51st Infantry Brigade and Headquarters Scotland is an Adaptable Force Brigade of the British Army. It is the regional administrative formation responsible for all the units of the Army Reserve based in Scotland and an Adaptable Force Brigade under Army 2020. The Brigade is also regionally aligned with the Persian Gulf region as part of defence engagement. Although it takes its name and identity from, and is directly descended from the 51st Division, formed as part of the Territorial Force in 1908 and which fought during the First and Second World Wars, it is also the modern descendant of the 52nd Lowland Division.
Although this brigade was not raised during the Second World War, the dominant historical threads behind the current 51st Scottish Brigade come from the famed 51st Division which was deployed to France with the British Expeditionary Force. The 51st Division was attached to the French Southern Group of Armies and fought a lone battle as the remainder of the BEF was forced to retreat toward Dunkirk. For some time, it was forced to hold a line four times longer than that which would normally be expected of a division.
Post war
The Territorial Army in Scotland re-raised the 51st/52nd Scottish Division in the late 1940s, which was in existence until the TA was disbanded and reorganised as the TAVR in 1967. The 51st/52nd Scottish Division was split into two separate Brigades in 1968, with the 51st Highland component reformed as Highland District, commanded by a Brigadier and the Lowland component forming 52nd Lowland Brigade. Since then the name of the formation changed first to Highland Area and then to a subordinate formation of Scottish District, Highlands, as 51st Highland Brigade. In 1975 the Brigade Headquarters moved from Highland House, St Catherine's Road, Perth to the old 51st Highland Division Officers’ Mess building at St Leonard's Bank, Perth. In 1989, towards the end of the Cold War it had various battalions under its command, such as the 1st Battalion, Gordon Highlanders, 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalion, 51st Highland Volunteers, a field support squadron and reservist Royal Army Medical Corps under its command.
21st century
On 1 April 2002, 51 Brigade took on the regional responsibility for the whole of Scotland, instead of just the Highlands, with its Headquarters at Forthside Barracks in Stirling and its Regional Training Centre situated at Redford Barracks in Edinburgh. This enabled 52 Brigade, which previously administered all Lowland TA units, to be specifically reorganised to parent Regular light role infantry battalions for operational deployments. 51st Brigade also co-ordinated operational deployments within its regional area of responsibility, such as in scenarios requiring Military Aid to the Civil Community. In April 2012, with the disbandment of 2nd Division, the brigade came under the control of the new Support Command based in Aldershot. On 31 March 2014, it was renamed 51st Infantry Brigade and Headquarters Scotland, and transformed as part of the Army 2020 concept.
* Balaklava Company, 5th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland in Redford Barracks, Edinburgh – public duties company
HQ Scotland
Headquarters Scotland, at Redford Barracks, Edinburgh, normally abbreviated as HQ Scotland oversees all units and ministry of defence estates in Scotland. Current organisations and units include:
Headquarters Scotland, at Redford Barracks, Edinburgh
