The 226th Infantry Brigade was a Home Service formation of the British Army that existed under various short-lived titles in both World War I and World War II.
World War I
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]
7th Provisional Brigade
7th Provisional Brigade was one of these formations, with the following composition:[5][6][7]
These units had fluctuating strengths. For example, in November 1915 the 82nd Provisional Bn consisted of 1550 men, but drafts to the 2nd and 3rd Line TF units and 63rd Provisional Battalion (in 5th Provisional Brigade) reduced this to 1100, including just under 200 men of the National Guard. The Battalion War Diary complains that many of the TF men being received from the Gloucesters and Worcesters 'especially those sent from Bristol have ailments which will prevent them ever becoming efficient soldiers'. The National Guard (or National Reserve) men would have been in Medical Category C.[6]
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. 7th Provisional Brigade became 226th Mixed Brigade in December 1916, with its units redesignated as follows from 1 January 1917:[5][9][7]
General Officer Commanding:[10][11] Brigadier-General J.F. Erskine (until 24 October 1917) Brigadier-General Hon. C.G. Fortescue (21 November 1917 – 11 March 1918) Brigadier-General B.C.M. Carter (from 25 March 1918)
1206th (South Midland) Battery, RFA (from 7th Provisional Battery)
646th (London) Field Company, RE (from 7th Provisional Field Company)
At first, 226th Brigade had no divisional allocation. Then from 13 April 1917 it was attached to 71st Division, a Home Service formation also composed of former Provisional Battalions.[28]
On 10 January 1918, instructions were issued to break up 71st Division by mid-March. 226th Brigade exchanged some units with other brigades of the division and was then attached to 67th (2nd Home Counties) Division (again, without formally being part of the division).[11]
The brigade never served overseas, and was demobilised early in 1919.[11]
World War II
On 11 January 1941, the 226th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home) was organised. It was commanded by Brigadier J.C.A. Birch (Brig H.S. Brown from 27 June 1941) and consisted of newly raised infantry battalions.[31]
Service
Upon formation, the brigade came under Southern Area headquarters until 28 February 1941 when it briefly came under command of 3rd Infantry Division.[31] On 24 April 1941, the 226th Brigade became part of the newly created Dorset County Division, which had taken over the operational commitments of Southern Area.[32]
Dorset County Division was broken up on 24 November 1941, and the brigade was attached to Southern Command until 1 December, when its headquarters was re-designated HQ 34th Army Tank Brigade.[33] with the converted 8th Battalion, Essex Regiment and other units.[34][35]
Order of Battle
The composition of 226th Brigade was as follows:[31]
^Evans, Nigel F. "Medium Regiments RA". British Artillery Regiments. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
References
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, ISBN1-84734-739-8.
George Forty, British Army Handbook 1939–1945, Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 1998, ISBN0-7509-1403-3.
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.
