42nd Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)

On 6 August 1914, less than 48 hours after Britain's declaration of war, Parliament sanctioned an increase of 500,000 men for the Regular British Army. The newly-appointed Secretary of State for War, Earl Kitchener of Khartoum, issued his famous call to arms: 'Your King and Country Need You', urging the first 100,000 volunteers to come forward. Men flooded into the recruiting offices and the 'first hundred thousand' were enlisted within days. Army Order No 324 of 21 August authorised six new infantry divisions to be formed from these recruits, which became known as Kitchener's First New Army, or 'K1'. The senior of these division was to be 8th (Light) Division composed of battalions drawn from light infantry and rifle regiments of the British Army, with three brigades numbered 23rd, 24th and 25th. This formation began assembling at Aldershot. However, it soon emerged that sufficient Regular Army battalions would be brought back from overseas garrisons to form an additional division: this became 8th Division, and the Kitchener division was renumbered on 14 September as the 14th (Light) Division, its brigades becoming 41st, 42nd and 43rd. Order of Battle The brigade was composed as follows: • 16th (Service) Battalion, Manchester Regiment (1st City) – formerly in 90th Bde, 30th Division; TC joined at Boulogne 16 June 1918; on 21 June absorbed 29th Battalion, Manchester Regiment (formed at North Walsham 1 June 1918) • 14th (Service) Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders – formerly in 120th Bde, 40th Division; TC joined at Boulogne 16 June 1918; on 21 June absorbed 17th Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (formed at Deal 1 June 1918) • 42nd Trench Mortar Battery – reformed in England June 1918 Service 14th (Light) Division crossed to France in May 1915 and completed its concentration around Watten, north-west of Saint-Omer, by 25 May. Thereafter it served on the Western Front in the following operations: Within the division the units wore a variety of identifying signs; for 42nd Bde these were: • 7th OBLI: two horizontal red bars on each sleeve • 5th KSLI: two horizontal red bars on the back of the jacket • 9th KRRC: green horizontal bar on the back; from March 1917 inverted triangles of company colours worn on both sleeves • 9th Rifle Brigade: two horizontal black bars, position unknown • 42nd MG Co: turquoise horizontal bar above a maroon horizontal bar, position unknown • 42nd TM Bty: dark blue circle, position unknown ==World War II==

The brigade HQ was reformed in the UK on 26 July 1943 during World War II, and on landing in North Africa on 25 August was formed as a security force to protect lines of communication. In November 1943, the brigade HQ was redesignated as the HQ of the 57th Infantry Division for deception purposes, with its battalions playing the role of brigades. Order of battle • 30th Battalion, Royal Northumberland Fusiliers – ''25 August 1943 to 30 April 1944, '170 Brigade' from 9 November 1943'' • 30th Battalion, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment – ''25 August 1943 to 27 July 1944, '172 Brigade' from 26 December 1943 to 27 July 1944'' • 30th Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry – 25 August 1943 to 5 May 1944 • 30th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment– 10 October 1943 to 20 October 1943 • 30th Battalion, Green Howards – ''5 November 1943 to 26 December 1943, '172 Brigade' from 9 November 1943 to 26 December 1943'' • 31st Battalion, Suffolk Regiment – ''5 November 1943 to 18 June 1944, '171 Brigade' from 9 November 1943 to 19 June 1944'' Commander The brigade commander was Brigadier P.H. Cadoux-Hudson, who was given the local rank of Major-General as purported commander of '57th Division'. The Brigade headquarters was disbanded in North Africa on 29 July 1944. ==Postwar==

Headquarters 42 (North West) Brigade was reformed in UK Land Forces at The Castle, Chester in 1982 before relocating to Fulwood Barracks in 1986. Its number perpetuated the memory of the 42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division, and became the regional military headquarters for North West England. The structure in 1989 was as follows: • 1st Battalion, Cheshire Regiment • 3rd Battalion, The Light Infantry • Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry (V) - Chorley • 3rd Battalion, The Cheshire Regiment (V) - Runcorn • 4th Battalion, The Queen's Lancashire Regiment (V) - Preston • 4th Battalion, The King's Own Royal Border Regiment - Lancaster • 5th/8th Battalion, The King's Regiment - Warrington • 103rd (Lancashire) Air Defence Regiment, Royal Artillery - Liverpool • 75th Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers (V) - Manchester • 33rd (Lancashire and Cheshire) Signal Regiment, Royal Corps of Signals • 156th (Merseyside & Greater Manchester) Transport Regiment, Royal Corps of Transport (V), Birkenhead • 207th (Manchester) General Hospital, Royal Army Medical Corps (V), Blackburn • 208th (Merseyside) General Hospital, Royal Army Medical Corps (V), Ellesmere Port Under Army 2020, it was renamed 42nd Infantry Brigade and became the Regional Point of Command for the British Army in the region of North West England and the Isle of Man. Its headquarters were situated at Fulwood Barracks in Preston. Units included: ==Footnote==