British 51st Infantry Brigade
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| 51st (Scottish) Brigade | |
|---|---|
| Active | World War I 1914 - 1918 World War II 1952 - Present Day |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | British Army |
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] World War I
The British 51st Infantry Brigade began its existence as a formation of the 17th (Northern) Division) during the First World War . It spent the whole war with the Division on the Western Front.
[edit] World War II
This brigade was not raised during the Second World War.
[edit] Post 1945
The Brigade was reformed in the Canal Zone in 1952, and then moved to Famagusta in Cyprus in 1955 to combat the EOKA insurgency. It had the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers , and 40 Field Regiment Royal Artillery under command. By 1962 it had returned to the United Kingdom and become 51st Gurkha Brigade. It is recorded that Brigadier Philip Tower was commander of the 51st Infantry Brigade Group from 15 December 1961 to 28 March 1962. The Brigade was later disbanded in Hong Kong in 1976.
[edit] 51st Highland Division
However the dominant historical threads behind the current 51st Scottish Brigade come from the famed 51st Highland Division. It existed initially from August 1908 - March 1919, and then was reformed in the Territorial Army in the interwar period. Deployed to France with the British Expeditionary Force, the 51st Division was attached to the French Southern Group of Armies and fought a lone battle as the remainder of the BEF was forced to retreat toward Dunkirk. For some time, it was forced to hold a line four times longer than that which would normally be expected of a division. During this period, the 154th Brigade was detached and withdrawn successfully. However, the 152nd and 153rd Brigades were trapped at Saint-Valéry-en-Caux, and surrendered on June 12. Later the Division was reformed from the second line 9th Highland Division and fought with the Eighth Army in the Western Desert campaign. It was later part of Second Army in the North-West Europe campaign.
The Territorial Army in Scotland re-raised the 51st/52nd Scottish Division in the late 1940s, which was in existence until the TA was disbanded and reorganised as the TAVR in the early 1960s.
[edit] 1982 - Reformed
The Brigade was reformed in 1982 from a subordinate formation of Scottish District, Headquarters, Highlands, as 51st Highland Brigade. In 1975 the Brigade Headquarters moved from Highland House, St Catherine’s Road, Perth to its current location in the old 51st Highland Division Officers’ Mess building at St Leonard’s Bank, Perth. As 51 Highland Brigade it consisted of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 51st Highland Volunteers, plus other smaller units.
[edit] Component Units - Present Day
The Brigade is now part of 2nd Division and was redesignated 51 (Scottish) Brigade taking on the regional responsibility for the whole of Scotland on 1 April 2002, with its Headquarters at Forthside, Stirling and it's Regional Training Centre situated at Redford Barracks, Edinburgh. This enabled 52 Brigade to be reorganised to parent regular light role battalions for operational deployments.
The Brigade currently consists of all the units of the Territorial Army in Scotland:
- 52nd Lowland, 6th Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Scotland
- 51st Highland, 7th Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Scotland
- Combat Support Arms and Services: (the Brigade has administrative responsibility over such units as the two Squadrons of the Queen's Own Yeomanry in Scotland, 32 (Scottish) Signal Regiment, The Scottish Transport Regiment, 205 (Scottish) Field Hospital, 71 Engineer Regiment (Volunteers) and 105 Regiment, Royal Artillery.)
[edit] External Links and Sources
- Gregory Blaxland, The Regiments Depart: A History of the British Army 1945-70
- http://www.unithistories.com/officers/1AirbDiv_officersT.htm
- http://www.army.mod.uk/51bde/index.htm
