 In April 1943 , the commander of the 1st Airlanding Brigade , Hopkinson , was promoted to Major General and given command of the division . Later that year , the division was deployed to Tunisia for operations in the Mediterranean theatre . The 3rd Parachute Brigade and two battalions from the 1st Airlanding Brigade – the 1st Royal Ulster Rifles and 2nd Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry – remained behind in England , forming the nucleus of the newly raised 6th Airborne Division . On arrival , the 1st Airborne was reinforced by the 4th Parachute Brigade . The 4th Parachute Brigade had been formed in the Middle East during 1942 . In addition to the 156th Parachute Battalion , which had been raised from British troops stationed in India , it comprised the 10th and 11th Parachute Battalions , which had been raised from troops based in Egypt and Palestine . 
