38th (Irish) Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)
Encyclopedia
The 38th Infantry Brigade was a British Army
unit formed initially after the start of World War I, without the title 'Irish'.
war-raised formations. It fought through the war as part of 13th Division.
It was reformed on 13 January 1942 by converting the 210th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home), a Home defence static brigade which had been part of the Dorset County Division. The 210th Infantry Brigade had originally been formed on 10 October 1940. It served under a number of formations during the Second World War but in March 1943 it joined 78th (Battleaxe) Infantry Division in Tunisia
and fought with distinction in Tunisia
, Sicily
, and Italy
as part of this highly regarded division until the end of World War II
. The Irish Brigade formally ceased to exist in April 1947.
38 (Irish) Brigade reformed on 1 August 2007, as part of a new combined divisional / brigade structure called HQ NI and 38 (Irish) Brigade after the disbandment of HQ Northern Ireland
and has its Headquarters at Thiepval Barracks
in Lisburn
.
The Brigade subsequently came under command of the 2nd Division, the regional division for Scotland, the North of England and Northern Ireland, on 1 January 2009. It is now the Regional Brigade responsible for administering the Territorial Army within Northern Ireland
.
This was the culmination of a drawdown of military headquarters in Northern Ireland, which had seen the disbandment of 3 Infantry Brigade, 8 Infantry Brigade, 39 Infantry Brigade and 107 (Ulster) Brigade.
Today the Territorial soldiers from the Brigade have served on operations supporting the Regular Army in the Balkans, on Operation TOSCA in Cyprus, on Operation HERRICK
in Afghanistan and Operation TELIC
in Iraq. At home the Brigade has the key role of providing the Civil Contingency Reaction Force
for Northern Ireland.
With this combination, it therefore had pre-war Regular, Territorial and war-time raised units within its structure.
Units supporting 38 (Irish) Brigade:
on a circular, sand-coloured, background. This insignia was adopted to differentiate it from the World War II design which is now too similar to the design of the tactical recognition flash (TRF)
worn by the Royal Irish Regiment
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
unit formed initially after the start of World War I, without the title 'Irish'.
History
The Brigade, formed in 1914, became one of the brigades of 13th (Western) Division, one of the Kitchener's ArmyKitchener's Army
The New Army, often referred to as Kitchener's Army or, disparagingly, Kitchener's Mob, was an all-volunteer army formed in the United Kingdom following the outbreak of hostilities in the First World War...
war-raised formations. It fought through the war as part of 13th Division.
It was reformed on 13 January 1942 by converting the 210th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home), a Home defence static brigade which had been part of the Dorset County Division. The 210th Infantry Brigade had originally been formed on 10 October 1940. It served under a number of formations during the Second World War but in March 1943 it joined 78th (Battleaxe) Infantry Division in Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
and fought with distinction in Tunisia
Tunisia Campaign
The Tunisia Campaign was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African Campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces. The Allies consisted of British Imperial Forces, including Polish and Greek contingents, with American and French corps...
, Sicily
Allied invasion of Sicily
The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis . It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign.Husky began on the night of...
, and Italy
Italian Campaign (World War II)
The Italian Campaign of World War II was the name of Allied operations in and around Italy, from 1943 to the end of the war in Europe. Joint Allied Forces Headquarters AFHQ was operationally responsible for all Allied land forces in the Mediterranean theatre, and it planned and commanded the...
as part of this highly regarded division until the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The Irish Brigade formally ceased to exist in April 1947.
38 (Irish) Brigade reformed on 1 August 2007, as part of a new combined divisional / brigade structure called HQ NI and 38 (Irish) Brigade after the disbandment of HQ Northern Ireland
HQ Northern Ireland
HQ Northern Ireland was the command formation responsible for the administration of all British Armed Forces stationed in and around Northern Ireland...
and has its Headquarters at Thiepval Barracks
Thiepval Barracks
Thiepval Barracks in Lisburn, County Antrim, is the headquarters of the British Army in Northern Ireland and its 38th Brigade. In August 2008, 19th Light Brigade moved into Thiepval Barracks from Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire...
in Lisburn
Lisburn
DemographicsLisburn Urban Area is within Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area and is classified as a Large Town by the . On census day there were 71,465 people living in Lisburn...
