The History of the British 7th Armoured Division, plus the 4th and 7th Armoured Brigades

"The Desert Rats, The Black Rats and Green Jerboa"

 

 

 

This website is dedicated to all those who served in these units and proudly wore the Desert Rat shoulder flashes and to those who then wore the Black Rat and Green Jerboa shoulder flashes, after leaving the 7th Armoured Division. The aim of this site is to provide a point of reference for those who might be interested in the history of the Desert Rats and the two Brigades after they left it and the various regiments that served in the many actions they all fought.

As far as I know the information is as accurate as possible, but I welcome any corrections or amendments, along with any information that may be useful to the site. This site does not seek to glorify war, but rather to record the history and events of what are some of the most famous organisations that served in the British Army.

The site is divided into the following areas, which may contain other several pages.
 
 
Please click here to bookmark this page for future reference
 

Click on the appropriate Brigade or Divisional Sign, below, to go to the website of your choice

TAC Sign of 4th Amoured Brigade, the Black Rats, from 1943 to 1945. Click here to go to the 4th Armoured Brigade website.

TAC Sign of 7th Amoured Division, 1940 to 1944. Click here to go to the 7th Armoured Division website.

 TAC Sign of 7th Amoured Brigade, the Green Jerboa, from 1942 to 1945. Click here to go to the 7th Armoured Brigade website.

4th Armoured Brigade

 7th Armoured Division

7th Armoured Brigade

 

     

Friends of the Desert Rats

Desert Rats Association

 

There is a permanent memorial to the 7th Armoured Division (shown below) at Mundford, in Thetford Forest, Norfolk, by Field Marshall Lord Carver.

The Desert Rat Memorial, in Thetford Forest, near Mundford, Norfolk. Please click here to go to the Desert Rat Association site.

Also on this memorial is this plaque (shown below) to the 4th and 7th Armoured Brigades, who are the successors to the 7th Armoured Division.

Plaque to the Memory of those who served in 4th and 7th Armoured Brigades after the end of the Second World War.

 

If you wish to visit the official Desert Rats Association Web Site

This site is a member of and affiliated to the Desert Rat Association.

Finally these words appear on the Division Memorial;

 

"May your glory ever shine, May your laurels never fade, May the memory of this glorious pilgrimage of war you have made from Alamein, via the Baltic to Berlin never die. It is a march unsurpassed through all the story of war.

May the fathers long tell the children about this tale ."

Winston Churchill


Click here for the location of 7th Armoured Division (The Desert Rats) Memorial.
 
Please click here to contact me