Second Boer War British Army brigades had traditionally been
ad hoc formations known by the name of their commander or numbered as part of a division. However, units involved in the
Second Boer War in 1899–1900 were organised into sequentially numbered brigades that were frequently reassigned between divisions. The
Army Corps sent from Britain in 1899 comprised six brigades in three divisions while the troops already in South Africa were intended to constitute a fourth division. The rapid deterioration of the situation led the
War Office to announce on 11 November 1899 that a
5th Division was to be formed and sent out. This consisted of the new
10th and
11th (Lancashire) Brigades and concentrated at
Estcourt on 8 January 1900 for the campaign for the
Relief of Ladysmith.
Order of Battle The
11th (Lancashire) Brigade was constituted as follows: • 2nd Battalion,
King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment) • 2nd Battalion,
Lancashire Fusiliers • 1st Battalion,
South Lancashire Regiment • 1st Battalion,
York and Lancaster Regiment Commanders •
Major-General Edward Woodgate (mortally wounded at
Spion Kop 23/24 January 1900) •
Lieutenant-Colonel Malby Crofton (Royal Lancaster Regiment) (acting) (wounded at
Tugela Heights 22 February 1900) • Lieutenant-Colonel Malby Crofton (acting) • Maj-Gen Arthur Wynne (returned by May 1900) After the Boer War, 11th Brigade became a permanent formation in 1902, stationed at
Portsmouth. By 1907 it was part of
6th Division in
Eastern Command. In the Expeditionary Force established by the
Haldane reforms, 11th Brigade at
Colchester became part of
4th Division, and remained so until the outbreak of
World War I.
First World War When war broke out in August 1914 the 11th Infantry Brigade mobilised as part of the
4th Division. It was one of the British units sent overseas to France as part of the
British Expeditionary Force and fought on the
Western Front for the next four years. The brigade landed in North Africa at
Algiers in November 1942 and fought with 78th Division throughout the
Tunisian campaign which ended with the Axis surrender in May 1943. It then served with 78th Division throughout the campaigns in
Sicily and
Italy.
Order of Battle During World War II the brigade comprised the following units: • Headquarters, 11th Infantry Brigade & Signal Section • 2nd Battalion,
The Lancashire Fusiliers • 1st Battalion,
East Surrey Regiment • 1st Battalion,
Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (
left to join 143rd Brigade 31 December 1940) • 11th Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company (
left to join 4th Battalion, Reconnaissance Corps, 1 January 1941) •
5th (Huntingdon) Battalion,
Northamptonshire Regiment (
joined from 143rd Brigade 29 January 1941)
Commanders During World War II the brigade was commanded by the following officers: • Brigadier
Kenneth Anderson (1938–1940) • Lieutenant-Colonel
Brian Horrocks: (30 May 1940 – acting until 3 June) • Brigadier
John Grover (14 June 1940) • Lieutenant-Colonel R.A. Boxshall (7 January 1941 – acting) • Brigadier
Vyvyan Evelegh (11 January 1941) • Brigadier Guy Francis Gough (13 November 1941) • Brigadier
Edward Cass (18 February 1942) • Brigadier
Keith Arbuthnott (29 September 1943) • Lieutenant-Colonel John Alexander Mackenzie (10 October 1944 – acting) • Brigadier Gerald Ernest Thubron (23 November 1944 – 1945)
Post-war In January 1946, following the end of the campaign in Europe, the brigade was dissolved and its units dispersed to other brigades and commands. In 1950, the brigade was reformed in
West Germany. The organisation of the brigade during the 1950s was as follows: • Brigade Headquarters, at Kingsley Barracks, Minden •
9th Queen's Royal Lancers, at Lothian Barracks, Detmold (Armoured role, with
Centurion main battle tanks) • 1st Battalion,
The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire Regiment), at Dempsey Barracks, Sennelager • 1st Battalion,
The Manchester Regiment, at Clifton Barracks, Minden – ''merged with the
King's Liverpool Regiment on 1 September 1958 to form the
King's Regiment'' • 1st Battalion,
The Dorset Regiment, at Elizabeth Barracks, Minden –
