The 1st Armoured Brigade, raised as the 1st Light Armoured, later the 1st Armoured Brigade Group, 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 ...

History

At the start of the war, the brigade was based in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, initially as part of the 1st Armoured Division and then as part of the newly formed 2nd Armoured Division. In November 1940, it was shipped to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, arriving on 1 January 1941. In March 1941, the brigade was dispatched to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

as part of General Maitland Wilson's unsuccessful attempt at stopping the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

invasion. On 29 April 1941, the brigade was evacuated to Egypt. The 1st Armoured Brigade served in the Western Desert Campaign with the 7th Armoured Division at the

Battle of El Alamein There were two battles of El Alamein in World War II, both fought in 1942. The Battles occurred in North Africa, in Egypt, in and around an area named after a railway stop called El Alamein. * First Battle of El Alamein: 1–27 July 1942 * Secon ...

. The brigade was disbanded on 21 November 1942.

Order of Battle

The Order of battle of the brigade during the war was:Joslen, pp.144–5. (day/month/year), units in

order of precedence An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance and can be applied to individuals, groups, or organizations. Most often it is used in the context of people by many organizations and governments, for very formal and state o ...

. Armoured Brigade Establishment * Brigade Headquarters & Signal Section,

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communi ...

* Armoured ** 1st (The King's) Dragoon Guards 3/9/39–5/6/42 **

3rd (The King's Own) Hussars The 3rd (The King's Own) Hussars was a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1685. It saw service for three centuries, including the World War I, First and the World War II, Second World Wa ...

3/9/39–24/1/41 ** 4th (The Queen's Own) Hussars 3/9/39–5/6/42 ** 8th (The King's Royal Irish) Hussars 10/5/41–8/8/41 ** 1st Royal Tank Regiment 21/1/42–1/6/42 ** 3rd Royal Tank Regiment 11/8/40–28/10/40 and again 13/2/41–8/8/41 **

6th Royal Tank Regiment The 6th Royal Tank Regiment (6 RTR) was a regiment of the Royal Tank Regiment, of the British Army, until 1959. It originally saw action as 6th Battalion Tank Corps in 1917. First World War When tanks were first used in action in 1916, they wer ...

5/5/42–5/6/42 * Infantry ** 1st Battalion, The Rangers 25/2/41–21/3/41 ** 9th (The Rangers) Battalion, The King's Royal Rifle Corps 22/3/41–11/2/42 (same unit as above, but re-titled)Frederick, ''Volume I'', p. 243. Greece Deployment Group (The following units were attached when the brigade was engaged in

between 26/02/41–1/05/41) * 2nd Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery (Field artillery) * 102nd (Northumberland Hussars) Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery * 55th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment,

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

* 3 Field Squadron,

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

* 142 Field Park Squadron,

* 1st Armoured Brigade Company,

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and dom ...

* 1st Support Group Company,

* 4th Light Field Ambulance,

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

Armoured Brigade Group (March–June 1942) * 11th Battalion, The Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment (Sherwood Foresters) * 104th (Essex Yeomanry) Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery (Field artillery) * 7 Field Troop,

to 4/5/42 * 20 Field Troop,

from 4/5/42 * 67 Company,

* 307 Company,

* 12th Light Field Ambulance,

Commanding Officers

Commanding officers of the brigade included: *

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

Charles Willoughby Moke Norrie, Baron Norrie of Wellington, New Zealand & Hawkesbury Upton 3/9/39–17/4/40 * (Acting)

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

C. F. Ledward 17/4/40–12/4/40 *

Harold 'Rollie' Vincent Spencer Charrington 11/4/40–2/6/41 * (Acting)

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

Reginald Keller Brigadier Reginald Charles Keller (5 August 1894 – 30 October 1986) was an English first-class cricketer and British Army officer. Early life and First World War The son of Charles Keller, he was born at Fareham, Hampshire. Keller was educat ...

2/6/41–16/6/41 * Brigadier Harold 'Rollie' Vincent Spencer Charrington 16/6/41–20/6/41 * (Acting) Lieutenant-Colonel Reginald Charles Keller 20/6/41–26/7/41 * (Acting) Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Dinham Drew 26/7/41–30/7/41 * Brigadier Edward Cecille Neville Custance 30/7/41–20/9/41 * (Acting) Lieutenant-Colonel W. I. Leethan 20/9/41–26/10/41 * Brigadier Douglas Arnold Stirling 26/10/41–23/11/41 * (Acting) Lieutenant-Colonel R. B. Sheppard 23/11/41–27/3/42 * Brigadier Arthur Francis Fisher 27/3/42–26/6/42 * Brigadier George Herbert Norris Todd 26/6/42–21/11/42

Notes

References

* * J.B.M. Frederick, ''Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660-1978'', Volume I,

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

, UK: Microform Academic Publishers, 1984, .

External links