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Essex Brigade
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Essex Brigade
The Essex Brigade, later 161st Brigade and 161st Infantry Brigade, was a volunteer infantry formation of the British Army in existence from 1888 until 1941, and again from 1947. It served at Gallipoli and in Palestine during the First World War and returned to Egypt in the early part of the Second World War before transferring to the British Indian Army and redesignated 161st Indian Infantry Brigade. In peacetime and during the wars the brigade was an integral part of the 54th (East Anglian) Infantry Division and contained mostly battalions of the Essex Regiment.
The Cardwell Reforms introduced the concept of 'localisation of the forces', whereby the country was divided into county sub-districts organised round the newly linked Line infantry battalions, to which the Militia and Volunteer Corps of the county were attached. The County of Essex was covered by Brigade No 44 based on the depot of the 44th Foot, later the Essex Regiment, at Warley Barracks.
Under a short-lived mobilisation scheme around 1880 the volunteers in Essex were organised into two local Brigades:
Local Brigade No 5
Local Brigade No 6
In 1883, the RVCs formally became Volunteer Battalions (VBs) of their linked county regiment.
The more complete mobilisation scheme introduced by the Stanhope Memorandum of December 1888 saw all the Volunteer units assigned to garrisons or mobile brigades. The four VBs of the Essex Regiment constituted the Essex Volunteer Brigade and in the event of war were expected to mobilise at an 'entrenched camp' based on the regiment's depot at Warley Barracks.
Initially the brigade was commanded by the officer commanding 44th Regimental District (the Essex Regiment's depot), but afterwards Lt-Col P.C. Yorke, recently retired from the King's Own Royal Lancaster Regiment, was appointed. The brigade historian recorded that Yorke was a 'smart and keen soldier' who did a lot for the brigade in its early days, but whose term of command was short because he died in office. He was replaced by Colonel J.F. Hornby, late of the 12th Lancers, who held the post until the reorganisation of the volunteer infantry brigades in 1906. He was followed by Colonel Harry Cooper, CMG, CBE, who had seen active service in Canada, Ashanti, Burma, Sudan and South Africa, and went on to serve at General Headquarters of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France during the First World War. Brigade headquarters was established at Epping Place, Epping, the home of the brigade major, Maj H.W.W. Wood.
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Essex Brigade
The Essex Brigade, later 161st Brigade and 161st Infantry Brigade, was a volunteer infantry formation of the British Army in existence from 1888 until 1941, and again from 1947. It served at Gallipoli and in Palestine during the First World War and returned to Egypt in the early part of the Second World War before transferring to the British Indian Army and redesignated 161st Indian Infantry Brigade. In peacetime and during the wars the brigade was an integral part of the 54th (East Anglian) Infantry Division and contained mostly battalions of the Essex Regiment.
The Cardwell Reforms introduced the concept of 'localisation of the forces', whereby the country was divided into county sub-districts organised round the newly linked Line infantry battalions, to which the Militia and Volunteer Corps of the county were attached. The County of Essex was covered by Brigade No 44 based on the depot of the 44th Foot, later the Essex Regiment, at Warley Barracks.
Under a short-lived mobilisation scheme around 1880 the volunteers in Essex were organised into two local Brigades:
Local Brigade No 5
Local Brigade No 6
In 1883, the RVCs formally became Volunteer Battalions (VBs) of their linked county regiment.
The more complete mobilisation scheme introduced by the Stanhope Memorandum of December 1888 saw all the Volunteer units assigned to garrisons or mobile brigades. The four VBs of the Essex Regiment constituted the Essex Volunteer Brigade and in the event of war were expected to mobilise at an 'entrenched camp' based on the regiment's depot at Warley Barracks.
Initially the brigade was commanded by the officer commanding 44th Regimental District (the Essex Regiment's depot), but afterwards Lt-Col P.C. Yorke, recently retired from the King's Own Royal Lancaster Regiment, was appointed. The brigade historian recorded that Yorke was a 'smart and keen soldier' who did a lot for the brigade in its early days, but whose term of command was short because he died in office. He was replaced by Colonel J.F. Hornby, late of the 12th Lancers, who held the post until the reorganisation of the volunteer infantry brigades in 1906. He was followed by Colonel Harry Cooper, CMG, CBE, who had seen active service in Canada, Ashanti, Burma, Sudan and South Africa, and went on to serve at General Headquarters of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France during the First World War. Brigade headquarters was established at Epping Place, Epping, the home of the brigade major, Maj H.W.W. Wood.
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