38th (Irish) Brigade

38 (Irish) Brigade
File:38 (Irish) Brigade.jpg Insignia of 38 (Irish) Brigade
Active	1914 - 1918 1942 - 1947 2007 -
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army
Type	Territorial Army
Part of	2nd Division
Motto(s)	Ubique et Semper Fidelis

The 38th (Irish) Infantry Brigade was a British Army unit formed on 13 January 1942 by converting the 210th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home), a Home defence static brigade. It served under a number of formations during the Second World War but in March 1943 it joined 78th (Battleaxe) Infantry Division in Tunisia and fought with distinction in Tunisia, Sicily, and Italy as part of this highly regarded division until the end of World War II. The Irish Brigade formally ceased to exist in April 1947.

38 (Irish) Brigade reformed on 1 August 2007, as part of a new combined divisional / brigade structure called HQ NI and 38 (Irish) Brigade after the disbandment of HQ Northern Ireland and has its Headquarters at Thiepval Barracks in Lisburn. The Brigade subsequently came under command of the 2nd Division, the regional division for Scotland, the North of England and Northern Ireland, on 1 January 2009. It is now the Regional Brigade responsible for administering the Territorial Army within Northern Ireland. This was the culmination of a drawdown of military headquarters in Northern Ireland, which had seen the disbandment of 3 Infantry Brigade, 8 Infantry Brigade, 39 Infantry Brigade and 107 (Ulster) Brigade.

Today the Territorial soldiers from the Brigade have served on operations supporting the Regular Army in the Balkans, on Operation TOSCA in Cyprus, on Operation HERRICK in Afghanistan and Operation TELIC in Iraq. At home the Brigade has the key role of providing the Civil Contingency Reaction Force for Northern Ireland.

World War 2 Structure

(As the 38th Irish Brigade)

• 1st Battalion, The Royal Irish Fusiliers
• 2nd Battalion, The London Irish Rifles
• 6th Battalion, The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (until July 1944)
• 2nd Battalion, The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (from July 1944)

With this combination, it therefore had pre-war Regular, Territorial and war-time raised units within its structure.

List of Divisions Served Under

• 1 Infantry Division 25 Nov 41 - 7 Jun 42
  
• 6 Armoured Division 9 Jun 42 - 16 Feb 43
  
• Y Division 16 Feb 43 - 15 Mar 43
  
• 78 Infantry Division 15 Mar 43 - 28 Mar 43
  
• 46 Infantry Division 29 Mar 43 - 6 Apr 43
  
• 78 Infantry Division 7 Apr 43 - 10 May 45
  
• 6 Armoured Division 10 May 45 - 13 May 45
  
• 46 Infantry Division 13 May 45 - 18 May 45
  
• 78 Infantry Division 18 May 45 - 31 Aug 45
  

Current Structure

38 (Irish) Brigade Units 2010

• Northern Ireland Garrison Support Unit
• 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling), 83rd, 87th & Ulster Defence Regiment)
• 152 (Ulster) Transport Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps
• The Queen's University Officers' Training Corps
• 38 (Irish) Brigade Regional Training Centre
• 591 (Independent) Field Squadron, Royal Engineers
• 32 Army Education Centre
• 38 (Irish) Brigade Signal Troop

Units supporting 38 (Irish) Brigade:

• B (North Irish Horse) Squadron, Queen's Own Yeomanry (Formation Reconnaissance) - 15 (North East) Brigade
• 206th (Ulster) Battery 105th Regiment Royal Artillery (Volunteers) - 51 (Scottish) Brigade
• 69 (North Irish Horse) Signal Squadron, 32 Signal Regiment (Volunteers) - 2 (National Communications) Signal Brigade
• 204 (North Irish) Field Hospital, Royal Army Medical Corps - 2nd Medical Brigade
• 253 (North Irish) Medical Regiment, Royal Army Medical Corps - 102 Logistic Brigade
• Detachment 243 Provost Company 5 Regiment RMP - 102 Logistic Brigade
• Detachment 52 (Volunteer) Company, Intelligence Corps - 1st Military Intelligence Brigade

Insignia

The current Brigade insignia is a green shamrock on a circular, sand-coloured, background. This insignia was adopted to differentiate it from the World War 2 design which is now too similar to the design of the tactical recognition flash (TRF) worn by the Royal Irish Regiment

Bibliography

• Ford, Ken (2003). Battleaxe Division. Stroud, UK: Sutton Publishing. p. 273 pages. ISBN 0-7509-3199-X. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |origdate= ignored (|orig-date= suggested) (help)
• Doherty, Richard (1994). Clear The Way! History of the 38th (Irish) Brigade. Dublin, Ireland: Irish Academic Press. p. 336 pages. ISBN 0-7165-2542-9. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |origdate= ignored (|orig-date= suggested) (help)

External links

• "38 (Irish) Infantry Brigade". Orders of Battle.com.
• 38 (Irish) Brigade
• The Royal Irish Regiment
• The Queen's University Officers' Training Corps
• 152 (Ulster) Transport Regiment (Volunteers)
• 591 Independent Field Squadron (Volunteers)
• 204 (North Irish) Field Hospital (Volunteers)
• 69 Signal Squadron (Volunteers)
• 243 Provost Company (Volunteers)