The 124th Brigade was an infantry formation of the British Army during World War I. It was raised in 1915 as part of 'Kitchener's Army' and assigned to the 41st Division, with which it served on the Western Front and in Italy.

Original 124th Brigade

On 6 August 1914, less than 48 hours after Britain's declaration of war, Parliament sanctioned an increase of 500,000 men for the Regular British Army. The newly-appointed Secretary of State for War, Earl Kitchener of Khartoum, issued his famous call to arms: 'Your King and Country Need You', urging the first 100,000 volunteers to come forward. Men flooded into the recruiting offices and the 'first hundred thousand' were enlisted within days. This group of six divisions with supporting arms became known as Kitchener's First New Army, or 'K1'.War Office Instructions No 32 (6 August) and No 37 (7 August).Becke, Pt 3a, pp. 2 & 8. The K2, K3 and K4 battalions, brigades and divisions followed shortly afterwards. But the flood of volunteers overwhelmed the ability of the Army to absorb them, and the K5 units were largely raised by local initiative rather than at regimental depots, often from men from particular localities or backgrounds who wished to serve together: these were known as 'Pals battalions'. The 'Pals' phenomenon quickly spread across the country, as local recruiting committees offered complete units to the War Office (WO). Among the most famous Pals were the four battalions of Tyneside Irish, recruited from men of Irish extraction by the Lord Mayor and City of Newcastle upon Tyne between November 1914 and January 1915. They became battalions of the Northumberland Fusiliers and were assigned to 124th Brigade of 41st Division of the Fifth New Army, which was authorised by the WO on 10 December 1914:James, p. 47.Becke, Pt 3b, pp. 41–8.34th Division at Long, Long Trail.War Office Instruction No 59 of September 1915, Appendix IX. 24th Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers (1st Tyneside Irish) 25th Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers (2nd Tyneside Irish) 26th Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers (3rd Tyneside Irish) 27th Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers (4th Tyneside Irish)

Brigadier-General W.A. Collings was appointed to command 124th Bde on 17 December 1914. By March 1915 the brigade was concentrated and training at Woolsington Park outside Newcastle.

On 10 April 1915 the War Office decided to convert the K4 battalions into reserve units, to provide reinforcement drafts for the K1–K3 battalions. The K5 divisions (30th–44th) and their brigades were renumbered: 124th Brigade became 103rd (Tyneside Irish) Brigade in 34th Division.Becke, Pt 3b, Appendices 1 & 2. War Office Instruction No 96 of 10 April 1915.James, Appendix II to Part II.

New 124th Brigade A new 41st Division was authorised on 27 April 1915, as the final New Army division to be formed, including a new 124th Brigade. They were organised from the last K5 'Pals' battalions raised in the summer of 1915 and did not come together at Aldershot until September 1915. 124th Brigade was initially composed as follows, with three battalions recruited from the London area and one from the North of England:Becke, Pt 3b, pp. 109–15.41st Division at Long Long Trail. 10th (Service) Battalion, Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) (Battersea) ('10th Queen's')– raised on 3 June 1915 by the Mayor and Borough of Battersea, South London.James, p. 44.Queen's Regiment at Long, Long Trail.McCue, pp. 11–3, 165–75.Wylly, pp. 252–66. 26th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (Bankers) ('26th RF') – raised on 17 July 1915 by the Lord Mayor and Corporation of London and recruited mainly from bank clerks and accountants.James, p. 50.Royal Fusiliers at Long, Long Trail.O'Neill, p. 22. 32nd (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (East Ham) ('32nd RF') – raised on 18 October 1915 by the Mayor and Borough of East Ham in the suburbs of LondonO'Neill, p. 24. 21st (Service) Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps (Yeoman Rifles) ('21st KRRC') – raised on 15 September 1915 by Charles Duncombe, 2nd Earl of Feversham from farmers in North East EnglandJames, p. 95.KRRC at Long, Long Trail.Eden, pp. 62–8.Hare, p. 95.

Training During September and October the infantry brigades and divisional troops of 41st Division arrived at the Aldershot Training Area and training began in earnest: musketry and route marches, and training of specialists such as signallers, Lewis gunners and 'bombers'. In February 1916 the division was concentrated in Aldershot for final intensive training, with 124th Bde in Stanhope Lines. Entrainment for the embarkation ports began on 1 May 1916 and the division completed its disembarkation in France on 6 May, joining the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front.

Service By 8 May 1916 41st Division had completed its concentration between Hazebrouck and Bailleul in Second Army's area. While continuing their training, units of the new division sent parties up to the line for instruction in trench warfare from experienced units. Those from 124th Bde were attached to units of 9th (Scottish) Division in Ploegsteert Wood ('Plugstreet Wood'). 41st Division then relieved 9th (S) Division in the Ploegsteert trenches and 124th Bde's battalions began the routine of two weeks in the trenches, one in support and one in reserve. The battalions also had to supply working parties, and they began to suffer a trickle of casualties from chance shellfire, random machine gun fire, or during patrols and trench raids.Eden, pp. 75–92.McCue, pp. 177–86.

