Country United Kingdom Type Infantry | Branch Territorial Army Size Brigade | |
 | ||
Active 1914-1919
1939-1942
1980-1995 Part of 18th (Eastern) Division
18th Infantry Division | ||
The 54th Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army that saw active service in both the First and Second World Wars.
Contents
First World War
The brigade was originally raised in September 1914, as the 54th Brigade, in the First World War as part of Kitchener's New Armies and joined the 18th (Eastern) Division, serving with it throughout the war mainly on the Western Front from 1915 to 1918.
Order of battle
The 54th Brigade was constituted as follows during the war:
Second World War
The brigade was disbanded in 1919 after the war. Reformed in 1939 in the Territorial Army (TA) as the 54th Infantry Brigade, it was part of the 18th Infantry Division. The brigade spent the early years of World War II in the United Kingdom on home defence and training duties, anticipating a German invasion. With the rest of the division, the brigade was sent to Singapore, under the command of Brigadier Edward Backhouse, in 1942 and, after the Battle of Singapore against the Imperial Japanese Army, surrendered along with the rest of the Singapore garrison. They became prisoners of the Japanese for the next three years in harsh and degrading treatment.
Order of battle
The 54th Brigade was constituted as follows during the war:
Postwar
In the 1980s, the 54th Brigade was again active as 54th (East Anglia) Brigade, a Territorial Army regional brigade in the United Kingdom. It was amalgamated with 49 Brigade and thus disbanded in 1995.