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42nd Infantry Brigade and Headquarters North West

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Country
  
United Kingdom

Branch
  
British Army

42nd Infantry Brigade and Headquarters North West

Active
  
1899-1902 1907-1918 1939-1944 1991-

Type
  
Regular and Territorial Army

Part of
  
1st (United Kingdom) Division

Garrison/HQ
  
Fulwood Barracks, Preston

The 42nd Infantry Brigade and Headquarters North West, also known as 42 (North West) Brigade, is a brigade of the British Army.

Contents

History

The brigade first saw action during the Second Boer War.

The brigade was reformed in August 1914 during World War I as the 42nd Brigade, raised from the first wave of men volunteering for Kitchener's Army. The 42nd Brigade was a component formation of the 14th (Light) Division and originally consisted of light infantry regiments but, as the war progressed and casualties mounted, the brigades' original battalions were replaced by non-light infantry regiments.

Order of battle World War I

  • 5th (Service) Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
  • 5th (Service) Battalion, King's Shropshire Light Infantry
  • 9th (Service) Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps
  • 9th (Service) Battalion, Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own)
  • 42nd Machine Gun Company, Machine Gun Corps
  • 42nd Trench Mortar Battery
  • 6th (Service) Battalion, Wiltshire Regiment
  • 16th (Service) Battalion, Manchester Regiment
  • 14th (Service) Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders

    • The brigade was re-formed during World War II as a security force to protect lines of communication in North Africa. In November 1943, the brigade HQ was redesignated as the HQ of the 57th Infantry Division for deception purposes. The brigade was disbanded in July 1944.

    Order of battle World War II

  • 30th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment

    • Headquarters 42 (North West) Brigade was reformed at Fulwood Barracks in 1991, so perpetuating the memory of the 42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division, and became the regional military headquarters for North West England.

    Under Army 2020, it was renamed 42nd Infantry Brigade and became the regional point of command for the North West of England.

    Current operations

    The brigade today provides the Regional Point of Command for the British Army in the region of North West England and the Isle of Man. Its headquarters are situated at Fulwood Barracks in Preston.

    Current formation

    Units include:

  • 42nd Infantry Brigade and Headquarters North West in Preston
  • 2nd Battalion, Mercian Regiment in Chester
  • 4th Battalion, Mercian Regiment in Wolverhampton (Army Reserve - paired with 2nd Battalion, Mercian Regiment)
  • 2nd Battalion, Duke of Lancaster's Regiment in Weeton (rotates to British Forces Cyprus)
  • 4th Battalion, Duke of Lancaster's Regiment in Preston (Army Reserve - paired with 2nd Battalion, Duke of Lancaster's Regiment)

    • References

    42nd Infantry Brigade and Headquarters North West Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA