Type Infantry Brigade | ||
Active 26 February 1917 – 4 October 191812 October 1942 – 16 September 1943 Garrison/HQ (World War I) Salonika Front(World War II) Shetland Islands Notablecommanders Brigadier the Hon. William Fraser | ||
228th Brigade (228 Bde) was a formation of the British Army in both the First and Second World Wars.
Contents
World War I
228th Brigade was created on 26 February 1917 as a formation of Army Troops within the British Salonika Army under Brigadier General W. C. Ross
Order of Battle
The following units served in 228 Bde during WWI:
Service
Although an independent formation, 228 Bde was always associated with 28th Division. It was formed of garrison battalions, which were not normally expected to serve in the front line due to the men's age or low medical category. One staff officer wrote: 'Physically the brigade was in a terrible state. They were splendid crocks ... Some were almost blind, some almost deaf, and the 22nd Rifle Brigade ... had more than sixty men over sixty years old'. Because of its slow rate of marching, the 228th became known as the 'Too Too Late Brigade'.
On 30 September 1918, during the final Allied offensive on the Salonika Front, 228 Bde came under the command of the Greek Crete Division. 228 Bde was broken up on 4 October 1918.
World War II
The World War II brigade was formed (as 228th Independent Infantry Brigade) in the Shetland Islands on 12 February 1942, by the redesignation of Headquarters Shetland Defences. Its commander was Brigadier the Hon William Fraser.
Composition
The following units served in 228 Bde during World War II:
Service
228 Bde served under OSDEF (Orkney & Shetland Defences) until 16 September 1943, when the brigade was disbanded.