143rd Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)

143rd (West Midlands) Brigade

Insignia of the 143rd Brigade
Active World War I-2014
Country  United Kingdom
Branch  British Army
Type Regular Army, Territorial Army
Part of Support Command
Garrison/HQ Copthorne Barracks, Shrewsbury

The 143rd Infantry Brigade is an infantry brigade of the British Army. Under Army 2020, this Brigade will disband.[1]

History

The brigade was raised in 1908, as the Warwickshire Brigade, when the Territorial Force was created and was assigned to the South Midland Division, later redesignated the 143rd (Warwickshire) Brigade and the 48th (South Midland) Division respectively. The brigade served throughout the Great War on the Western Front in battles at the Somme and Passchendaele before being sent to the Italian Front and ending the war in Italy.

The brigade and division were both disbanded in 1919 and then again reformed in 1920 as part of the Territorial Army as the 143rd Infantry Brigade and 48th (South Midland) Infantry Division. The brigade served with the 48th Division in World War II and was sent to France in early 1940 where it became part of the British Expeditionary Force stationed along the Franco-Belgian border. With the rest of the division, the brigade fought in the battles of Belgium and France against the German Army but was forced to be evacuated at Dunkirk after the German Army threatened to cut off the British Army from the main French Armies and thus suffer annihilation. The division was successfully evacuated to England and was on home defence, training in preparation for a possible German invasion of England. The invasion never arrived and, in late 1942, both the brigade and division were reduced to a Lower Establishment and became a reserve training formation in the United Kingdom until late 1945 when it was finally disbanded.

The brigade was re-raised in 1984, moving to Shrewsbury in 1986. It finally settled into its current formation in 1991, taking on responsibility for the Army in Shropshire, Staffordshire, Hereford and Worcester, Warwickshire and the West Midlands. With the disbandment of 5th Division, 143 (West Midlands) Brigade came under the control of the new Support Command based in Aldershot, in April 2012. Elements of the brigade will move to Donnington in 2015.[2]

World War I formation

World War II formation

Current Formation

References

  1. ↑ Army 2020 update
  2. ↑ "Urgent talks over Copthorne HQ". Shrewsbury Chronicle. Retrieved 20 April 2014.

External links