted Troops in Great Britain' at Warpath". Archived from the original on 5 December 2013.
  19. ^ a b "Cheshire Regiment at Warpath". Archived from the original on 22 January 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  20. ^ Becke, p. 104.
  21. ^ Frederick, p. 77.
  22. ^ Frederick, p. 304.
  23. ^ "Royal Welsh Fusilers at Warpath". Archived from the original on 27 January 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  24. ^ "The Long, Long Trail – Researching soldiers of the British Army in the Great War of 1914-1919".
  25. ^ Frederick, p. 172.
  26. ^ "Monmouthshire Regiment at Warpath". Archived from the original on 1 February 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  27. ^ Frederick, p. 189.
  28. ^ James, p. 82.
  29. ^ South Lancashire Regiment at Long, Long Trail.
  30. ^ "Prince of Wales's Volunteers (South Lancashire Regiment) at Warpath". Archived from the original on 16 May 2008. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  31. ^ a b c Joslen, p. 387.
  32. ^ Joslen, pp. 110, 387.
  33. ^ "90 Light AA Regiment RA (TA)". Archived from the original on 31 March 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  34. ^ Forty p. 51

References[edit]

  • 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–74th) and 74th and 75th Divisions, London: HM Stationery Office, 1937/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, ISBN 1-84734-739-8.
  • George Forty, "British Army Handbook 1939-1945", Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 1998, ISBN 0-7509-1403-3.
  • J.B.M. Frederick, Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660–1978, Vol I, Wakefield: Microform Academic, 1984, ISBN 1-85117-007-3.
  • 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, Army Council Instructions Issued During January 1916, London: HM Stationery Office, 1916.

External sources[edit]

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