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142nd (6th London) Brigade

January 29, 2023

The 142nd (6th London) Brigade (142 Bde) was an infantry brigade of the Territorial Army, part of the British Army, that served in the First and the Second World Wars, and remained in the United Kingdom throughout the latter.

6th London Brigade
142nd (6th London) Brigade
142nd (6th London) Infantry Brigade
6th London Infantry Brigade
Active1908–19
1920–36
1939–40
CountryUnited Kingdom
Branch Territorial Army
TypeInfantry Brigade
Part of47th (1/2nd London) Division
Garrison/HQDuke of York's Headquarters
EngagementsFirst World War

History

Origin

When the Territorial Force was created in 1908 under the Haldane Reforms, the existing Volunteer units in the London area were brought together into a new London Regiment and organised into two divisions with a full complement of infantry brigades and supporting arms. Four battalions from South London (formerly part of the Surrey Brigade) constituted the 6th London Brigade in 2nd London Division, with the following composition:[1][2][3][4][5]

  • 6th London Brigade Headquarters, Duke of York's Headquarters, Chelsea
  • 21st (County of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (1st Surrey Rifles), headquartered in Camberwell.
  • 22nd (County of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (The Queen's), headquartered in Bermondsey.
  • 23rd (County of London) Battalion, The London Regiment, headquartered in Clapham Junction.
  • 24th (County of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (The Queen's) headquartered in Kennington.
  • No 4 (6th London Brigade) Company, 2nd London Divisional Train, Army Service Corps headquartered at the Duke of York's Headquarters

First World War

The outbreak of war on 4 August saw 6th London Brigade at Perham Down on Salisbury Plain, where it had just arrived for its annual training camp with the rest of 2nd London Division. They were immediately recalled to London to complete their mobilisation and by mid-August, 6 London Bde had reached its war station round Watford, Hertfordshire.[2][3][6] The County of London Territorial Force Association immediately began raising '2nd Line' battalions, which quickly led to the formation of a duplicate 2/6th London Brigade (eventually 181st Brigade); consequently 6th London Brigade was renumbered 1/6th and its battalions were similarly prefixed (1/21st–1/24th).[7][8][9][10]

In October 1914, 2nd London Division was selected for service on the Western Front and progressive training was carried out through the winter. The division embarked for France in March 1915, concentrating round Béthune. In May the division (already known in France simply as 'The London Division' to distinguish it from the Regular Army 2nd Division) took its place in the line and was designated 47th (1/2nd London) Division, with the brigades numbered consecutively: 6th London became 142nd (1/6th London) Brigade.[2][11]

The division suffered casualties from shellfire while holding the line as neighbouring formations fought the Battle of Aubers Ridge, (9 & 15 May),[12] but Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby's 142 Bde carried out the division's first offensive action, on 25 May during the Battle of Festubert. The attack on the 'S' Bend was timed for 18.30, to precede a Canadian night attack further along the line. The 23rd and 24th Londons swept across the open ground and immediately captured the German front trenches with few losses. However, German listening posts had given warning of the impending attack, and they had registered their artillery onto their own trenches. The divisional historian records that the Londoners now encountered 'a fierce and deadly enfilading fire from the German guns, and particularly from a heavy battery posted near Auchy-les-la Bassée, far to the south and out of range of the guns of our Division'.[13]

The brigade supports, 21st Londons, and the 20th Londons from divisional reserve, were brought up and desperate attempts made to extend the brigade's gains, 'but tremendous losses were suffered by the men crowded in the captured trenches. Nothing could be done to keep down this enfilading fire, and by the following morning much of the captured trenches had been knocked to bits and had to be abandoned, but a considerable part of their front line was retained and taken into our own trench system'.[13]

Actions

The brigade was engaged in the following further operations:[2][3][4][14]

1915

1916

1917

1918

First World War order of battle

There were few changes to the brigade's Order of Battle during the war:[2][3][15]

  • 142nd Light Trench Mortar Battery formed June 1915
  • 6th London Company ASC became 458th (Horse Transport) Company ASC in August 1915
  • 1/3rd (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) attached 16 November 1915; part ran a divisional draft training school, the remainder attached to 1/23rd Bn; transferred to 167th (1st London) Brigade in 56th (1st London) Division 9 February 1916)[16]
  • 142nd Machine Gun Company, Machine Gun Corps (formed December 1915 merged into 47th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps February 1918)
  • 1/21st Battalion, transferred to 140th (4th London) Brigade when infantry brigades on the Western front were reduced to a three-battalion establishment in February 1918.