.
The Brigade subsequently came under command of the 2nd Division, the regional division for Scotland, the North of England and Northern Ireland, on 1 January 2009. It is now the Regional Brigade responsible for administering the Territorial Army within Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
.
This was the culmination of a drawdown of military headquarters in Northern Ireland, which had seen the disbandment of 3 Infantry Brigade, 8 Infantry Brigade, 39 Infantry Brigade and 107 (Ulster) Brigade.
Today the Territorial soldiers from the Brigade have served on operations supporting the Regular Army in the Balkans, on Operation TOSCA in Cyprus, on Operation HERRICK
Operation Herrick
Operation Herrick is the codename under which all British operations in the war in Afghanistan have been conducted since 2002. It consists of the British contribution to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force and support to the US-led Operation Enduring Freedom...
in Afghanistan and Operation TELIC
Operation Telic
Operation TELIC was the codename under which all British military operations in Iraq were conducted between the start of the Invasion of Iraq on 19 March 2003 and the withdrawal of the last remaining British forces on 22 May 2011...
in Iraq. At home the Brigade has the key role of providing the Civil Contingency Reaction Force
Military Aid to the Civil Community
Military Aid to the Civil Community is a phrase referring to the armed forces providing a service to the civilian community. It is used in many countries, particularly the United Kingdom.-United Kingdom:...
for Northern Ireland.
World War 2 Structure
(As the 38th Irish Brigade)- 1st Battalion, The Royal Irish FusiliersRoyal Irish FusiliersThe Royal Irish Fusiliers was an Irish infantry regiment of the British Army, formed by the amalgamation of the 87th Regiment of Foot and the 89th Regiment of Foot in 1881. The regiment's first title in 1881 was Princess Victoria's , changed in 1920 to The Royal Irish Fusiliers...
- 2nd Battalion, The London Irish Rifles
- 6th Battalion, The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (until July 1944)
- 2nd Battalion, The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (from July 1944)
With this combination, it therefore had pre-war Regular, Territorial and war-time raised units within its structure.
List of Divisions Served Under
- 1 Infantry Division 25 Nov 41 - 7 Jun 42
- 6 Armoured Division 9 Jun 42 - 16 Feb 43
- Y Division 16 Feb 43 - 15 Mar 43
- 78 Infantry Division 15 Mar 43 - 28 Mar 43
- 46 Infantry Division 29 Mar 43 - 6 Apr 43
- 78 Infantry Division 7 Apr 43 - 10 May 45
- 6 Armoured Division 10 May 45 - 13 May 45
- 46 Infantry Division 13 May 45 - 18 May 45
- 78 Infantry Division 18 May 45 - 31 Aug 45
Current Structure
38 (Irish) Brigade Units 2010- Northern Ireland Garrison Support Unit
- 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling), 83rd, 87th & Ulster Defence Regiment)
- 152 (Ulster) Transport Regiment, Royal Logistic CorpsRoyal Logistic CorpsThe Royal Logistic Corps provides logistic support functions to the British Army. It is the largest Corps in the Army, comprising around 17% of its strength...
- The Queen's University Officers' Training CorpsQueen's University Officers' Training CorpsThe Queen's University Officers' Training Corps is one of nineteen University Officer Training Corps in the UK, and the only one in Northern Ireland...
- 38 (Irish) Brigade Regional Training Centre
- 591 (Independent) Field Squadron, Royal EngineersRoyal EngineersThe Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
- 32 Army Education Centre
- 38 (Irish) Brigade Signal Troop
Units supporting 38 (Irish) Brigade:
- B (North Irish HorseNorth Irish HorseThe North Irish Horse is a yeomanry unit of the British Territorial Army raised in the northern counties of Ireland in the aftermath of the Second Boer War...
