32nd Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)

The 32nd Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the British Army that saw active service during both World War I and World War II.

32nd Brigade
32nd Guards Brigade
Active1914–1919
1941–1946
Country United Kingdom
Branch British Army
TypeInfantry
SizeBrigade
Part of11th (Northern) Division
Guards Armoured Division
EngagementsWorld War I
World War II
Commanders
Notable
commanders		John Ormsby Evelyn Vandeleur

World War I

The Brigade was raised originally as the 32nd Infantry Brigade, part of the 11th (Northern) Division, a New Army formation which served at Gallipoli and on the Western Front during World War I.[1]

Component Units during World War I
  • 9th Battalion, The Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire Regiment) (absorbed 1/1st Yorkshire Hussars 19 November 1917 and redesignated 9th (Yorkshire Hussars Yeomanry) Battalion)
  • 6th Battalion, Alexandra, Princess of Wales Own (Yorkshire Regiment) (left 18 May 1918)
  • 6th Battalion, The York and Lancaster Regiment
  • 8th Battalion, The Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment) (disbanded 13 February 1918)
  • 2nd Battalion, Alexandra, Princess of Wales Own (Yorkshire Regiment) (joined 14 May 1918)
  • 32nd Brigade Machine Gun Company (formed March 1916, moved into 11th MG Battalion 28 February 1918)
  • 32nd Trench Mortar Battery (joined 17 July 1916)

World War II
Infantrymen of the 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards, Guards Armoured Division, moving up to the front line, July 1944.

The Brigade was reformed as 32nd Guards Brigade on 1 October 1941, during World War II, joining the Guards Armoured Division, but did not see active service until it arrived in France on 25 June 1944. It fought throughout the campaign in North West Europe.

Order of battle

The 32nd Guards Brigade was constituted as follows during the war:

Commanders

The following officers commanded the brigade:

Postwar

The Brigade was reraised in the early 1950s and joined the 3rd Infantry Division. The Brigade was moved from Cyprus to reinforce the British forces in the Canal Zone in February 1952, but was later disbanded by being redesignated 29th Infantry Brigade.

Bibliography
  • Joslen, Lt-Col H.F. (2003) [1960]. Orders of Battle: Second World War, 1939–1945. Uckfield: Naval and Military Press. ISBN 978-1-84342-474-1.

References
  1. F. G. Spring, 'Appendix III: 11th (Northern) Division', The History of the 6th (Service) Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment (Poacher Books, 2008), 108.


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