51st Infantry Brigade ( United Kingdom ) 51 ( Scottish ) Brigade is a regional brigade of the British Army . It is the regional administrative formation responsible for all the units of the Territorial Army based in Scotland . It is the largest Regional Brigade in the United Kingdom in terms of geographic area . It is directly descended from the 51st Highland Division , formed as part of the Territorial Force in 1908 and which fought during the First and Second World Wars . History . World War I . The British 51st Infantry Brigade began as a formation of the 17th ( Northern ) Division during the First World War . It spent the entirety of the war with the Division on the Western Front . World War II . This brigade was not raised during the Second World War . Post 1945 . The Brigade was reformed in the Canal Zone in 1952 , and then moved to Famagusta in Cyprus in 1955 to combat the EOKA insurgency . It had the 2nd Battalion , The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and 40 Field Regiment Royal Artillery under its command . By 1962 it had returned to the United Kingdom and become 51st Gurkha Brigade . It is recorded that Brigadier Philip Tower was commander of the 51st Infantry Brigade Group from 15 December 1961 to 28 March 1962 . From 1963 to 1965 later - General Harry Tuzo commanded the Brigade in Borneo and Brunei . His Gurkha battalions worked to win the " hearts and minds " of the locals , but also participated with the SAS in Operation Claret which interdicted Indonesia n troops as they attempted to cross the border . The Brigade was later disbanded in Hong Kong in 1976 . 51st Highland Division . The dominant historical threads behind the current 51st Scottish Brigade come from the famed 51st Highland Division . It existed initially from August 1908 - March 1919 , and then was reformed in the Territorial Army in the interwar period . 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 . During this period , the 154th Brigade was detached and withdrawn successfully . However , the 152nd and 153rd Brigades were trapped at Saint - Valéry - en - Caux , and surrendered on June 12 . Later the Division was reformed from the second line 9th Highland Division and fought with the Eighth Army in the Western Desert campaign . It was later part of Second Army in the North - West Europe campaign . 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 . Highland Brigade . 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 . As 51 Highland Brigade it consisted of the 1st , 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 51st Highland Volunteers , as well as other Territorial Army units based in the Highlands . The present . On 1 April 2002 51 ( Scottish ) Brigade took on the regional responsibility for the whole of Scotland , instead of just the Highlands , with its Headquarters at Forthside in Stirling and its Regional Training Centre situated at Redford Barracks in Edinburgh . This enabled 52 ( Lowland ) Brigade , which previously administered all Lowland TA units , to be specifically reorganised to parent Regular light role infantry battalions for operational deployments . 51st ( Scottish ) Brigade also co - ordinates operational deployments within its regional area of responsibility , such as in scenarios requiring Military Aid to the Civil Community . The Brigade also has its own military band , administered by 51st Highland , 7th Battalion , the Royal Regiment of Scotland . In April 2012 , with the disbandment of 2nd Division , the brigade came under the control of the new Support Command based in Aldershot . 51 ( Scottish ) Brigade has a total manpower strength of over 2600 ranks , accounting for the majority of the 3100 Territorials based in Scotland . Over 700 Territorials from the Brigade have served in either Operation Telic in Iraq or Operation Herrick in Afghanistan since the beginning of the decade - including two formed units – 7 SCOTS ' " Alamein Company " in Iraq ; and 6 SCOTS ' " Bremen Platoon " in Afghanistan . ORBAT . The Brigade ' s nominal ORBAT consists of the following Regular units Also the following Territorial Army units : Officers ' Training Corps The future . Under Army 2020 , it will be in the Adaptable Force and be one of the three deployable Brigades . Gregory Blaxland , The Regiments Depart : A History of the British Army 1945 - 70