The 30th Armoured Brigade was an armoured formation 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 ...

that served in Western Europe Campaign as part of the

79th Armoured Division The 79th Armoured Division was a specialist armoured division of the British Army created during the Second World War. The division was created as part of the preparations for the Normandy invasion on 6 June 1944, D-Day. Major-General Percy ...

. After the reformation of the Territorial Army in 1947, the brigade was re-created within the Territorials based in Scotland and finally disbanded by 1967.

Second World War

Service

The British Army in the United Kingdom 1939-45 H18433

The 30th Armoured Brigade was created on 27 December 1940 as part of Northern Command. It was initially formed from the 2nd Battalion, The

Queen's Westminsters The Queen's Westminsters were an infantry regiment of the Territorial Army, part of the British Army. Originally formed from Rifle Volunteer Corps, which were established after a French invasion scare of 1859. The unit became part of the newly ...

, a

motorized infantry Motorized infantry is infantry that is transported by trucks or other motor vehicles. It is distinguished from mechanized infantry, which is carried in armoured personnel carriers or infantry fighting vehicles, and from light infantry, which ca ...

unit, which was joined by a cavalry unit, the 23rd Hussars, three days later, on 30 December. Just over a week later, on 8 January 1941, the 23rd Hussars were replaced by the

22nd Dragoons The 22nd Dragoons was the title held by five separate Cavalry regiments of the British Army raised and disbanded between 1716 and 1945. The last regiment of this name existed during the Second World War, from 1 December 1940 until 30 November ...

, and on 28 January the brigade was transferred to Western Command. On 8 March the brigade was augmented with the addition of another cavalry unit, the 2nd

County of London Yeomanry A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

(

Westminster Dragoons The Westminster Dragoons (WDs) was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army Army Reserve, located in central London. Its lineage is continued by one of the Royal Yeomanry's six squadrons. Formed in the aftermath of Second Boer War as part of th ...

), and the following day another armoured regiment, the 1st Lothians and Border Yeomanry was added, and the brigade also became part of the 11th Armoured Division, alongside the 29th Brigade, for training, under the command of Major-General

Percy Hobart Major General Sir Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart, (14 June 1885 – 19 February 1957), also known as "Hobo", was a British military engineer noted for his command of the 79th Armoured Division during the Second World War. He was responsible for ...

, and operating the

Valentine tank The Tank, Infantry, Mk III, Valentine was an infantry tank produced in the United Kingdom during World War II. More than 8,000 of the type were produced in eleven marks, plus various specialised variants, accounting for approximately a quarter ...

. Soon after, on 22 March, the 2nd Queen's Westminsters were renamed the 12th Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps. On 20 April 1942 the brigade was briefly transferred to the 3rd Armoured Group, and on 13 May it was transferred again to the 42nd Armoured Division. The brigade lost the 12th KRRC on 15 October 1943, and two days later, on 17 October was transferred for the last time, joining the

, and finding itself once again under the overall command of Percy Hobart. The British Army in Normandy 1944 B5141

It now consisted of three Armoured units - the 22nd Dragoons, 1st Lothian and Border Yeomanry, and the Westminster Dragoons - that would remain the backbone of the brigade. After a succession of officers, command was assumed by Brigadier Nigel W. Duncan on 6 December 1943. Duncan would command the brigade during its active service from D-Day until after the end of the war in Europe. By the time of the

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...

on 6 June 1944 all three units of the 30th Armoured Brigade were operating the Sherman Crab flail tank, designed to clear paths through minefields and other obstructions. However in common with other 79th Division units they rarely found themselves operating together. On D-Day itself, 'A' Squadron of the 22nd Dragoons, and two troops of 'C' Squadron, landed on

Sword Beach Sword, commonly known as Sword Beach, was the code name given to one of the five main landing areas along the Normandy coast during the initial assault phase, Operation Neptune, of Operation Overlord. The Allied invasion of German-occupied Fr ...

with the first wave, while the 22nd's 'B' Squadron landed on Juno Beach, with the remainder of 'C' Squadron, landing there later in the day. The

'B' and 'C' Squadrons landed alongside the 50th Infantry Division on 'Jig' and 'King' sectors of Gold Beach in the first wave, with 'A' Squadron landing later in the day on 'Queen' sector of

. The 1st Lothian and Border Yeomanry did not arrive in France until 12 July, but soon found itself in action around Caen. The British Army in Normandy 1944 B6656

30th Brigade continued in action for the rest of the war, taking part in several operations, including the assault on Le Havre in September 1944, the invasion of Walcheren ("Operation Infatuate II") in November 1944, and the crossing of the Rhine in March 1945. It also had various additional units attached to it temporarily. The 141st Regiment Royal Armoured Corps was part of the brigade from July to September 1944, and the 11th Royal Tank Regiment was added from December 1944 to January 1945. 11th RTR returned with 4th Royal Tank Regiment at the end of March 1945 until the end of April. Finally, the 22nd Dragoons, the 1st Lothians and Border Yeomanry and the Westminster Dragoons were all transferred from the brigade on 31 August 1945, bringing its existence to an end.

