183rd (2nd Gloucester and Worcester) Brigade

The 183rd (2nd Gloucester and Worcester) Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the Territorial Force of the British Army, raised during the Great War. The brigade was formed in 1914, as a duplicate of the 144th (1/1st Gloucester and Worcester) Brigade, from men in the Territorial Force who, for various reasons, did not volunteer to serve overseas when asked at the outbreak of war. As a result, the brigade acted mainly in a reserve role, sending drafts of trained infantrymen to the 144th Brigade, and it also acted in a home defence role. Assigned to the 61st (2nd South Midland) Division, the brigade served on the Western Front from May 1916.

The brigade disbanded in 1919 after the war, along with the rest of the Territorial Force which was later reformed in 1920 as the Territorial Army. Throughout the spring and summer of 1939, the Territorial Army was doubled in size as a consequence of war with Nazi Germany becoming an increasing possibility. Subsequently, the brigade was reformed in the Territorial Army, now as the 183rd Infantry Brigade, in 1939, shortly before the outbreak of World War II in September. The brigade was assigned to the 61st (South Midland) Infantry Division. However, the brigade never saw active service overseas and remained in the United Kingdom throughout the war, apart from a few months spent on anti-invasion duties in Northern Ireland.

World War I formation

The infantry battalions did not all serve at once, but all were assigned to the brigade during the war.

• 2/4th Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment
• 2/6th Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment
• 2/7th Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment
• 2/8th Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment
• 183rd Machine Gun Company
• 183rd Trench Mortar Battery
• 1/9th Battalion, Royal Scots
• 1/5th Battalion, Gordon Highlanders
• 1/8th Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
• 9th Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers
• 11th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment
• 1st Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment^[1]

World War II formation

• 4th Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment
• 7th Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment
• 10th Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment
• 4th Battalion, Devonshire Regiment
• 5th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry
• 1st Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
• 7th Battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment^[2]

References