131st (Surrey) Brigade
| Surrey Brigade 131st (Surrey) Brigade 131st Infantry Brigade 131st Lorried Infantry Brigade 131st Infantry Brigade |
|
|---|---|
44th (Home Counties) Division insignia
|
|
| Active | 1888–1903 1908–1919 1920–1946 1947–1961 |
| Country |
 United Kingdom
|
| Branch |
 Territorial Army
|
| Type |
Infantry Lorried Infantry |
| Size | Brigade |
| Part of |
44th (Home Counties) Division 7th Armoured Division |
| Nickname(s) | "The Desert Rats", "The Queen's Brigade" |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Brigadier L. G. Whistler |
| Insignia | |
| Identification symbol |
 7th Armoured Division insignia, from 1944 onwards |
The 131st Infantry Brigade, originally the Surrey Brigade was an infantry formation of Britain's Territorial Army that saw service during both World War I and World War II. In World War I the brigade was in British India for most of the war and did not see service as a complete unit but many of its battalions would see service in the Middle East.
The brigade, assigned to the 44th (Home Counties) Division, saw extensive service in World War II, in France and was later evacuated at Dunkirk in May 1940. It later saw service in the North African Campaign in late 1942 at El Alamein and Tunisia, Salerno in Italy, both in late 1943, and the invasion of Normandy and throughout North-west Europe from June 1944 until May 1945. From late 1942, when 44th Division was broken up, the brigade served with the 7th Armoured Division, nicknamed "The Desert Rats".
The Volunteer Force of part-time soldiers was created following an invasion scare in 1859, and its constituent units were progressively aligned with the Regular British Army during the later 19th Century. The Stanhope Memorandum of December 1888 introduced a Mobilisation Scheme for Volunteer units, which would assemble in their own brigades at key points in case of war. In peacetime these brigades provided a structure for collective training.
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