209th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)


The 209th Infantry Brigade was a Home Defence formation of the British Army during the Second World War.

Origin

The brigade was formed for service in the United Kingdom on 13 October 1940 by No 9 Infantry Training Group in the South West Area of Southern Command. Under the name of 209th Independent Infantry Brigade it was initially composed of newly raised battalions of the Buffs.

Composition

The composition of 209 Brigade was as follows:
The commanders of 209 Brigade were:
On 28 February 1941, HQ South West Area formed Devon and Cornwall County Division, which included the 209th Brigade. On 1 December 1941, the County Division was redesignated 77th Infantry Division and the brigade became 209th Infantry Brigade. The 77th was a Reserve Division, later designated a Holding Division with the role of sorting, retraining and temporarily holding personnel before they were reassigned to other units. It was formally disbanded on 1 September 1944 when its divisional and brigade HQs adopted the numbers of the recently disbanded 45th Division. 209 Brigade was redesignated 135th Infantry Brigade. All these formations remained within the United Kingdom throughout the war.