Order of battle

Commanders

Post-war in Territorial Army

After a short time of disbandment, the brigade was reformed in Scotland as a fully Territorial Army formation, known as the 30th (Lowland) Independent Armoured Brigade. The new formation fell under control of

Scottish Command Scottish Command or Army Headquarters Scotland (from 1972) is a command of the British Army. History Early history Great Britain was divided into military districts on the outbreak of war with France in 1793. The Scottish District was comman ...

and was headquartered in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. The brigade's structure in 1947 was as follows: * Brigade Headquarters, in

Lanark Lanark (; gd, Lannraig ; sco, Lanrik) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of Hamilton. The town lies on the River Clyde, at its confluence with Mouse Water. In 2016, the town had a population of 9 ...

? * 30th (Lowland) Independent Armoured Brigade Signal Squadron, Royal Corps of Signals *

Ayrshire (Earl of Carrick's Own) Yeomanry The Ayrshire (Earl of Carrick's Own) Yeomanry was a Regiment of the British Yeomanry and is now an armoured Squadron of the Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry (SNIY), part of the British Army Reserve. It is the Lowlands of Scotland's only Roya ...

, in

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire Subdivisions of Scotland, council area and the historic Shires of Scotlan ...

Queen's Own Royal Glasgow Yeomanry The Queen's Own Royal Glasgow Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army that can trace their formation back to 1796. It saw action in the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War. It amalgamated with the Lanarkshi ...

, in Glasgow *

Lanarkshire Yeomanry The Lanarkshire Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1819, which served as a dismounted infantry regiment in the First World War and provided two field artillery regiments in the Second World War, before being am ...

, in Lanark * Lothians & Border Horse Yeomanry, in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

* 30th (Lowland) Independent Armoured Brigade Royal Army Service Corps * 30th (Lowland) Independent Armoured Brigade

Royal Army Ordnance Corps The Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) was a corps of the British Army. At its renaming as a Royal Corps in 1918 it was both a supply and repair corps. In the supply area it had responsibility for weapons, armoured vehicles and other military equip ...

* 30th (Lowland) Independent Armoured Brigade Field Dressing Station, Royal Army Medical Corps * 30th (Lowland) Independent Armoured Brigade Provost Unit,

Royal Military Police The Royal Military Police (RMP) is the corps of the British Army responsible for the policing of army service personnel, and for providing a military police presence both in the UK and while service personnel are deployed overseas on operations ...

The brigade's history following its recreation is unknown, however its signal squadron was absorbed into 52nd (Lowland) Signal Regiment in 1950.Lord & Watson, p. 164Lord & Watson, p. 198 According to an Army Order regarding the reorganisation of armoured brigades in 1951, the 30th Armoured Brigade (TA) was to be converted to a flamethrower tank role. In 1956, the signal squadron tasked with supporting the brigade was disbanded. The three lowland armoured regiments were then amalgamated: Lanarkshire Yeomanry, Queen's Own Royal Glasgow Yeomanry, and Lothians & Border Horse Yeomanry became the

Queen's Own Lowland Yeomanry The Queen's Own Lowland Yeomanry was a British Army unit formed in 1956 and disbanded in 1975. History The regiment was formed through the amalgamation of the Lanarkshire Yeomanry, The Queen's Own Royal Glasgow Yeomanry The Queen's Own Royal ...

. It is therefore possible that the brigade was disbanded in 1956.Lord & Watson, p. 164Lord & Watson, p. 198 According to Colin Mackie's 'Senior Army Appointments: 1860–present', the brigade was redesignated as the 156th (Lowland) Infantry Brigade in the also reformed

52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division The 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that was originally formed as the Lowland Division, in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force. It later became the 52nd (Lowland) Division in 1915. The 52nd (Lowland ...

in 1956.

Footnotes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:30 Armoured Brigade Armoured brigades of the British Army in World War II Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 1940 establishments in the United Kingdom 1945 disestablishments in the United Kingdom