from April 1956, merged with the Devonshire Regiment in 1958 to form the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment On 1 April 1956, the
4th Infantry Division was reformed in the BAOR, and its brigades: 10th, 11th, and 12th was reformed by conversion of the old
61st Lorried Infantry Brigade based in
Minden. In 1958, following the
1957 Defence White Paper, the brigade was redesignated as
11th Infantry Brigade Group. As a brigade group, it picked up not just infantry but supporting elements such as artillery. It was shifted to the
2nd Division. And in 1964, the brigade was transferred to the
1st Division, sitting alongside the
7th Armoured Brigade Group. In February 1961, the brigade groups were reorganised again, to comprise a signal squadron, armoured regiment, three infantry battalions, field artillery regiment, engineer squadron, and one AAC reconnaissance flight. • Brigade Headquarters, at Kingsley Barracks, Minden –
merged with 4th Royal Tank Regiment on 3 April 1959 •
4th Royal Tank Regiment –
from April 1959 • 1st Battalion,
North Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's), at Clifton Barracks, Minden • 1st Battalion,
The South Wales Borderers –
from June 1959 • 1st Battalion,
The Highland Light Infantry (City of Glasgow Regiment), at Alma Barracks, Lüneburg • 1st Battalion,
Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) –
from November 1958 • 1st Battalion,
The Royal Lincolnshire Regiment, at Elizabeth Barracks, Minden –
from June 1958 •
19th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, at Saint George's Barracks, Minden (Field artillery; 18 x
Ordnance QF 25-pdr howitzers) • 25 Field Squadron,
Royal Engineers, at Saint George's Barracks, Minden In November 1965, the brigade groups became 'brigades' once again, dropping their support units. In October 1966, just after the publication of the
1966 Defence White Paper, the 7th Armoured and 11th Infantry brigades experimented with a new brigade organisation with two armoured regiments and two 'mechanised' battalions equipped with the new
FV432 armoured personnel carrier. With the increasing availability of the new vehicle, all of the infantry battalions within the BAOR were to become mechanised. The brigade's structure just before conversion was as follows: • Brigade Headquarters, at Kingsley Barracks, Minden • 1st Battalion,
The Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers, at Gordon Barracks, Hameln • 1st Battalion,
The Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment (Berkshire & Wiltshire) –
from June 1966 •
16th/5th The Queen's Royal Lancers –
in infantry role from June 1969 • 1st Battalion,
The Royal Welch Fusiliers, at Saint George's Barracks, Minden • 1st Battalion,
The Gordon Highlanders –
from April 1967 •
15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars –
in infantry role from November 1969 • 1st Battalion,
The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment), at Elizabeth Barracks, Minden • 1st Battalion,
The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire Regiment) –
from March 1968 As a result of the above defence white paper and experimentations, the BAOR was completely reorganised with the 11th Infantry Brigade becoming an armoured formation in the end of 1970. The new formation,
11th Armoured Brigade, was reformed, thus ending the infantry lineage. On 10 October 2009, the brigade deployed to
Helmand Province, replacing
19th Light Brigade and would remain until April 2010. The brigade's order of battle on deployment to Afghanistan was as follows alongside the formation they had been part of: • Brigade Headquarters • 11th Light Brigade Headquarters & 261 Signal Squadron,
Royal Corps of Signals (
101st Logistic Brigade) •
Household Cavalry Regiment (
1st Mechanised Brigade) • 1st Battalion,
Grenadier Guards (
London District) • 2nd Battalion (The Green Howards),
Yorkshire Regiment (
19th Light Brigade) • 1st Battalion (Royal Welch Fusiliers),
The Royal Welsh (1st Mechanised Brigade) • 3rd Battalion,
The Rifles (
52nd Infantry Brigade) •
1st Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery (
3rd (UK) Mechanised Division) •
28th Engineer Regiment,
Royal Engineers (
1st (UK) Armoured Division) •
10th (Queen's Own Gurkha) Logistic Regiment,
