31st (North Midland) Anti-Aircraft Brigade
| 31st (North Midland) Anti-Aircraft Brigade | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1936–1948 |
| Country |
 United Kingdom
|
| Branch |
 Territorial Army
|
| Type | Anti-Aircraft Brigade |
| Role | Air Defence |
| Part of |
2nd AA Division 7th AA Division 10th AA Division 5 AA Group 21st Army Group |
| Garrison/HQ |
Retford York Tadcaster Immingham |
| Engagements |
The Blitz North West Europe campaign |
The 31st (North Midland) Anti-Aircraft Brigade (31 AA Bde) was an air defence formation of Britain's Territorial Army from 1936 until 1948. During World War II it defended West Yorkshire and later participated in the North West Europe campaign.
The formation was raised as 31st (North Midland) Anti-Aircraft Group on 1 November 1936 at Retford forming part of 2nd Anti-Aircraft Division. Its initial order of battle was as follows:
In 1938 the RA replaced its traditional unit designation 'Brigade' by the modern 'Regiment', which allowed the 'AA Groups' to take the more usual formation title of 'Brigades'. Anti-Aircraft Command was formed in April 1939 to control all the TA's AA units and formations. 31st AA Bde transferred to the new 7th Anti-Aircraft Division when that was formed in Newcastle in June 1939. As AA Command continued to expand, existing units moved to other brigades and were replaced by newly formed units.
On the outbreak of war 31 AA Bde was based at York and was mobilised to defend West Yorkshire, with the following order of battle:
During the Phoney War period, AA Command was desperate for men and equipment to meet its huge commitments. When the War Office released the first intakes of Militiamen to the Command in early 1940, most were found to be in low physical categories and without training. 31 AA Bde reported that out of 1000 recruits sent for duty, '50 had to be discharged immediately because of serious medical defects, another 20 were judged to be mentally deficient and a further 18 were unfit to do any manual labour such as lifting ammunition'. Fitness and training was greatly improved by the time Britain's AA defences were seriously tested during the Battle of Britain and Blitz.
In 1940, RA regiments equipped with 3-inch or 3.7-inch AA guns were designated Heavy Anti-Aircraft (HAA) to distinguish them from the new Light Anti-Aircraft (LAA) regiments, and RE AA battalions were transferred to the RA and designated Searchlight regiments.
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