152nd Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)


152nd Infantry Brigade was a formation of Britain's Territorial Force/Territorial Army that was part of 51st (Highland) Division in both World Wars. From its origins in the 19th Century Volunteer Force it was based in Inverness and was composed of Highland battalions. It served on the Western Front in World War I, and after it was captured at Saint-Valery-en-Caux early in World War II it was reformed from its 2nd Line and saw action in North Africa, Sicily and North West Europe.

Volunteer Force

The Volunteer Force of part-time military units formed in Great Britain after an invasion scare in 1859 had no higher organisation than the battalion until the Stanhope Memorandum of December 1888 proposed a comprehensive mobilisation scheme. Under this scheme Volunteer infantry battalions would assemble in their own brigades at key points in case of war. In peacetime these brigades provided a structure for collective training. Five Volunteer Infantry Brigades were initially formed in Scotland, covering the Highlands, the South of Scotland, and the Clyde, Forth and Tay estuaries. The Highland Brigade initially comprised the three Volunteer Battalions of the Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Albany's), the single VB of the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders, and three of the VBs of the Gordon Highlanders. The first commander of the Highland Brigade was Colonel E.H.D. Macpherson of Cluny.
However, the original Volunteer brigades were too large and cumbersome, and in 1890 two VBs of the Gordons were separated to join a new Aberdeen Brigade, leaving the Highland Brigade with the following organisation:
In the reorganisation at the end of the Second Boer War in 1902, the 6th Gordons VB transferred to its own brigade, and the Highland Brigade was renamed the Seaforth and Cameron Brigade, under the officer commanding the regimental district. In 1906 permanent commanders were appointed to the Volunteer Brigades, drawn from retired colonels, Col H.H.L. Malcolm being appointed to the Seaforth and Cameron Brigade.

Territorial Force

In 1908 the Volunteers were subsumed into the new Territorial Force and the Seaforth and Cameron Brigade became the first brigade in the TF's new Highland Division. The battalions had been reorganised as follows:

World War I

Mobilisation

The Highland Division was at its annual camp in 1914 when it received orders to mobilise at 17.35 on 4 August and by 17 August had concentrated at its war stations round Bedford as part of First Army in Central Force. Although the TF was intended as a home defence force and its members could not be compelled to serve outside the UK, units were invited to volunteer for overseas service and the majority did so. Those who did not volunteer were formed into 2nd Line units and formations to train the mass of volunteers who were coming forward; these were given the prefix '2/' to distinguish them from the 1st Line. Individual TF battalions began being sent to the Western Front to reinforce the British Expeditionary Force : the 1/4th Seaforths landed in France on 7 November, and the 1/4th Camerons on 23 February 1915. In April the whole of the Highland Division prepared to join the BEF, and two battalions were transferred to the Seaforth and Cameron Brigade from the independent Argyll and Sutherland Brigade on 15 April. From now on the Seaforth and Cameron Brigade, as the senior brigade in the division, was designated 1st Highland Brigade. The division completed its concentration on the Western Front on 6 May, and on 12 May it was designated 51st (Highland) Division, the brigade becoming 152nd Brigade.

Order of Battle

For the rest of the war, 152nd Brigade had the following composition:

Service

152nd Brigade was engaged in the following actions:
1915
1916
1917
1918
51st Division's casualties during the Battle of the Lys were so great that on 12 April it was reduced to a composite brigade under the Commander, Royal Engineers, and each brigade was reduced to battalion strength. 152nd Brigade Composite Battalion was commanded by Major A.A. Duff under Lieutenant-Colonel J.M. Scott, commanding 152nd and 153rd Brigades. The division was withdrawn after the battle and underwent a long period of rest and reinforcement in a quiet sector.
After the Armistice with Germany in November 1918 51st Division was billeted in the Scheldt Valley where demobilisation got under way. By the middle of March 1919 the remaining units had been reduced to cadre strength and left for home.

Commanders

The following officers commanded 152nd Brigade during the war:
  • Col D.A. Macfarlane, 9 May 1911
  • Brig-Gen W.C. Ross, 13 November 1914
  • Lt-Col A.H. Spooner, 9 July 1916
  • Brig-Gen H.P. Burn, 19 July 1916
  • Brig-Gen James Dick-Cunyngham, 7 April 1918, captured 12 April 1918
  • Maj A.A. Duff, commanding 152d Brigade Composite Bn 13 April 1918
  • Lt-Col J.M. Scott, commanding 152nd and 153rd Brigades 13 April 1918
  • Brig-Gen E.I. de S. Thorpe, 17 April 1918
  • Brig-Gen R. Laing, 28 April 1918
  • Brig-Gen W.H.E. Segrave, 8 August 1918

Interwar

The TF was reconstituted on 7 February 1920 and was reorganised as the Territorial Army the following year, with some units having merged. The brigade was reformed as 152nd Brigade:
  • HQ at Drill Hall, Academy Street, Inverness
  • 4th/5th Bn, Seaforths, at Drill Hall, Golspie
  • 6th Bn, Seaforths, at Drill Hall, Elgin
  • 6th Bn, Gordons, at Drill Hall, Keith
  • 4th Bn, Camerons, at Drill Hall, Rose Street, Inverness

World War II

Mobilisation

In the months before the outbreak of war the TA was doubled in size, with most units and formations creating duplicates. 26 Infantry Brigade was formed in 9th (Highland) Infantry Division as the 2nd Line for 152 Brigade, with some of its battalions formed by reversing the mergers of the 1920s. After the TA was mobilised on 1 September 1939 152 Brigade had the following composition:
  • 4th Bn, Seaforths
  • 6th Bn, Seaforths – transferred to 5th Division 30 March 1940
  • 4th Bn, Camerons
  • 152nd Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company – formed 28 January 1940
  • 2nd Bn, Seaforths – ''joined from 5th Division 30 March 1940''

Battle of France

The 51st Division joined the British Expeditionary Force in France, 152 Bde landing on 27 January 1940. The BEF had a policy of exchanging Regular and TA units to even up experience across formations: on 4 March 6 Seaforths was exchanged for 2nd Seaforths from 5th Division. However, when the Phoney War ended with the German invasion of the Low Countries on 10 May, 51st Division was detached and serving under French command on the Saar front. Cut off from the rest of the BEF, which was evacuated from Dunkirk, it retreated to the coast where most of the division was forced to surrender at Saint-Valery-en-Caux on 12 June.
The decision was made to reconstitute the famous 51st Division by redesignating its duplicate formation, the 9th Division in Scottish Command, on 7 August. At the same time 152 Brigade was recreated by redesignating 26 Brigade.

Reconstituted Brigade

The brigade was reconstituted as follows:
  • 2nd Bn Seaforths – reformed 9 September 1940
  • 4th/5th Bn, Seaforths – became simply 5th Seaforths on 5 April 1941
  • 7th Bn, Seaforths – left 23 August 1940
  • 152nd Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company – ''reformed 1 September 1940, left 14 December 1940 and became A Company, 51st (Highland) Reconnaissance Battalion, 8 January 1941''

Service

51st Division sailed for Egypt on 16 June 1942 and 152 Bde was engaged in the following actions under its command during the war:
1942
1943
1944

Commanders

The following officers commanded 152 Bde during the war:

Postwar

When the TA was reformed on 1 January 1947, 51st and 52nd (Lowland) Divisions were merged as 51st/52nd Scottish Division, and 152 Bde was not reformed; the remaining Seaforth and Cameron TA battalions joined the Gordons in 153 (Highland) Bde.

External sources