After the Armistice with Germany, 47th Division was engaged in railway repair and then settled down around Béthune (where it had started the war) to await demobilisation. This began in January, and the last troops left France on 10 May 1919. The brigade was demobilised at Felixstowe in May–June 1919.[2][3][17]

Interwar years

47th Division and its subformations began to reform in the redesignated Territorial Army in 1920.[2][3][18] 142 Bde was reformed with its original battalions, and with brigade HQ at the Regimental Headquarters of the Welsh Guards at Wellington Barracks in Birdcage Walk.[19]

In the 1930s, reorganisation of the TA saw the brigade's traditional battalions being retasked (the 21st became 35th (1st Surrey Rifles) Anti-Aircraft Battalion, RE (TA) and the 23rd became 42nd Royal Tank Regiment in 1935, 22nd and 24th became 6th (Bermondsey) and 7th (Southwark) battalions of the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey), transferred to 131st (Surrey) Infantry Brigade) and posted away. The brigade was disbanded in 1936.[20]

Second World War

The rapid expansion of the TA after the Munich Crisis saw 6th London Brigade reformed in April 1939 as a Second Line TA formation within a new 2nd London Division.[20] It consisted of battalions of the Middlesex Regiment organised in the machine gun role:[21]

  • 1st Battalion, Princess Louise's Kensington Regiment (Middlesex Regiment) (left to join British Expeditionary Force in France 19 November 1939)[22]
  • 2nd Battalion, Princess Louise's Kensington Regiment (Middlesex Regiment)
  • 2/7th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment (joined 7 October 1939, left 31 March 1940)
  • 1/8th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment (joined 7 October, left 25 November 1939)
  • 2/8th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment (joined 7 October 1939)

As its units were progressively posted away, the reduced brigade first came under the command of the brigadier of 3rd London Brigade, and was then disbanded on 4 May 1940. Neither the 6th London nor 142 Brigade titles was reactivated.[23]

Commanders

142 Brigade was commanded by the following officers:[24][25][26]

  • Brevet Colonel D.A. Kinloch (1911)[27]
  • Brig.-Gen. Hon. C.S. Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby (from 11 April 1912; went sick 10 June 1915)
  • Lt-Col W.G. Simpson (acting 10 June – 14 August 1915)
  • Brig.-Gen. F.G. Lewis (14 August 1915 – 26 December 1916)
  • Lt-Col H.B.P.I. Kennedy (acting 26 December 1916 – 5 February 1917)
  • Brig.-Gen.V.T. Bailey (from 5 February 1917; wounded and captured 24 March 1918)
  • Brig.-Gen. R. McDouall (3 April – 11 December 1918)
  • Brig.-Gen. L.F. Ashburner (11 December 1918 until demobilisation)
  • Col. R.E.K. Leatham, Welsh Guards (1932)[19]
  • Brig. R.B.S. Reford (1939 to 15 March 1940)
  • Brig. H.V. Combe (Commander of 3rd London Brigade, combined roles 15 March – 4 May 1940)

References

  1. ^ Maude, pp. 1–2, 228.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Becke, Part 2a, pp. 69–75.
  3. ^ a b c d e f 47th Division (Long, Long Trail)
  4. ^ a b 47th Division (Regimental Warpath) 8 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^
  6. ^ Maude, pp. 2–3.
  7. ^ Maude, p. 287.
  8. ^ Becke, Part 2b, pp. 25–30.
  9. ^ 60th Division (Long, Long Trail)
  10. ^ . Archived from the original on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  11. ^ Maude, pp. 11–19.
  12. ^ Maude, p. 18.
  13. ^ a b Maude, pp. 19–20.
  14. ^ Maude, pp. 239–40.
  15. ^ Maude, p. 228.
  16. ^ Maude, p. 43.
  17. ^ Maude, p. 211.
  18. ^ Maude, p. 212.
  19. ^ a b Monthly Army List January 1932.
  20. ^ a b (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  21. ^ Joslen, p. 242.
  22. ^ Joslen, p. 462.
  23. ^ Joslen, pp. 242, 327.
  24. ^ Maude, p. 232.
  25. ^ Becke, p. 70.
  26. ^ Joslen, pp 233, 242.
  27. ^ Hart's Army List 1911.

Bibliography

  • 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 1-84734-739-8.
  • 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 1-84734-739-8.
  • Alan H. Maude (ed.), The History of the 47th (London) Division 1914–1919, London: Amalgamated Press, 1922/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2002, ISBN 1-84342-205-0.

