The brigade's constituent units were spread across various locations in Western Australia including Fremantle, Victoria Park, Bunbury, Cottesloe, Subiaco, Perth, Guildford and Geraldton.

Under the command of Brigadier Harold Taylor, the brigade consisted of three infantry battalions – the 2/18th, 2/19th and 2/20th – and was supported by the 2/10th Field Regiment, which was initially equipped with World War I-vintage Ordnance QF 18-pounders.

[8] Following a request from the British government, the 22nd Brigade, along with support troops – a force of over 5,000 personnel – were deployed to Malaya in February 1941, as the likelihood of war with Japan grew.

The following month, forward positions were occupied around Mersing and Endau where the brigade began constructing fixed defences along the coast around potential landing areas.

Together they subsequently took up rearguard positions north of the causeway that led to Singapore, and held the line until 1 February, when they withdrew just before engineers blew up a large span to delay the advancing Japanese.

[11][14] On Singapore, the Australians were reinforced by elements of the newly arrived 2/4th Machine Gun Battalion, while the 2/19th received a large batch of barely trained recruits who had been hastily deployed from depots in Australia.

After only a brief interlude, the Japanese began their assault on Singapore on the night of 8/9 February, with two division's crossing the Johore Strait and landing in the 22nd Brigade's area.

Throughout the night, heavy fighting took place during the Battle of Sarimbun Beach as the Japanese infiltrated the sector, bypassing outposts that became isolated and cutting off many of the defenders.

Here, several ad hoc battalions were joined and reorganised for a counter-attack, although this ultimately did not come to fruition as the tempo of the Japanese advance disrupted and dislocated the defending troops.

[11] As the Allied perimeter continued shrink around the town, the 8th Division units were brought together around Tanglin Barracks, where they remained until the garrison surrendered on 15 February.