176th (2/1st Staffordshire) Brigade

The 176th (2/1st Staffordshire) Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army raised during the Great War of 1914–1918. The brigade was part of the Territorial Force and raised as a duplicate of the 137th (1/1st Staffordshire) Brigade. It was formed mainly from those men in the Territorial Force who, at the outbreak of war in August 1914, originally had not agreed to serve overseas. The brigade nevertheless saw active service, as part of the 59th (2nd North Midland) Division, in the trenches of the Western Front in Belgium and France when it was sent overseas in early 1917. The brigade fought in the Third Battle of Ypres, the Battle of Cambrai, both in 1917, and Operation Michael, the opening phase of the Spring Offensive launched by the German Army, in March 1918. During the fighting at Cambrai in November 1917, Lance Corporal John Thomas of the 2/5th Battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment was awarded the Victoria Cross.

The brigade was disbanded after the war along with the rest of the Territorial Force, which was reformed as the Territorial Army in the 1920s. Throughout the spring and summer of 1939 the Territorial Army was doubled in size as the threat of war with Nazi Germany was becoming increasingly likely. As a result, the brigade was reformed, now as the 176th Infantry Brigade, by the redesignation of the 166th Infantry Brigade shortly before World War II. The brigade was assigned to the 59th (Staffordshire) Division and would remain with the division throughout the war. After training for many years throughout the United Kingdom the brigade landed, with the rest of the 59th Division, in France in late June 1944 as part of Operation Overlord and became part of the British Second Army. The brigade fought in the Battle for Caen, in particular during Operation Charnwood and the Second Battle of the Odon. In early August Captain David Auldjo Jamieson of the 7th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment was awarded the Victoria Cross for his extreme bravery, leadership and calmness under fire and despite being wounded. However, due to an acute lack of infantry replacements in the British Army at this stage of the war, the brigade and division were both disbanded in late August and the battalions broken up and sent to other British divisions in order to bring them up to strength as many, particularly the 3rd British Division (which had by this time suffered over 6,000 casualties), had all suffered heavy losses.

First World War formation

• 2/5th Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment
• 2/6th Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment
• 2/5th Battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment
• 2/6th Battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment
• 174th Machine Gun Company, Machine Gun Corps
• 176th Trench Mortar Battery
• 6/7th Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers
• 1st Provisional Garrison Guard Battalion, became 17th Garrison Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment
• 2nd Provisional Garrison Guard Battalion
• 3rd Provisional Garrison Guard Battalion
• 4th Provisional Garrison Guard Battalion, became 23rd Garrison Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers
• 4th Garrison Guard Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers, became 26th Battalion 16 July 1918
• 25th Garrison Guard Battalion, King's Regiment (Liverpool), became 25th Battalion 16 July 1918
• 5th Provisional Garrison Guard Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment, became 17th Garrison Guard Battalion 25 May, then 17th Battalion 16 July 1918

Second World War formation

• 7th Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment
• 6th Battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment
• 7th Battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment
• 7th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment