The Second World War began on 3 September 1939, and the brigade and 66th Division were immediately mobilised. As it was in the Great War, the brigade was originally part of the 66th Division until it was broken up in June 1940, shortly after the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was evacuated at Dunkirk. With the disbandment of 66th Division, the 197th Brigade (with 257th Field Company, RE and 110th Field Regiment, RA under command) was transferred to the 59th (Staffordshire) Motorised Division, nicknamed "The Pithead Division", and reforming it as a standard infantry division, having previously been a motorised division of only two brigades. With the rest of the 59th Division, which was based in North-East England under Northern Command, the brigade began training to repel a German invasion of England.