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 were organised into sequentially numbered brigades frequently reassigned between divisions.
6th Division, consisting of the 12th and 13th Brigades, was formed on 30 November and landed in South Africa during January 1900. It was moved up to Nauwpoort, where the 12th Brigade under the command of
Major-General R.A.P. Clements was pushed forward to reinforce the Cavalry Division. When the field force was reorganised after the capture of
Bloemfontein, the 12th Brigade returned to the command of the 6th Division. The brigade saw action at the Battle of Rensburg, Battle of Norval's Point, Battle of Biddulph's Berg and Battle of Slabbert's Nek. However, after the defeat of the main Boer field armies and the development of guerrilla warfare, all the divisions and brigades were broken up to form
ad hoc 'columns' and garrisons. Battalions were detached from 12th Bde during operations in the
Brandwater Basin in July 1900, and Maj-Gen Clements had detachments of
Mounted infantry and
Imperial Yeomanry attached to his command. By the end of the year, Clements was an important column commander, but none of his units came from his original 12th Brigade.
Order of Battle The 12th Brigade was originally constituted as follows: • 2nd Battalion,
Bedfordshire Regiment • 1st Battalion,
Royal Irish Regiment • 2nd Battalion,
Worcestershire Regiment • 2nd Battalion,
Wiltshire Regiment After the Boer War, the 12th Brigade became a permanent headquarters in 1902, stationed with the 6th Division at
Plymouth. By 1907, it was still part of the 6th Division, but now stationed at
Colchester in
Eastern Command. In the Expeditionary Force established by the
Haldane reforms, the 12th Brigade at
Colchester and later at
Dover became part of the
4th Division. It remained so until the outbreak of
World War I.
First World War During the
First World War, the 12th Brigade, a
regular army formation, was assigned to the
4th Infantry Division. It was dispatched to France, crossing the
English Channel on 22 August 1914, as part of the
British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and saw action in the
First Battle of the Marne beginning in September 1914. It then spent much of the remaining conflict engaged in
trench warfare.
Order of battle The 12th Brigade was constituted as follows during the war:
Order of battle The 12th Infantry Brigade was constituted as follows during the war:) • 6th Battalion, Black Watch (
from March 1940) • 1st Battalion,
Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment (
from September 1940)
Post-1945 The brigade was disbanded in March 1947, but reformed as the 91st Lorried Infantry Brigade in April 1956. It remained with the 1st Armoured Division, apart from a spell under HQ 3rd Armoured Division during
Operation Granby, until disbandment under
Options for Change. Following the
Strategic Defence Review in 1998, the brigade was reformed as a mechanized unit under the 3rd Mechanised Division at
Aldershot Garrison; it relocated to Ward Barracks in
Bulford Camp in February 2004. == Future ==