Royal Logistic Corps (101st Logistic Brigade) • 104th Force Support Battalion,
Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (
Equipment Support, Theatre Troops) • 33rd Field Hospital,
Royal Army Medical Corps (
2nd Medical Brigade) • 160 Provost Company,
Royal Military Police,
Adjutant General's Corps (
4th Regiment, Royal Military Police) On the brigade's return in April 2010, a total of 650 soldiers from the 12 regiments of the brigade marched through
Winchester in
Hampshire accompanied by three bands to celebrate their return. Later in June, around 120 soldiers then marched past the
Palace of Westminster (
Parliament of the United Kingdom). The brigade's organisation was as follows by 2015: Under the changes, the Coldstream and Irish Guards moved from London District, the 3rd Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment moved from 7th Infantry Brigade, and the 1st and 2nd Battalions, Royal Irish Regiment moved from 160th (Welsh) Brigade. In 2019 with the brigade completely reorganised, its structure was now as follows by the end of 2021: • 1st Battalion,
Coldstream Guards, at
Victoria Barracks,
Windsor (Light Infantry) • 3rd Battalion,
The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Army Reserve), HQ at Leros Barracks,
Canterbury • 2nd Battalion, The Royal Irish Regiment (Army Reserve), HQ at Thiepval Barracks, Lisburn
11th Security Force Assistance Brigade On 30 November 2021, the
Future Soldier changes were announced, and the brigade will transition from an infantry brigade into a
security force assistance formation. In late 2021, the brigade was renamed as
11th Security Force Assistance Brigade, dropping its regional commitments, and will reorganise by 2022. The brigade's mission was described as follows: The brigade headquarters will remain in Aldershot, drop its regional commitments, and unit moves will be as follows: Coldstream Guards move to 4th Light Brigade Combat Team (BCT) – formerly 4th Infantry Brigade & HQ North East; 2nd Royal Irish Regiment move to 19th Reserve Brigade – a new formation; 3rd Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment moved to 20th Armoured BCT as mechanised infantry; 1st Royal Irish Regiment moves to 16th Air Assault Brigade as 'light strike reconnaissance infantry'; and the Irish Guards will remain part of the brigade. The following units will join the brigade in 2022: The Black Watch (3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland) from 51st Infantry Brigade; 1st Royal Anglian Regiment from
British Forces Cyprus (will join on return from Cyprus in 2023); 3rd The Rifles joins in 2024 from 51st Infantry Brigade; 4th Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment joins from 7th Infantry Brigade; and finally the Outreach and Cultural Support Group will join from 77th Brigade. In November 2024, the brigade resurbordinated from the 1st (UK) Division to
Field Army Troops. The brigade became 11th Brigade, dropping its Security Force Assistance responsibility, and returning to a combat role as part of the Land Special Operations Force. The brigade will learn to fight as a tactical recce-strike force and will take part in training packages in Kenya and the Baltics in 2025. The brigade's structure in 2026 is: • Brigade Headquarters, at Taurus House, Aldershot Garrison • 1st Battalion, Irish Guards, at Lille Barracks, Aldershot Garrison •
3rd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, at
Fort George,
Inverness –
to move to Leuchars Station not before 2029 • 1st Battalion,
The Royal Anglian Regiment, at Alexander Barracks,
Dhekelia Cantonment,
Cyprus –
to move to Kendrew Barracks, Cottesmore in 2023 and join the brigade that same year • 3rd Battalion,
The Rifles, at
Dreghorn Barracks,
Edinburgh –
to move to Weeton Barracks, Blackpool not before 2027 and join the brigade in 2024 •
4th Battalion,
The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Army Reserve), HQ in
Redhill • Outreach Group (
77th Brigade), at
Denison Barracks,
Hermitage –
to move to Alexander Barracks, Pirbright Camp not before 2027 The brigade led a programme to train members of the
Armed Forces of Ukraine during the
Russo-Ukrainian War as part of
Operation Orbital (20152022) and
Operation Interflex (2022). == See also ==