# Forester Brigade

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{{Use British English|date=January 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name                     = F Group<br/>Midland Brigade<br/>Forester Brigade
| dates                         = 1946–1963
| country                       = {{flag|United Kingdom}}
| branch                        = {{army|United Kingdom}}
| type                          = Administrative
| garrison                      = 
| commander1                    = 
| commander1_label              = Representative Colonel
}}
The '''Forester Brigade''' (known as the '''Midland Brigade''' until 1958) was an administrative formation of the [British Army](/source/British_Army) from 1948 to 1964. The Brigade administered the regular [infantry](/source/infantry) [regiment](/source/regiment)s of the [English Midlands](/source/English_Midlands).

After the [Second World War](/source/World_War_II) the British Army had fourteen infantry depots, each bearing a letter. The depots were territorially organised, and '''Infantry Depot F''' at [Strensall](/source/Strensall) was the headquarters for the county regiments of [Derbyshire](/source/Derbyshire), [Leicestershire](/source/Leicestershire), [Lincolnshire](/source/Lincolnshire), [Nottinghamshire](/source/Nottinghamshire) and [Warwickshire](/source/Warwickshire).<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aU1-AwAAQBAJ&q=1948+mercian+brigade&pg=PA156|title=A History of British Infantry: For Love of Regiment, Volume 2, 1915–1994|first=Charles |last=Messenger|date=16 March 1994|page=156|publisher=Pen and Sword |isbn=9780850524222}}</ref>

In 1948, the depots adopted names and this depot became the Midland Brigade with all regiments being reduced to a single battalion at the same time. The Midland Brigade was formally formed on 14 July 1948, combining the depots of four regiments:<ref>Whitaker's Almanack 1956, p. 471</ref>
* [The Royal Warwickshire Regiment](/source/Royal_Warwickshire_Regiment)
* [The Royal Lincolnshire Regiment](/source/Royal_Lincolnshire_Regiment)
* [The Royal Leicestershire Regiment](/source/Royal_Leicestershire_Regiment)
* [The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment)](/source/Sherwood_Foresters)

Under the [1957 Defence White Paper](/source/1957_Defence_White_Paper) changes announced in July 1957, the infantry of the line was reorganised: accordingly, in 1958, the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment was transferred to the [East Anglian Brigade](/source/East_Anglian_Brigade) and the Midland Brigade was renamed as the '''Forester Brigade'''. 

From 1958 all regiments in the Brigade adopted a common cap badge: ''"A [Maltese cross](/source/Maltese_cross) voided, the points pommelled, and thereon, on a mount, an antelope statant gorged with a ducal coronet and chained within [The Garter](/source/Order_of_the_Garter), the whole encircled with a chaplet of oak-leaves issuant from a scroll inscribed 'Forester Brigade' and ensigned with, upon a mount, a tiger passant guardant.'' The badge combined parts of the cap badges of the Royal Warwicks, Royal Leicesters and Sherwood Foresters.<ref>A L Kipling and H L King, ''Head-dress badges of the British Army'', Volume 2, London, 1979</ref> From 1960 the Forester Brigade was based at [Glen Parva Barracks](/source/Glen_Parva_Barracks) in [Leicestershire](/source/Leicestershire).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1958/mar/07/infantry-brigade-depots-location|title=Infantry Brigade Depots (Location)|work=[Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)](/source/Hansard)|date=7 March 1958|access-date=10 April 2014}}</ref>
 
In 1963, the Royal Warwickshire Regiment was transferred to the [Fusilier Brigade](/source/Fusilier_Brigade), and in the following year the Royal Leicestershire Regiment joined the East Anglian Brigade<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m29uBAAAQBAJ&q=1963+forester+brigade+disbanded&pg=PT146|title=Marching with the Tigers: The History of the Royal Leicestershire Regiment 1955-1975|first= Michael |last=Goldschmidt|publisher=Pen & Sword|year=2009|isbn=978-1848840355}}</ref> and the Sherwood Foresters moved to the [Mercian Brigade](/source/Mercian_Brigade). With this, the Forester Brigade was disbanded.

==Units==
During its existence, the brigade was made up of the following units:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/depot/948fores.htm|title=Forester Brigade|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070101145621/http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/depot/948fores.htm|archive-date=1 January 2007|accessdate=6 January 2021}}</ref>
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===Regular battalions===
*1st Battalion, [Royal Warwickshire Regiment](/source/Royal_Warwickshire_Regiment) (1946–1962)
*2nd Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment (1946–1948}
*1st Battalion, [Royal Lincolnshire Regiment](/source/Royal_Lincolnshire_Regiment) (1946–1958)
*2nd Battalion, Royal Lincolnshire Regiment (1946–1948)
*1st Battalion, [Royal Leicestershire Regiment](/source/Royal_Leicestershire_Regiment) (1946–1963)
*2nd Battalion, Royal Leicestershire Regiment (1946–1948)
*1st Battalion, [Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment)](/source/Sherwood_Foresters_(Nottinghamshire_and_Derbyshire_Regiment)) (1946–1963)
*2nd Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) (1946–1948, 1952–1955)

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===Territorial battalions===
*7th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment (1947–1962)
*2/7th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment (1947–1950)
*4th Battalion, Royal Lincolnshire Regiment (1947–1950)
*6th Battalion, Royal Lincolnshire Regiment (1947–1950)
*4th/6th Battalion, Royal Lincolnshire Regiment (1950–1958)
*5th Battalion, Royal Leicestershire Regiment (1947–1961)
*4th/5th Battalion, Royal Leicestershire Regiment (1961–1963)
*5th (Derbyshire) Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) (1947–1961)
*8th (Nottinghamshire) Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) (1947–1961)
*5th/8th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) (1961–1963)

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==References==
<references/>

{{British Infantry}}
Category:Infantry administrative brigades of the British Army
Category:Military units and formations established in 1948
Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1963

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Forester Brigade](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forester_Brigade) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forester_Brigade?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.