165th (Liverpool) Brigade

Liverpool Brigade 165th (Liverpool) Brigade 165th Infantry Brigade
55th (West Lancashire) Infantry Division insignia (Second World War)
Active	1908–1919 1920-1945
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Territorial Army
Type	Infantry
Size	Brigade
Part of	55th (West Lancashire) Infantry Division

The 165th (Liverpool) Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army that served during World War I and remained in the United Kingdom throughout World War II. In both wars the brigade was part of 55th (West Lancashire) Infantry Division.

The brigade was raised in 1908 when the Territorial Force was created, by the amalgamation of the Yeomanry and the Volunteer Force, and was originally formed as the Liverpool Brigade attached to the West Lancashire Division. The brigade was composed of the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th battalions of the King's Regiment (Liverpool).

The Great War began in August 1914 and most of the men of the brigade immediately volunteered for Imperial Service overseas although they were not obliged to do so, as the Territorial Force was initially intended to act as a home defence force during wartime. The Territorial Force was, therefore, split into a 1st Line and a 2nd Line. The 1st Line was liable for service overseas and the 2nd Line was intended to perform a home defence role and to send drafts of replacements to the 1st Line units serving overseas. The West Lancashire Division and Liverpool Brigade formed a duplicate 2nd Line units, the 2nd West Lancashire Division and 2nd Liverpool Brigade. To distinguish the 1st Line battalions from the 2nd Line, they adopted the fractional '1/', for all 1st Line units, (1/5th King's) and '2/' (2/5th King's) for all 2nd Line.

However, between November 1914 and March 1915, all the infantry battalions of the West Lancashire Division were sent overseas to France and Belgium to reinforce the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front which had suffered heavy casualties and was struggling to hold the line. As a result, the division was temporarily disbanded and the 1st Liverpool Brigade joined with its 2nd Line, now numbered as the 171st (2/1st Liverpool) Brigade, and the division 57th (2nd West Lancashire) Division.