G.H.Q. Troops 1 st Light Armoured Reconnaissance Brigade (1) 1 st Fife and Forfar Yeomanry 1 st East Riding Yeomanry 2 nd Light Armoured Reconnaissance Brigade (2) 5 th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards 15 th /19 th The King s Royal Hussars 1 st Army Tank Brigade (3) 4 th Bn. The Royal Tank Regiment 7 th Bn. The Royal Tank Regiment 8 th Bn. The Royal Tank Regiment Unbrigaded Armoured Units 12 th Royal Lancers 4 th /7 th Royal Dragoon Guards 13 th /18 th Royal Hussars Infantry 1 st Bn. The Welsh Guards (4) Machine Gun Battalions 7 th Bn. The Cheshire Regiment 1 st /8 th Bn. The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge s Own) 4 th (City of Aberdeen) Bn. The Gordon Highlanders 6 th (Argyllshire) Bn. The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise s) Pioneer Battalions 6 th Bn. The King s Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) 7 th Bn. The King s Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) 8 th Bn. The King s Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) 9 th Bn. The King s Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) 1 st /6 th Bn. The South Staffordshire Regiment www.britishmilitaryhistory.co.uk Page 1
Garrison Battalion 9 th Bn. The West Yorkshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales s Own) www.britishmilitaryhistory.co.uk Page 2
1. This brigade headquarters was formed in France on the 30 th March 1940. It comprised two Territorial Army regiments. The Fife and Forfar Yeomanry was based in Kircaldy in Fife. The East Riding Yeomanry was based in Hull. The brigade initially came under command of the B.E.F., but joined I Corps on the 18 th May. A day later it reverted to B.E.F. command, coming under command of MacForce on the 23 rd May and then 48 th Infantry Division on the 25 th May. It was evacuated from Dunkirk on the 31 st May 1940. On the 26 th November 1940, it was redesignated as the 27 th Armoured Brigade, later serving in North West Europe as an independent armoured brigade. It was disbanded on the 30 th July 1944. 2. This brigade was also formed in France on the 30 th March 1940. Both of the brigade s constituent regiments were Regular Army units. The brigade came under command of II Corps. Its regiments operated as divisional reconnaissance units for II Corps formations (the 3 rd Infantry Division and 4 th Infantry Division) until the 16 th May 1940, when the brigade took control on the units. Both regiments suffered heavy losses on the 18 th May 1940, and formed a composite regiment for the rest of the campaign. The brigade was evacuated from Dunkirk on the 1 st June 1940. On its return to the U.K., on the 23 rd June 1940 it was redesignated as the 3 rd Motor Machine Gun Brigade, such was the shortage in tanks in the British Army at the time. 3. A Regular Army brigade, this formation arrived in France on the 30 th April 1940 with only two of its three regiments under command. It had been formed in the U.K. in 1939, but was woefully short of tanks. Only the 4 th R.T.R. and 7 th R.T.R. were equipped so the 8 th R.T.R. remained in the U.K. The brigade was placed under command of the B.E.F., being used in the Arras counter attack. The brigade was evacuated from Dunkirk on the 27 th May 1940. 4. A Regular Army battalion, this unit was stationed at Gibraltar on the outbreak of war. It moved to France where it formed the garrison at Arras. www.britishmilitaryhistory.co.uk Page 3
1 st Anti-Aircraft Brigade (1) 1 st Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery 6 th Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery 85 th (Tees) Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery 2 nd Anti-Aircraft Brigade 60 th (City of London) Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery 51 st (Devon) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery 58 th (Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery 4 th Anti-Aircraft Brigade 4 th Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery 1 st Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery 5 th Searchlight Brigade 1 st Searchlight Regiment 2 nd Searchlight Regiment 3 rd Searchlight Regiment Unbrigaded Units 139 th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery (1) 1 st Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery (2) 2 nd Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery (3) 4 th Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery (4) 58 th (Suffolk) Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery (5) 61 st (Caernarvon and Denbigh Yeomanry) Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery (6) 63 rd Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery (7) 65 th Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery 69 th Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery 1 st Heavy Regiment, Royal Artillery 51 st (Lowland) Heavy Regiment, Royal Artillery 52 nd (Bedfordshire Yeomanry) Heavy Regiment, Royal Artillery 1 st Super-Heavy Regiment, Royal Artillery 2 nd Super-Heavy Regiment, Royal Artillery 3 rd Super-Heavy Regiment, Royal Artillery www.britishmilitaryhistory.co.uk Page 4
1. This brigade was formed from two Regular Army regiments, the 1 st and 6 th Anti-Aircraft Regiments; and one Territorial Army regiment, the 85 th (Tees) Anti-Aircraft Regiment. The brigade arrived in France in November 1939, being evacuated from Dunkirk around the 31 st May 1940. The units were not entitled as heavy anti-aircraft regiments until June 1940. 2.. 3.. 4.. 5.. 6.. 7. 8. This unit was a Territorial Army regiment formed in 1939 by the duplication of the 51 st Medium Regiment. The headquarters of the regiment were based in Stoke on Trent, where the 216 th Battery was also located. The 214 th Battery was based in Huddersfield. The regiment was sent to France in October 1939, joining G.H.Q. Troops. 9.. 10. www.britishmilitaryhistory.co.uk Page 5
Engineers 12 September 2010 [B.E.F. G.H.Q. TROOPS] 100 th (Monmouthshire) Army Field Company, Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (1) 101 st (Monmouthshire) Army Field Company, Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (1) 216 th (1 st London) Army Field Company, Royal Engineers 228 th (West Riding) Field Company, Royal Engineers 242 nd (Lowland) Field Company, Royal Engineers 223 rd (2 nd London) Field Park Company, Royal Engineers 19 th Army Field Survey Company, Royal Engineers 58 th Chemical Warfare Company, Royal Engineers 61 st Chemical Warfare Company, Royal Engineers 62 nd Chemical Warfare Company, Royal Engineers 38 General Construction Companies 2 Road Construction Companies 1 Excavator Company 4 Tunnelling Companies 1 Workshop and Park Company 1 Field Survey Depot 2 Water Boring Sections www.britishmilitaryhistory.co.uk Page 6
1. The Monmouthshire Militia date back to 1539. The Regiment is the oldest volunteer Regiment in the British Army. During this period, it has been infantry, only converting to engineers in 1877. In 1924, the two companies were reformed in the Supplementary Reserve. Both units were based in Monmouth. www.britishmilitaryhistory.co.uk Page 7