132nd Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)

After the creation of the Territorial Force in 1908, the 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th Volunteer battalions of the Middlesex Regiment were organised into a brigade within the Home Counties Division. The brigade was designated the Middlesex Brigade. == First World War ==

On the outbreak of the First World War, the men of the division accepted liability for overseas service to relieve Regular troops for the fighting fronts. The 7th and 8th Middlesex sailed for Gibraltar on 4 and 10 September 1914. The rest of the division was ordered to India, although the brigade staffs and Regular adjutants of the battalions were to remain behind. To replace 7th and 8th Middlesex, the 4th Battalion, Border Regiment and 4th Battalion, King's Shropshire Light Infantry were added to the Middlesex Brigade, and the 1st Brecknockshire Battalion of the South Wales Borderers also sailed with the brigade. The Home Counties Division embarked at Southampton and sailed on 30 October 1914, disembarking at Bombay on 1–3 December. Service in India On arrival, the division's units were sent distributed to various peacetime stations across India, Aden and Burma to continue their training for war. The Border and KSLI battalions joined the Burma Division, the Brecon battalion went to Aden, and for a while the two Middlesex battalions were attached to the Presidency Brigade in 8th (Lucknow) Division. The TF battalions had all taken the prefix '1' (1/4th Queen's etc) to distinguish them from their 2nd Line battalions forming in the United Kingdom. In March 1915, 2/4th Border Regiment was sent out to the brigade to replace 4th KSLI, which had moved from Burma to Singapore. Order of Battle During the First World War the Middlesex Brigade was composed as follows: Commander: Brigadier-General W.R. Clifford (remained in England) • 7th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment (from Hornsey) – to Gibraltar • 8th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment (from Hounslow) – to Gibraltar • 4th Battalion, King's (Shropshire Light Infantry) (from Shrewsbury) – to Burma • 1st Brecknockshire Battalion, South Wales Borderers (from Brecon) – to Aden == Between the wars ==

The Territorial Force was disbanded shortly after the end of the war. It was, however, reformed in the 1920s as the Territorial Army and the 132nd Brigade was reformed as the 132nd (Middlesex) Infantry Brigade in 1920. They were replaced in the brigade by the 5th Battalion, Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment from the 133rd (Kent and Sussex) Infantry Brigade. In the late 1930s, however, all three of the Middlesex battalions were posted away or converted to other roles. The 9th Battalion was, in 1938, converted into the 9th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment (60th Searchlight Regiment) and transferred to the 40th Anti-Aircraft Group, 2nd Anti-Aircraft Division. In the same year, the Middlesex Regiment was designated as a Machine Gun regiment and the 7th and 8th Middlesex were transferred elsewhere. Also in 1938, all infantry brigades in the British Army were reduced from four battalions to three. The 7th and 8th Middlesex were replaced by the 4th Royal West Kents from the 133rd Brigade and the 6th Battalion, East Surrey Regiment from the 131st (Surrey) Infantry Brigade. In 1939 the brigade was redesignated 132nd Infantry Brigade. == Second World War ==

The brigade and division, alongside most of the rest of the Territorial Army, was mobilised in late August 1939 due to the situation in Europe deteriorating situation in Europe. 3 September 1939 saw the start of the Second World War after the German Army invaded Poland two days before, on 1 September 1939. Shortly after full mobilisation in early September 1939, 132nd Brigade HQ became HQ Central Sub-Area in the United Kingdom and the units of the brigade were temporarily under the command of other formations until the brigade reassembled in 44th (Home Counties) Infantry Division on 7 October 1939. Order of Battle 132 Brigade was constituted as follows: Both 44th and 42nd divisions had been held back from reinforcing the BEF sooner in order to participate in potential operations in Northern Europe, yet this had never come to anything. Shortly after their arrival, the 1/6th Battalion, East Surrey Regiment was transferred to the 10th Brigade, part of 4th Division, receiving the 1st Battalion, Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment, a Regular Army unit, in exchange and the "Kent and Surrey" brigade became an all-West Kent formation. The reason for the exchange of units was due to official BEF policy of mixing the Regular and Territorial Armies, and, in theory, to strengthen the inexperienced Territorial divisions. The brigade saw fighting in the St Omer–La Bassée area during retreat to Dunkirk, part of the Battle of France – when the brigade commander, James Steele, was awarded a DSO – and was then evacuated from Dunkirk on 31 May 1940. The brigade was shipped out to North Africa in May 1942 with the rest of 44th Division, where it fought at the Battle of Alam el Halfa and the Second Battle of El Alamein. The 44th Division was broken up after Alamein, due to a shortage of manpower in the Mediterranean, and the brigade's battalions were posted away during November and December. 132nd Brigade was officially disbanded in Egypt on 15 January 1943. == Post war ==

The brigade was reorganised postwar but disbanded by 1968. == Footnote ==