Once in France the brigade was joined by its specialist troops: 124th Machine Gun Company – landed at Le Havre 17 June 1916; joined on 19 June 124th Trench Mortar Battery – formed in the brigade as 124/1 and 124/2 batteries by 2 June, amalgamated by 15 June

Brigadier-Gen Clemson was slightly wounded while visiting the trenches on the night of 9/10 June and Lieutenant-Colonel the Earl of Feversham of 21st KRRC took temporary command until his return two weeks later.32nd Royal Fusiliers War Diary 1 May 1916–31 October 1917, The National Archives (TNA), Kew, file WO 95/2644/3

Flers–Courcelette

When 41st Division arrived on BEF was preparing for that summer's 'Big Push', the Battle of the Somme, which began on 1 July. On 23 August the units of 124th Bde entrained for Pont-Remy, where they undertook three weeks' special training near Abbeville and then at Bécordel before being called upon to participate in the offensive. The training included operating at night and in a wood similar to the notorious Delville Wood on the Somme. On the afternoon of 14 September the brigade was guided to trenches north-east of Delville Wood, where orders were issued for an attack next day (the Battle of Flers–Courcelette). 124th Brigade on the division's right formed up during the night, with 21st KRRC (left) and 10th Queen's (right) in eight waves, the leading waves in No man's land, the others stretching back to 'Brown Trench'. They were supported by 26th and 32nd RF respectively, drawn up behind them in four waves between 'Green Trench' and 'Inner Trench'. The division had four objectives and the brigade was intended to take them in succession with the battalions in this formation, until they were beyond the village of Gueudecourt. For this its first attack, 41st Division had support from tanks, also making their first ever appearance on a battlefield. Ten Mark I tanks of D Company, Heavy Section, Machine Gun Corps, were assigned to the division, formed up behind the infantry.Hare, pp. 166–9.McCue, pp. 188–93.Miles, 1916, Vol II, pp. 299, 321.O'Neill, pp. 135–7.Pidgeon, pp. 71–8.'15 September 1916 – Supporting 41st Division' at Landships.

The brigade moved forward at 06.20, following a Creeping barrage. Seven tanks managed to cross the start line, and there was little resistance in the German front trench – 'Tea Support Trench' – which had been shattered by the 3-day British bombardment. Many of the surviving Germans ran from the tanks, though several machine gun teams stuck to their task and caused heavy casualties to the leading waves. By about 06.45 the first objective – 'Switch Trench' – had been captured, the infantry arriving about two minutes after the tanks. Leaving a party to consolidate this line and to construct a strongpoint, 10th Queen's, 21st KRRC and the tanks moved on towards the second objective – 'Flers Trench' – closely followed by the two Fusilier battalions. Uncut barbed wire held them up, but this was crushed by two of the tanks. The second objective was secured by 08.50, but 124th Bde had got ahead of its neighbours, and it became difficult to sustain the advance because of the lack of flank support. The Earl of Feversham, CO of 21st KRRC, and Lt-Col Oakley of 10th Queen's now led parties of their men forward towards the third and fourth objectives, but casualties were heavy, particularly from enemy shellfire. They reached the next objective in front of Gueudecourt village – 'Gird Tench' – and withstood a number of counter-attacks, but Lord Feversham was killed. In the end Lt-Col Oakley led this isolated party of the two battalions back to Flers Trench before he was seriously wounded himself. (Future Prime Minister Anthony Eden, at the time an officer in 21st KRRC, later claimed that this fruitless final attack had been due to Feversham receiving a 'deplorably vague' message from 41st Division.) Meanwhile 26th RF had remained at Flers Trench waiting for 122nd Bde of 41st Division and the tanks to clear the village. 32nd RF had left its fourth wave to consolidate Switch Trench, and the rest of the battalion caught up with the survivors of 10th Queen's, men of the 26th RF who had lost direction from the left, and even some of the neighbouring 14th (Light) Division from the right. Two parties pushed on past Flers, taking some prisoners, before being ordered back to 'Sunken Road'. At 15.00 124th Bde was again ordered to advance to Gird Trench. 26th RF went forward, but was held up short by fire from its left flank. At 17.00 an order was passed to retire: the battalion could not discover where it originated and tried to stay in place, but the troops to their right ran back, and the battalion eventually went back to an old trench that was being held by two Vickers gun teams from the Machine Gun Company. With its flanks open, and out of contact with any headquarters, 26th RF remained there until dusk when it fell back to the line that was being consolidated. Between 17.00 and 18.00 the weak groups on this line were able to repulse with rapid fire two German counter-attacks. The battalions of 124th Bde were relieved by 123rd Bde of 41st Division during the night.Eden, pp. 97–8, 102.Miles, 1916, Vol II, pp. 322–3, 327–8, 330, Sketch 37.Pidgeon, pp. 78–98, Maps 14–17.10th Queen's War Diary, May 1916–December 1918 at Queen's Royal Surrey site.26th RF War Diary May 1916–October 1917, TNA file WO 95/2622/1/21st KRRC War Diary May 1916–October 1917, TNA file WO 95/2643/4.

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