| 19th Light Brigade | |
|---|---|
Insignia of 19 Light Brigade |
|
| Active | 1892–1901 1914–1919 1938–1939 1950–present day |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | British Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Role | Light Infantry |
| Size | Brigade |
| Part of | 3rd Mechanised Division |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Horace Smith-Dorrien |
19th Light Brigade is a formation of the regular British Army. It fought in World War I and World War II. The brigade became the 19 Light Brigade in 2005, and moved to Northern Ireland following the end of Operation Banner and "normalisation" of British military operations in the province.
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The 19th Infantry Brigade crossed to France as an independent brigade before being attached to the 6th Division as a fourth brigade. However it was moved to the 27th Division on May 31, 1915 and was not replaced, reducing the 6th Division to the standard three infantry brigades.
The Brigade was a regular British Army formation at the beginning of World War II. It had been raised in 1938 for Internal Security in Palestine, and appears to have joined the 7th Infantry Division on its reformation in September-October 1938.
On 3 September 1939 it was converted to HQ Jerusalem Area to avoid confusion with an Indian Army brigade with the same number.
In the 1980s, the Brigade was part of Eastern District and head quartered at Colchester as part of 3rd Armoured Division. The third part of the division, it would have had to cross the Channel to join the rest of the division, stationed with the British Army of the Rhine in Germany. Following the disbandment of the 3rd Armoured Division following the end of the Cold War, the brigade joined the new 3rd Mechanised Division, and moved to Catterick Garrison in Yorkshire. As part of the Delivering Security in a Changing World review in 2003 it was announced that the brigade was to become a 'Light' formation. The brigade became 19 Light Brigade as of 1 January 2005, and moved to Northern Ireland following the end of Operation Banner and "normalisation" of British military operations in the province. However, on 7 March 2009, two unarmed soldiers, Sappers Patrick Azimkar and Mark Quinsey, of the 38 Engineer Regiment were shot dead outside Massereene Barracks. Two other soldiers and two civilian delivery men were also shot and wounded during the attack. An Irish republican paramilitary group, the Real IRA, claimed responsibility.
The Brigade deployed on Operation Herrick 10 in April 2009 to replace 3 Commando Brigade where it played a prominent role in Operation Panther's Claw and returned to the UK in October 2009. The Brigade suffered over 70 casualties during operations in Afghanistan.[1]
Secretary of Defence Liam Fox has however announced on 18th July 2011 that it will be disbanded[2] in March 2013.[3]