) Squadron, Queen's Own YeomanryQueen's Own YeomanryThe Queen's Own Yeomanry is an armoured regiment of the British Territorial Army. The Queen's Own Yeomanry is the only Yeomanry regiment that serves in the formation reconnaissance role, equipped with the CVR family of armoured reconnaissance vehicles, including Scimitar and Spartan.On...
(Formation Reconnaissance) - 15 (North East) Brigade - 206th (Ulster) Battery206 (Ulster) Battery Royal Artillery (Volunteers)206 Battery Royal Artillery "The Ulster Gunners", is part of British Army's 105th Regiment Royal Artillery . It is a TA artillery sub-unit based in Northern Ireland and is split between two locations, Newtownards and Coleraine.-8th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment Royal Artillery:The 8 HAA Regiment...
105th Regiment Royal Artillery (Volunteers)105th Regiment Royal Artillery (Volunteers)105th Regiment Royal Artillery The Scottish & Ulster Gunners is a British Territorial Army Regiment of the Royal Artillery. The regiment is part of 51st Brigade...
- 51 (Scottish) Brigade - 69 (North Irish Horse) Signal Squadron, 32 Signal Regiment (Volunteers) - 2 (National Communications) Signal Brigade2 (National Communications) Signal Brigade2 Signal Brigade is an operational Brigade of the Royal Corps of Signals with a Regular HQ, 1 Regular Regiment, 8 TA Regiments and a number of specialist sub-units...
- 204 (North Irish) Field Hospital, Royal Army Medical CorpsRoyal Army Medical CorpsThe Royal Army Medical Corps is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace...
- 2nd Medical Brigade - 253 (North Irish) Medical Regiment, Royal Army Medical CorpsRoyal Army Medical CorpsThe Royal Army Medical Corps is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace...
- 102 Logistic Brigade102nd Logistic Brigade (United Kingdom)The Headquarters Combat Service Support Group was established in Gütersloh in January 1993, which subsequently became 102 Logistic Brigade.The units of this military formation are based both in the UK and British Forces Germany... - Detachment 243 Provost Company 5 Regiment RMPRoyal Military PoliceThe Royal Military Police is the corps of the British Army responsible for the policing of service personnel, and for providing a military police presence both in the UK, and whilst service personnel are deployed overseas on operations and exercises.Members of the RMP are generally known as...
- 102 Logistic Brigade102nd Logistic Brigade (United Kingdom)The Headquarters Combat Service Support Group was established in Gütersloh in January 1993, which subsequently became 102 Logistic Brigade.The units of this military formation are based both in the UK and British Forces Germany... - Detachment 52 (Volunteer) Company, Intelligence Corps - 1st Military Intelligence Brigade
Insignia
The current Brigade insignia is a green shamrockShamrock
The shamrock is a three-leafed old white clover. It is known as a symbol of Ireland. The name shamrock is derived from Irish , which is the diminutive version of the Irish word for clover ....
on a circular, sand-coloured, background. This insignia was adopted to differentiate it from the World War II design which is now too similar to the design of the tactical recognition flash (TRF)
Tactical recognition flash
100px|thumb|Red and blue tactical recognition flash of the [[Royal Artillery]].A Tactical Recognition Flash is a coloured patch worn on the arm of combat clothing by members of the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force to distinguish their Regiment or Corps in the absence of a cap badge. It...
worn by the Royal Irish Regiment
Royal Irish Regiment
The Royal Irish Regiment is an infantry unit of the British Army.-1992 creation:With an antecedence reaching back to 1689, the regiment was formed in 1992...
External links
- 38 (Irish) Brigade
- The Royal Irish Regiment
- The Queen's University Officers' Training Corps
- 152 (Ulster) Transport Regiment (Volunteers)
- 591 Independent Field Squadron (Volunteers)
- 204 (North Irish) Field Hospital (Volunteers)
- 69 Signal Squadron (Volunteers)
- 243 Provost Company (Volunteers)
- Irish Brigade The Story of the 38th (Irish) Brigade in the World War II A website containing information and eyewitness accounts. The site also has the story of the Irish Brigade written by TPD Scott, who commanded the brigade from February 1944 until the end of the war The Irish Brigade: Eyewitness Account.