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51st Infantry Brigade and Headquarters Scotland

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Headquarters 51st Infantry Brigade & Headquarters Scotland
51st (Scottish) Brigade
51st (Highland) Infantry Brigade
51st Brigade
Insignia of HQ 51st Infantry Brigade
Active1914–1918
1983–present
Country United Kingdom
Branch British Army
TypeInfantry
SizeBrigade
Part ofRegional Command (British Army)
Garrison/HQRedford Barracks, Edinburgh
Nickname(s)The Fighting 51st
EngagementsFirst World War
Commanders
Current
commander		Brigadier Jody Davies MBE
Military unit

HQ 51st Infantry Brigade and Headquarters Scotland is a Regional Point of Command, Brigade of the British Army.

Although it takes its name and identity directly from, the 51st (Highland) Division, it is also a descendant of the 52nd Lowland Division.

History

World War I

The 51st Brigade began as a formation of the 17th (Northern) Division during the First World War. It spent the entirety of the war with the Division on the Western Front.

Cold War

Following the complete reorganisation of the Territorial Army into the Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve (TAVR) in 1967 following the 1966 Defence White Paper, the old regional brigades and divisions were disbanded. Among the formations which disappeared was the 51st (Highland) Division/District, which had overseen the Scottish Highlands.

The brigade level of command for the Territorial Army, was eliminated in the 1967 reforms, leaving little or no direction in doctrine or training from above. This was resolved in 1982 with the recreation of several territorial brigades, however these new formations were purely administrative headquarters for training. In 1982, the 51st (Highland) Infantry Brigade was formed with headquarters at Queen's Barracks, Perth taking control overall all the TA units within the Scottish Highlands.

If mobilised, 51st (Highland) Infantry Brigade would oversee Highland Zone, which encompassed the following TAORs: Orkney, Shetland, Western Isles, Highland (region), Grampians, Tayside, Fife, and Central Region. These TAORs were further divided into several Key Points (KPs), which would nominally be guarded by Home Defence battalions, but also the new Home Service Force. 51st (Highland) Brigade encompassing the Scottish Highlands: Argyll (part of Strathclyde), Central Scotland, Kingdom of Fife, Tayside, Grampian, Highland, Western Isles, Orkney, and Shetland. 51st Infantry Brigade's primary role was that of mobile defence of the UK, with a particular emphasis on defending the military infrastructure at the UK end of the Greenland-Iceland-UK (G-I-UK) Gap alongside 52 Brigade.

Twenty-First Century

On 1 April 2002, 51 (Scottish) Brigade took on the regional responsibility for the whole of Scotland, instead of just the Highlands, with its headquarters originally at Forthside Barracks in Stirling and its Regional Training Centre situated at Redford Barracks in Edinburgh. This enabled 52 (Lowland) Brigade, which previously administered all Lowland TA units, to be specifically reorganised to parent Regular light role infantry battalions for operational deployments. 51st (Scottish) Brigade also co-ordinated operational deployments within its regional area of responsibility, such as in scenarios requiring Military Aid to the Civil Community.

In April 2012, with the disbandment of 2nd Division, the brigade came under the control of the new Support Command based in Aldershot. On 31 March 2014, it was renamed 51st Infantry Brigade and Headquarters Scotland, and took on regional responsibilities as part of the Army 2020 reorganisation. It is now located at Redford Barracks, Edinburgh.

Current structure

Units under Operational Command of HQ 51st Infantry Brigade and Headquarters Scotland

These include:

Other Regular units in Scotland

Reserve Forces

  • Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry, at Redford Barracks, Edinburgh
  • 6th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland based in Glasgow
  • 7th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland at Queen's Barracks, Perth
  • A Company, 4th Battalion the Parachute Regiment
  • 71 Engineer Regiment, Leuchars
  • 105 Regiment Royal Artillery, Edinburgh
  • 153 Company, 102 Close Support Battalion Royal Mechanical Engineer, Grangemouth
  • 215 (Scottish) Multi-Role Medical Regiment
  • 154 Regiment Royal Logistic Corps, Dunfermline
  • 157 Company 102 Battalion Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers
  • Army Training Unit (Scotland), Edinburgh

Cadet Units

University Officers' Training Corps

  • Aberdeen and Tayforth Officers Training Regiment, at Gordon Barracks, Aberdeen
  • City of Edinburgh University Officers' Training Corps, in Edinburgh
  • Glasgow and Strathclyde University Officers' Training Corps, in Glasgow

See also

Footnotes

  1. "Farewell to Stirling as Army HQ moves to Edinburgh". Daily Record. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  2. "17th Division". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  3. ^ "Territorial Army Command Structure 1967–2000". 30 August 2000. Archived from the original on 25 August 2007. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  4. Staff Officer's Handbook, pp. 18–20.
  5. Chappell, pp. 14
  6. "Defence Basing Reforms". Scottish Parliament. 20 April 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  7. "HQ Regional Command". Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  8. "51st Infantry Brigade and HQ Scotland". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  9. "51st Infantry Brigade and Headquarters Scotland - British Army".
  10. "Glasgow And Lanarkshire Battalion Army Cadets". Army Cadets UK. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  11. "Lothian And Borders Battalion Army Cadets". Army Cadets UK. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  12. "West Lowland Battalion Army Cadets". Army Cadets UK. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  13. "Black Watch Battalion Army Cadets". Army Cadets UK. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  14. "Angus And Dundee Battalion Army Cadets". Army Cadets UK. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  15. "1st Battalion The Highlanders Army Cadets". Army Cadets UK. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  16. "2nd Battalion The Highlanders Army Cadets". Army Cadets UK. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  17. "Argyll And Sutherland Highlanders Battalion Army…". Army Cadets UK. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  18. "Aberdeen UOTC". www.army.mod.uk. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  19. "Edinburgh UOTC". www.army.mod.uk. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  20. "Glasgow and Strathclyde UOTC". www.army.mod.uk. Retrieved 11 November 2021.

References

  • Drenth, Wienand (September 2000). "The Territorial Army 1967–2000" (PDF). 1985 Netherlands Order of Battle. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  • Chappell, Mike (1987). The British Army in the 1980s. Long Acre, London, United Kingdom: Osprey Publishings. ISBN 978-0850457964. OCLC 944154518.
  • Sutton, Brigadier John (1998). Wait for the Waggon: The Story of the Royal Corps of Transport and its Predecessors 1794 – 1993. London, United Kingdom: Pen & Sword Books. ISBN 978-0850526257. OCLC 925294562.

External links and sources

Current brigade-sized formations of the British Army
1st Division
3rd Division
Field Army Troops
Regional Command
Allied Rapid Reaction Corps
Other formations
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