 In peacetime these Volunteer Infantry Brigades provided a structure for collective training.On 9 February 1889 Lieutenant-Colonel the Earl Mount Edgcumbe, commanding officer (CO) of the 2nd (Prince of Wales's) Volunteer Battalion, Devonshire Regiment, was appointed Colonel in command of the Plymouth Brigade, consisting of the volunteer battalions of the Devonsand the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (DCLI), which was charged with defending the Royal Navy's base at Plymouth.The brigade commander was assisted by a retired Regular officer acting as Brigade major.