Waterloo Campaign

When Wellington organized his troops into numbered divisions for the Peninsular War, the component brigades were named for the commanding officer.^{[lower-alpha 1]} For the Hundred Days Campaign, he numbered his British infantry brigades in a single sequence, 1st to 10th. The 7th Brigade formed part of the 7th Division under the command of Major-general Kenneth MacKenzie. It consisted of:

• 2nd Battalion, 25th (the King's Own Borderers) Regiment of Foot^[3]
• 2nd Battalion, 37th (the North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot^[4]
• 2nd Battalion, 78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot (or The Ross-shire Buffs)^[5]

It was assigned to garrison duty and so played no part in the Battle of Waterloo.^[6][7]

Crimean War

The 7th Brigade formed part of the 4th Division in the Crimean War. At the Battle of the Alma it was commanded by Brigadier-General Arthur Wellesley Torrens and consisted of:^[8]

• 20th (the East Devonshire) Regiment of Foot^[9]
• 21st Regiment of Foot (Royal North British Fusiliers)^[10]
• 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry)^[11]

The brigade was present with the 4th Division at the Battle of Balaclava and played a more major role at the Battle of Inkerman.^[12]

Second Boer War and pre-First World War

After the Relief of Ladysmith, part of the garrison of Ladysmith were reorganized into the 7th Brigade on 10 March 1900. It consisted of

• 1st Battalion, Devonshire Regiment
• 1st Battalion, Manchester Regiment
• 2nd Battalion, Gordon Highlanders
• 2nd Battalion, Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own)

Initially commanded by Colonel W.G. Knox CB, it was taken over by Brigadier-General Walter Kitchener on 26 March. The brigade formed part of Lyttelton's 4th Division and took part in Sir Redvers Buller's advance north. In August 1900, it took part in the Battle of Bergendal, the last set-piece battle of the war.^[13]

Post-war, the brigade was reformed in January 1906 as part of the 4th Division, before joining the 3rd Division in Southern Command in 1907.^[14]

First World War

At the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, the 7th Brigade was a regular army formation stationed at Tidworth and assigned to the 3rd Division.^[15] It mobilized with the division, crossed to France between 11 and 16 August, concentrated around Aulnoye and Avesnes, and moved forward on 21 August 1914. Other than a brief period when it was reorganized in England in 1918,^[16] the brigade served with the 3rd and 25th Divisions on the Western Front throughout the war.^[17][18]

Second World War

The brigade continued in existence throughout the interwar period, seeing numerous changes in its composition and eventually, in the late 1930s, leading to it being redesignated 7th Infantry Brigade (Guards). At the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, the 7th Infantry Brigade (Guards)^{[lower-alpha 7]} was, once again, assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division, commanded at the time by Major-General Bernard Montgomery, in Southern Command. It was stationed at Pirbright Camp with the following units under command:

• 1st Battalion, Grenadier Guards
• 2nd Battalion, Grenadier Guards
• 1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards (at Chelsea Barracks, London)
• 7th Infantry Brigade (Guards) Anti-Tank Company^[31]

The brigade, commanded by Brigadier John Whitaker, moved to France with the rest of the 3rd Division on 30 September 1939 as part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and remained there, serving alongside the French Army, until May 1940. It first saw action against the German Army's offensive in Belgium and France, notably on the Ypres-Comines Canal (26 – 28 May 1940) before being evacuated from Dunkirk to the United Kingdom by 1 June.^[32] On 15 September 1941, it was converted to the Guards Support Group.^[33]

The 37th Infantry Brigade (originally in 12th (Eastern) Infantry Division) joined the 3rd Infantry Division on 27 November 1941 and on 8 December it was redesignated as 7th Infantry Brigade. At this time it commanded:^[34]

• 2nd Battalion, South Wales Borderers
• 2/6th Battalion, East Surrey Regiment
• 6th Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment

The brigade served with the 9th Armoured Division from June 1942 until July 1944, when the division was disbanded, followed by the 47th Infantry (Reserve) Division from 10 September 1944 until August 1945. On 30 September 1944, it was reorganised as a reserve brigade whereupon it was redesignated as the 7th Infantry (Reserve) Brigade. The brigade remained in the United Kingdom throughout. By the end of the war, the brigade structure was:^[34]

• 13th Battalion, Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)
• 12th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers
• 2/6th Battalion, East Surrey Regiment
• 2/4th Battalion, Essex Regiment

7th Infantry Brigade

Units commanded by the brigade, which is based in Cottesmore, include:

• 1st Queen's Dragoon Guards, in Swanton Morley with Jackal reconnaissance vehicles^[37]
• Royal Yeomanry, in London with Jackal reconnaissance vehicles (Army Reserve – paired with 1st Queen's Dragoon Guards)
• 1st Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment, at Woolwich Barracks, Woolwich
• 2nd Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment, at Kendrew Barracks, Cottesmore
• 1st Battalion, The Rifles, at Beachley Barracks, Chepstow (In 2027 the battalion will move to MoD St Athan)^[38]
• 1st Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment, at Alma Lines, Catterick Garrison
• 4th Battalion The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, in Redhill (Army Reserve – paired with 1st Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment)
• 3rd Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment, in Bury St Edmunds (Army Reserve – paired with 2nd Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment)
• 6th Battalion, The Rifles, at Wyvern Barracks, Exeter (Army Reserve – paired with 1st Battalion, The Rifles) ^[39][40]
• 32 Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers, at Marne Barracks, Catterick Garrison
• 6 Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps, at Dishforth Airfield, North Yorkshire
• 1 Close Support Battalion, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, at Meggido Lines, Catterick Garrison

Headquarters East

In 2015, 7th Armoured Brigade merged with 49th (East) Brigade, the later of which became 'Headquarters East', which is the point of contact for the 12 counties of the East Midlands and the East of England; Lincolnshire, South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, and Cambridgeshire.^[41][42][43] The following comes under the headquarters for administrative purposes:

• Headquarters East, Chetwynd Barracks, Chilwell
  • Cambridge University Officers' Training Corps (Army Reserve), in Cambridge^[44]
  • East Midlands University Officers' Training Corps (Army Reserve), in Nottingham^[45]
  • 7th Infantry Brigade & Headquarters East Cadet Training Team, at Kendrew Barracks, Cottesmore^[46]
  • Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Army Cadet Force, in Hertford^[47]
  • Cambridgeshire Army Cadet Force, in Waterbeach^[48]
  • Essex Army Cadet Force, in Chelmsford^[49]
  • Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, and Rutland Army Cadet Force, in South Wigston^[50]
  • Lincolnshire Army Cadet Force, at Sobraon Barracks, Lincoln^[51]
  • Norfolk Army Cadet Force, in Dereham^[52]
  • Northamptonshire Army Cadet Force, in Northampton^[53]
  • Suffolk Army Cadet Force, in Ipswich^[54]

7th Infantry Brigade was also regionally aligned with the western African region as part of defence engagement.^[55]

Under the Future Soldier programme, the brigade was redesignated as the 7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team.^[56]