External sources

  • The Long, Long Trail
  • British Military History

January 29, 2023
142nd, london, brigade, infantry, brigade, territorial, army, part, british, army, that, served, first, second, world, wars, remained, united, kingdom, throughout, latter, london, brigade142nd, london, infantry, brigade6th, london, infantry, brigadeactive1908,. The 142nd 6th London Brigade 142 Bde was an infantry brigade of the Territorial Army part of the British Army that served in the First and the Second World Wars and remained in the United Kingdom throughout the latter 6th London Brigade142nd 6th London Brigade142nd 6th London Infantry Brigade6th London Infantry BrigadeActive1908 191920 361939 40CountryUnited KingdomBranchTerritorial ArmyTypeInfantry BrigadePart of47th 1 2nd London DivisionGarrison HQDuke of York s HeadquartersEngagementsFirst World War Contents 1 History 1 1 Origin 1 2 First World War 1 2 1 Actions 1 2 2 First World War order of battle 1 3 Interwar years 1 4 Second World War 2 Commanders 3 References 4 Bibliography 5 External sourcesHistory EditOrigin Edit When the Territorial Force was created in 1908 under the Haldane Reforms the existing Volunteer units in the London area were brought together into a new London Regiment and organised into two divisions with a full complement of infantry brigades and supporting arms Four battalions from South London formerly part of the Surrey Brigade constituted the 6th London Brigade in 2nd London Division with the following composition 1 2 3 4 5 6th London Brigade Headquarters Duke of York s Headquarters Chelsea 21st County of London Battalion The London Regiment 1st Surrey Rifles headquartered in Camberwell 22nd County of London Battalion The London Regiment The Queen s headquartered in Bermondsey 23rd County of London Battalion The London Regiment headquartered in Clapham Junction 24th County of London Battalion The London Regiment The Queen s headquartered in Kennington No 4 6th London Brigade Company 2nd London Divisional Train Army Service Corps headquartered at the Duke of York s HeadquartersFirst World War Edit The outbreak of war on 4 August saw 6th London Brigade at Perham Down on Salisbury Plain where it had just arrived for its annual training camp with the rest of 2nd London Division They were immediately recalled to London to complete their mobilisation and by mid August 6 London Bde had reached its war station round Watford Hertfordshire 2 3 6 The County of London Territorial Force Association immediately began raising 2nd Line battalions which quickly led to the formation of a duplicate 2 6th London Brigade eventually 181st Brigade consequently 6th London Brigade was renumbered 1 6th and its battalions were similarly prefixed 1 21st 1 24th 7 8 9 10 In October 1914 2nd London Division was selected for service on the Western Front and progressive training was carried out through the winter The division embarked for France in March 1915 concentrating round Bethune In May the division already known in France simply as The London Division to distinguish it from the Regular Army 2nd Division took its place in the line and was designated 47th 1 2nd London Division with the brigades numbered consecutively 6th London became 142nd 1 6th London Brigade 2 11 The division suffered casualties from shellfire while holding the line as neighbouring formations fought the Battle of Aubers Ridge 9 amp 15 May 12 but Heathcote Drummond Willoughby s 142 Bde carried out the division s first offensive action on 25 May during the Battle of Festubert The attack on the S Bend was timed for 18 30 to precede a Canadian night attack further along the line The 23rd and 24th Londons swept across the open ground and immediately captured the German front trenches with few losses However German listening posts had given warning of the impending attack and they had registered their artillery onto their own trenches The divisional historian records that the Londoners now encountered a fierce and deadly enfilading fire from the German guns and particularly from a heavy battery posted near Auchy les la Bassee far to the south and out of range of the guns of our Division 13 The brigade supports 21st Londons and the 20th Londons from divisional reserve were brought up and desperate attempts made to extend the brigade s gains but tremendous losses were suffered by the men crowded in the captured trenches Nothing could be done to keep down this enfilading fire and by the following morning much of the captured trenches had been knocked to bits and had to be abandoned but a considerable part of their front line was retained and taken into our own trench system 13 Actions Edit The brigade was engaged in the following further operations 2 3 4 14 1915 Battle of Loos 25 September 1 October Battle of the Hohenzollern Redoubt 13 19 October1916 Vimy Ridge 21 May Battle of the Somme Battle of Flers Courcelette 15 19 September Capture of High Wood 15 September Battle of the Transloy Ridges 1 9 October Capture of Eaucourt l Abbaye 1 3 October Attacks on the Butte de Warlencourt 7 8 October1917 Battle of Messines 7 13 June 3rd Battle of Ypres Battle of Pilckem Ridge in reserve 31 July 2 August In the line 18 August 2 September and 8 17 September Battle of Cambrai Capture of Bourlon Wood 28 November German counter attacks 