Defending against Invasion June - October 1940

This period of the Brigade's history is concerned, firstly, with the process of collecting the troops from, and managing the re-creation of, the Battalions and the Brigade HQ following the very high degree of losses sustained in France, both in deaths in action and the capture of many of the troops. Many of those captured were wounded, especially those from the battles of Ficheux and Mercatel. Large numbers of new recruits were taken directly from their Primary Training Courses and, if necessary, rebadged as members of The Durham Light Infantry or the Black Watch, then transported to Launceston in Cornwall to begin the process of re-forming the units and bringing them back up to strength. Details can be found in the War Diaries, which include hyperlinks to websites relevant to the area.

The Brigadier was given responsibility for the defence of a large section of the South-West Coast and had other units and resources transferred to his command - at one stage almost reaching the manpower level of a Division. Construction of defences and the manning of defence lines proceeded apace until the immediate threat of invasion receded and the Brigade was deployed on garrison duties overseas. One aspect of their activities which remained behind was the work to defend and protect Slapton Sands - a location which featured significantly later in the War.

More Information

Iceland Garrison October 1940 - December 1941
Home Service and Winter Warfare Training 1942 - 1943
Pre-Invasion Training 1943 - 1944
Normandy 1944

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