Formation History
The existing 11th Special Air Service Battalion was renamed the 1st Parachute Battalion and, together with the newly raised 2nd and 3rd Parachute Battalions, formed the first of the new airborne formations, 1st Parachute Brigade, commanded by Brigadier Richard Nelson Gale.
In October 1941, Frederick Browning was promoted to major-general, named the Commander Parachute and Airborne Troops, and ordered to form a headquarters to develop and train airborne forces. The next unit formed was the 1st Airlanding Brigade on 10 October 1941, by the conversion of the mountain warfare trained 31st Independent Brigade Group, commanded by Brigadier George F. Hopkinson. The brigade comprised four battalions: the 1st Border Regiment, 2nd South Staffordshire Regiment, 2nd Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, and the 1st Royal Ulster Rifles. The men who were unsuitable for airborne forces were replaced by volunteers. By the end of the year Browning's command had become the headquarters of 1st Airborne Division.
Read more about this topic: 1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom)
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