In October 1914, the brigade was mobilized as the 22nd (Lucknow) Brigade and was sent to Egypt as the core of Indian Expeditionary Force E. The brigade joined the 11th Indian Division when it was formed in Egypt on 24 December and served on the Suez Canal Defences. After the defeat of the Turkish attempts to cross the canal on 3–4 February 1915, the division acted as a relieving depot for the divisions in France. It was broken up on 31 May 1915 and the brigade came under direct command of the Suez Canal Defences. The brigade was broken up in January 1916.