The 151st Regiment Royal Armoured Corps (10th Bn King's Own) (151 RAC) was an

armoured Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or fr ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the component of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 Tank and the Scimitar Reconnaissance Vehicle. It includes most of the A ...

that was raised during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

History

Origin

The 151st Regiment RAC was formed on 1 December 1941 by the conversion to the armoured role of 10th Battalion,

King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) The King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army. It served under various titles and fought in many wars and conflicts, including both the First and the Second World Wars, from 1680 to 1959. In 1959, the r ...

, a hostilities-only infantry battalion raised in 1940. 10th King's Own had been serving in

225th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home) Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash that ...

, a Home Service formation, when it was redesignated 35th Army Tank Brigade. In common with most other infantry battalions that were transferred to the Royal Armoured Corps, all personnel would have continued to wear their King's Own cap badge on the black beret of the Royal Armoured Corps.

Training

Based at

Prudhoe Prudhoe ( ) is a town in south Northumberland, England, about west of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne and just south of the River Tyne. Situated on a steep, north-facing hill in the Tyne valley, Prudhoe had a population of 11,675 at the 201 ...

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

, the regiment began receiving

Churchill tank The Tank, Infantry, Mk IV (A22) Churchill was a British infantry tank used in the Second World War, best known for its heavy armour, large longitudinal chassis with all-around tracks with multiple bogies, its ability to climb steep slopes, a ...

s in February 1942. In August 1942 151 RAC was transferred to

Westgate-on-Sea Westgate-on-Sea is a seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of Kent, England. It is within the Thanet local government district and borders the larger seaside resort of Margate. Its two sandy beaches have remained a popular touri ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

to serve with

25th Army Tank Brigade The 25th Army Tank Brigade was an armoured brigade formation of the British Army that was active before and during the Second World War. It served with the British First Army and the British Eighth Army during the battles in North Africa and Ita ...

43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division The 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division was an infantry division of Britain's Territorial Army (TA). The division was first formed in 1908, as the Wessex Division. During the First World War, it was broken-up and never served as a complete formatio ...

, (at that time training as a 'mixed' division). Shortly afterwards, 25th Tank Brigade was replaced by 34th Tank Brigade, and 151 RAC transferred to this formation. During 1943 the regiment continued to be based at various places in Kent, training in the

infantry tank The infantry tank was a concept developed by the United Kingdom and France in the years leading up to World War II. Infantry tanks were designed to support infantrymen in an attack. To achieve this, the vehicles were generally heavily vehicle armo ...

role with 43rd (Wessex) and

59th (Staffordshire) Infantry Division The 59th (Staffordshire) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that was formed during the Second World War and fought in the Battle of Normandy. In March 1939, after Germany re-emerged as a significant military power an ...

s, including wading trials for amphibious operations. One night in December 1943, while based at

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

, the regiment's camp was shelled by German artillery batteries on the French coast, and lost a few vehicles destroyed and damaged.

Disbandment

In autumn 1943 the decision was made disband surplus tank regiments. One of those selected was 107th Regiment RAC, which had been formed from the 5th Battalion,

. A 'token party' of three officers and 47 other ranks from 107 RAC was sent to 151 RAC. On 30 December 1943 151 RAC formally disbanded in order to adopt the number of 107 RAC – thus perpetuating the link with the 5th Battalion, King's Own, a permanent '1st Line'

Territorial A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

battalion as opposed to the 'hostilities-only' 10th Battalion that had become 151 RAC.151 RAC (10th King's Own) War Diary November 1943 Appendix F, The National Archives file WO 166/11115. Under its new designation, the regiment served in

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

, the Netherlands and Germany during the

North-West Europe campaign The North West Europe campaign was a campaign by the British Commonwealth armed forces in North West Europe, including its skies and adjoining waters during World War II. The term Western Front has also sometimes been used informally. The United S ...

, before disbanding in 1945.

References

Bibliography

* George Forty, "British Army Handbook 1939-1945", Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 1998, . * {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Military units and formations established in 1941 Regiments of the Royal Armoured Corps Royal Armoured Corps 151 Military units and formations disestablished in 1943