Home Counties Brigade
The Home Counties Brigade was an administrative formation of the
After the Second World War the British Army had fourteen infantry depots, each bearing a letter. The depots were territorially organised, and Infantry Depot C at Howe Barracks in Canterbury was the headquarters for the seven county regiments of the City and County of London, Kent, Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex.[1]
In 1948, the depots adopted names and this depot became the Home Counties Brigade, with all regiments being reduced to a single battalion at the same time. The Home Counties Brigade was formally formed on 14 July 1948, combining the depots of the following regiments:[2]
- The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)
- The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment)
- The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment)
- The East Surrey Regiment
- The Royal Sussex Regiment
- The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment
- The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own)
Under the Defence Review announced in July, 1957, the infantry of the line was reorganised: On 1 April 1958 the Royal Fusiliers were transferred to a newly created Fusilier Brigade, and over the next three years the remaining six regiments were reduced to four by amalgamation.
From 1958 all regiments in the Brigade adopted a common cap badge and brigade buttons, depicting an upright sword within a Saxon crown. The individual battalions were henceforth being distinguished by their collar badges.[3] [4] [5] By 1961 the four regiments in the brigade were:
| Regiment | Collar badge |
|---|---|
| The Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment
(formed October 14, 1959 from the Queen's Royal and East Surrey Regiments) |
On a crowned, eight-pointed star, a paschal lamb[6] |
| The Queen's Own Buffs, The Royal Kent Regiment
(formed March 1, 1961 from the Buffs and the Royal West Kent Regiment) |
The white horse of Kent with the motto"Invicta" and a scroll with the regiment's name. |
| The Royal Sussex Regiment | In front of the Roussillon plume, a Maltese cross, in the centre of which was St George's cross within the Garter and a laurel wreath. |
| The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) | The plumes of the Prince of Wales and cypher of the Duke of Cambridge within a laurel wreath, with a scroll inscribed "Albuhera" |
On 31 December 1966 the four regiments of the Home Counties Brigade were merged to become a new "large regiment": The Queen's Regiment, with the four regular battalions redesignated as the 1st to 4th Battalions of the new regiment.
On 1 July 1968 the Home Counties Brigade was united with the Fusilier and East Anglian Brigades, to form the Queen's Division.[7]
References
- ISBN 9780850524222.
- ^ Whitaker's Almanack 1956, p. 471
- ^ A L Kipling and H L King, Head-dress badges of the British Army, Vol. 2, London, 1979
- ^ Howard Ripley, Buttons of the British Army 1855 - 1970, London 1979
- ^ Colin Churchill, History of the British Army infantry collar badge, Uckfield, 2002
- ^ Badges of the Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment (Queen's Royal Surrey Regimental Association) visited August 14, 2007
- ^ Whitaker's Almanack 1969, p. 473