North Midland Mounted Brigade The brigade was embodied on 4 August 1914, and assigned to Third Army of the Central Force. It moved to
Norfolk and joined
1st Mounted Division in September 1914, replacing the
Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Mounted Brigade. It remained with 1st Mounted Division until October 1915, when it departed (as a mounted formation) for the
Mediterranean. The 1/1st
Leicestershire Yeomanry left the brigade in late October 1914 and was posted to the
British Expeditionary Force (BEF), joining the
7th Cavalry Brigade. In May 1915, the 1/1st
East Riding Yeimanry joined to bring the brigade back up to a three regiment strength. The brigade was replaced in 1st Mounted Division by its
2nd Line. On 27 October 1915, the brigade departed
Southampton on
RMS Victorian,
Mercian and
Nessian for
Salonika. The destination was changed at sea, and the brigade disembarked at
Alexandria between 10 and 20 November 1915, then moved to
Cairo.
22nd Mounted Brigade On 31 March 1916, the remaining Mounted Brigades were numbered in a single sequence. As a consequence, the North Midland Mounted Brigade was redesignated as
22nd Mounted Brigade. The 18th Machine Gun Squadron was formed on 8 January 1917. The complete brigade was transferred to the newly formed
Yeomanry Mounted Division on 6 July 1917, joining it at el Fuqari. From 31 October it took part in the
Third Battle of Gaza, including the
Battle of Beersheba and the Capture of the Sheria Position. It took part in the
Battle of Mughar Ridge on 13 and 14 November and the
Battle of Nebi Samwil from 17 to 24 November. From 27 to 29 November, it withstood the Turkish counter-attacks during the
Capture of Jerusalem.
12th Cavalry Brigade In March 1918, the
1st Indian Cavalry Division was broken up in France. The British units (notably
6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons,
17th Lancers,
1/1st Queen's Own Yorkshire Dragoons and
A,
Q and
U Batteries RHA) remained in France and the Indian elements were sent to Egypt. By an
Egyptian Expeditionary Force GHQ Order of 12 April 1918, the mounted troops of the EEF were reorganised when the Indian Army units arrived in
theatre. On 24 April 1918, the Yeomanry Mounted Division was
indianized and its title was changed to 1st Mounted Division, the third distinct division to bear this title. On 24 April 1918, the 22nd Mounted Brigade was merged with elements of the
2nd (Sialkot) Cavalry Brigade: After the
Armistice of Mudros, the brigade remained with 4th Cavalry Division in Palestine as part of the occupation forces. However, demobilization began immediately and by May 1919 most of the British units had been repatriated. The division was finally broken up in 1921. ==Commanders==