Formed from three parachute battalions as well as support units and assigned to the 1st Airborne Division, the brigade first saw action in Operation Biting – a raid on a German radar site at Bruneval on the French coast.

Because of casualties sustained in Sicily, the brigade was held in reserve for the division's next action, Operation Slapstick, an amphibious landing at Taranto, part of the Allied invasion of Italy.

Landing on the first day of the battle, the brigade objective was to seize the crossings over the River Rhine and hold them for forty-eight hours until relieved by the advancing XXX Corps, coming 60 miles (97 km) from the south.

Reformed after the battle, the brigade took part in operations in Denmark at the end of the war and then in 1946 joined the 6th Airborne Division on internal security duties in Palestine.

Impressed by the success of German airborne operations during the Battle of France, the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill directed the War Office to investigate the possibility of creating a corps of 5,000 parachute troops.

Its commander Major-General Frederick Arthur Montague Boy Browning, expressed his opinion that the fledgling force must not be sacrificed in "penny packets" and urged the formation of further brigades.

[7][9] Airborne soldiers were expected to fight against superior numbers of the enemy armed with heavy weapons, including artillery and tanks.

[10] A large part of the training regime consisted of assault courses and route marching while military exercises included capturing and holding airborne bridgeheads, road or rail bridges and coastal fortifications.

When the delayed first group arrived, they managed to neutralize the enemy machine guns and by 02:15 the company had mustered on the beach to wait for the navy.

Despite some initial problems caused by a lack of experience in combined operations, the troops were successfully evacuated with losses of three men killed and seven wounded.

On 15 May 1942 a special supplement to the London Gazette carried the announcement of nineteen decorations for the mission, including a Military Cross for Frost.

[23] In November 1942, the brigade now commanded by Brigadier Edwin Flavell, was detached from 1st Airborne Division, to take part in Operation Torch, the Allied landings in French North Africa.

During the next airborne mission on 16 November, the 1st Parachute Battalion secured an important road junction near Souk el Arba, 90 miles (140 km) west of Tunis then the next day ambushed a German convoy and were involved in several small battles.

The Commanding Officer (CO) Lieutenant Colonel James Hill was wounded attacking an Italian position and replaced by his second-in-command, Alastair Pearson.

Due to postponement of their advance, the First Army did not relieve the battalion as planned and instead it became trapped 50 miles (80 km) behind the German lines, where Frost was informed by radio that they had been written off.

On 1 December the Germans attacked with infantry, armour and artillery, almost wiping out 'C' Company and causing heavy casualties in the rest of the battalion.

[31] The remaining Axis forces surrendered on 13 May 1943 bringing the Tunisian campaign to an end with a cost to the 1st Parachute Brigade of 1,700 killed, wounded or missing.

[38] The brigade's first casualties occurred while they were still en route, when two Dakotas were shot down flying over an Allied convoy with another nine damaged and forced to turn back.

[37] When they reached the Sicilian coast, Axis anti-aircraft fire shot down thirty-seven and a further ten were damaged and forced to abort their mission.

[42] South of the bridge, the 2nd Parachute Battalion also under attack, were able to call on naval gunfire support from the 6 inch guns of the British cruiser HMS Mauritius, which stopped an assault that was about to overrun their position.

[42] Gunfire was heard just south of the brigade position on the following morning whereupon Brigadier Lathbury sent out a patrol to investigate and they discovered it was from British guns.

[37] The brigade returned to England in late 1943 and trained for operations in North-West Europe under the supervision of I Airborne Corps, commanded by Lieutenant-General Frederick Browning.

Although they were not scheduled to take part in the Normandy landings, Operation Wastage was a contingency plan drawn up whereby all the 1st Airborne Division would be parachuted in to support any of the five invasion beaches if delays were experienced.

[57] A lucky break allowed 3rd Battalion to ambush the staff car carrying Generalmajor Friedrich Kussin, the German commandant of Arnhem, and kill him and his driver.

[59] Before this, at nightfall, Brigadier Lathbury had contacted Lieutenant-Colonel Frost in command at the bridge and informed him the brigade would stay put during the night and attempt to reach him in the morning.

[60] At dawn on the second day, the defenders on the bridge saw a small convoy of trucks approaching at some speed from the south, which at first they misidentified as the British XXX Corps.

[62] All day long, the force at the bridge came under fire from mortars and anti-aircraft guns positioned south of the river and were subject to probing infantry and armour attacks.

With their casualties mounting and supplies of food and ammunition running low, a request for the force to surrender was rejected by Frost, who decided they would fight on.

[70] Added to this were probes by tanks and self propelled guns, which approached the defenders' buildings and opened fire at point blank range.

[70] During the day, Lieutenant John Grayburn of the 2nd Battalion was killed and later posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery during the fighting at the bridge.