30 November 3 December1918 1st Battles of the Somme Battle of St Quentin 21 23 March 1st Battle of Bapaume 24 25 March Battle of the Ancre 5 April 2nd Battles of the Somme Battle of Albert 22 23 August 2nd Battle of Bapaume 31 August 3 September Final Advance in Artois Operations in Artois 2 October 11 November Official Entry into Lille 28 OctoberFirst World War order of battle Edit There were few changes to the brigade s Order of Battle during the war 2 3 15 142nd Light Trench Mortar Battery formed June 1915 6th London Company ASC became 458th Horse Transport Company ASC in August 1915 1 3rd City of London Battalion London Regiment Royal Fusiliers attached 16 November 1915 part ran a divisional draft training school the remainder attached to 1 23rd Bn transferred to 167th 1st London Brigade in 56th 1st London Division 9 February 1916 16 142nd Machine Gun Company Machine Gun Corps formed December 1915 merged into 47th Battalion Machine Gun Corps February 1918 1 21st Battalion transferred to 140th 4th London Brigade when infantry brigades on the Western front were reduced to a three battalion establishment in February 1918 After the Armistice with Germany 47th Division was engaged in railway repair and then settled down around Bethune where it had started the war to await demobilisation This began in January and the last troops left France on 10 May 1919 The brigade was demobilised at Felixstowe in May June 1919 2 3 17 Interwar years Edit 47th Division and its subformations began to reform in the redesignated Territorial Army in 1920 2 3 18 142 Bde was reformed with its original battalions and with brigade HQ at the Regimental Headquarters of the Welsh Guards at Wellington Barracks in Birdcage Walk 19 In the 1930s reorganisation of the TA saw the brigade s traditional battalions being retasked the 21st became 35th 1st Surrey Rifles Anti Aircraft Battalion RE TA and the 23rd became 42nd Royal Tank Regiment in 1935 22nd and 24th became 6th Bermondsey and 7th Southwark battalions of the Queen s Royal Regiment West Surrey transferred to 131st Surrey Infantry Brigade and posted away The brigade was disbanded in 1936 20 Second World War Edit The rapid expansion of the TA after the Munich Crisis saw 6th London Brigade reformed in April 1939 as a Second Line TA formation within a new 2nd London Division 20 It consisted of battalions of the Middlesex Regiment organised in the machine gun role 21 1st Battalion Princess Louise s Kensington Regiment Middlesex Regiment left to join British Expeditionary Force in France 19 November 1939 22 2nd Battalion Princess Louise s Kensington Regiment Middlesex Regiment 2 7th Battalion Middlesex Regiment joined 7 October 1939 left 31 March 1940 1 8th Battalion Middlesex Regiment joined 7 October left 25 November 1939 2 8th Battalion Middlesex Regiment joined 7 October 1939 As its units were progressively posted away the reduced brigade first came under the command of the brigadier of 3rd London Brigade and was then disbanded on 4 May 1940 Neither the 6th London nor 142 Brigade titles was reactivated 23 Commanders Edit142 Brigade was commanded by the following officers 24 25 26 Brevet Colonel D A Kinloch 1911 27 Brig Gen Hon C S Heathcote Drummond Willoughby from 11 April 1912 went sick 10 June 1915 Lt Col W G Simpson acting 10 June 14 August 1915 Brig Gen F G Lewis 14 August 1915 26 December 1916 Lt Col H B P I Kennedy acting 26 December 1916 5 February 1917 Brig Gen V T Bailey from 5 February 1917 wounded and captured 24 March 1918 Brig Gen R McDouall 3 April 11 December 1918 Brig Gen L F Ashburner 11 December 1918 until demobilisation Col R E K Leatham Welsh Guards 1932 19 Brig R B S Reford 1939 to 15 March 1940 Brig H V Combe Commander of 3rd London Brigade combined roles 15 March 4 May 1940 References Edit Maude pp 1 2 228 a b c d e f g Becke Part 2a pp 69 75 a b c d e f 47th Division Long Long Trail a b 47th Division Regimental Warpath Archived 8 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine British Army 1914 Maude pp 2 3 Maude p 287 Becke Part 2b pp 25 30 60th Division Long Long Trail 60th Division Regimental Warpath Archived from the original on 7 October 2011 Retrieved 31 July 2013 Maude pp 11 19 Maude p 18 a b Maude pp 19 20 Maude pp 239 40 Maude p 228 Maude p 43 Maude p 211 Maude p 212 a b Monthly Army List January 1932 a b 47 2 London Division 1930 36 British Military History PDF Archived from the original PDF on 23 September 2015 Retrieved 31 July 2013 Joslen p 242 Joslen p 462 Joslen pp 242 327 Maude p 232 Becke p 70 Joslen pp 233 242 Hart s Army List 1911 Bibliography EditA 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 amp Military Press 2007 ISBN 1 84734 739 8 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 amp Military Press 2007 ISBN 1 84734 739 8 Alan H Maude ed The History of the 47th London Division 1914 1919 London Amalgamated Press 1922 Uckfield Naval amp Military Press 2002 ISBN 1 84342 205 0 External sources EditThe Long Long Trail The Regimental Warpath 1914 1918 British Army 1914 Land Forces of Britain the Empire and Commonwealth British Military History Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 142nd 6th London Brigade amp oldid 1084144565, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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