Units That Served With The 7th Armoured Division

During its history the 7th Armoured Division many different units served with the Division and its Brigades. I have tried to include as many as possible with as much information as possible, but I apologise is I have omitted any.

If you wish to go direct to the pages for each regiment please click on the links below;

The British Regimental System

The modern British Army was born in 1660 after the Stuart restoration to the throne and in the subsequent three and a half centuries the British army evolved from a very small insular establishment to a imperial force, covering most areas of the world, before returning the force we see nowadays.

A battalion is typically an infantry unit consisting of several companies, being under the command of a Lieutenant Colonel. Most regiments in the British Army were originally single-battalion units, with the battalion being the tactical unit and the regiment was its spiritual counterpart. Aristocratic generals owned and controlled and outfitted their regiments. Occasionally a regiment would have multiple battalions, and in the 18th and early 19th century, such multi-battalion regiments were usually called corps.

At a tactical level a Regiment was traditionally been a mobile unit such as Cavalry or Artillery, still under the command of a Lieutenant Colonel. Originally, artillery was only organised and fought at battery level being attached to brigades and divisions as necessary, but early in the 1900's Brigades Of Artillery were formed consisting of 2 to 4 batteries. Later, in the 1930's these Brigades became the Regiments we now know.

The Infantry, which has strongly resisted the creation of the "corps of infantry", is special. It is within the Infantry that the uniquely British regimental system has evolved. Administrative reforms in the latter part of the 19th century inadvertently bolstered unit cohesion and 'esprit de corps'. Regular regiments were numbered in order of seniority in 1751, and in 1782 most were accorded a territorial (county) title as well. For almost a century these titles helped foster esprit de corps, but they largely remained a fiction as far as the regiment's territorial identity was concerned. In 1872 Britain was divided into brigade districts, which followed county boundaries, with regular and volunteer units grouped around a regimental depot for administration and basic training. Two regular battalions would theoretically take turns as the home (recruiting and training) and overseas service units. Two Militia battalions would serve as trained reserve in case of local emergency. In 1881 these districts were formally merged into new regimental identities, and the volunteer movement of 1859 was soon linked into the system. The county regiment had thus been solidified, with anywhere between four and a dozen battalions sharing in the regimental family's traditions. An essential ingredient in this mix was two centuries of accumulated glory that translated into tribal distinctions. Regimental cap badges typically embody a symbolic representation of a significant event in the regiment's history.

Key elements of the regimental system are the Colonel and the Colonel-in-Chief. With roots going back to the 18th century when colonels owned and equipped their regiments, the Colonel of today is the head of the family and responsible for the protection of the best interests of the regiment. He is almost always an officer of general rank who at one time served in the regiment. A more ceremonial and visible but equally important position is the Colonel-in-Chief, who is always a member of the royal family. This position helps fuse the regiment into the national fabric. Regiments often take their name from a one-time association with the royal family. Every "King's", "Queen's" and "Prince of Wales's" regiment derives its title from a specific royal who held that title. Once honoured with such a title, the regiment keeps it for life. For example, The Green Howards (Princess of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire) derived its subtitle from its association with Alexandra, consort of Edward VII, while that couple were still the Prince and Princess of Wales -- and the regiment still uses Alexandra's cypher as its badge. Due principally to the intermarriage of Queen Victoria's children with foreign royalty, many European monarchs were at one time colonels of British regiments -- including the emperors of Russia and Germany. Still holding such positions are the monarchs of Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands. These colonelcies exist throughout the Commonwealth nations that still recognise the Queen as Head of State.

Although the system, which created these unique regiments, has been eroded since 1948, the strong identities, which it created, have persevered. The Regular Army was reduced to single-battalion regiments, and the latter have been subjected to repeated mergers. The Militia was abolished. The Territorial Army has repeatedly seen its battalions severed from their Regular counterparts, particularly in 1967 and again in 1999. Regimental families have been replaced by brigade and division administration schemes. These administrative brigades and divisions (e.g. Lancastrian Brigade, and Queen's Division) should not be confused with tactical brigades and divisions, which are formations.

Order of Precedence

Over the centuries the British Army structure has generated an Order of Precedence with the individual regiments and units that make it up.

Orders of Precedence were first set down for the British Army in the Royal Warrant of 12th September 1666.

"For the preventing of all Questions and Disputes that might arise for and concerning the Ranks of several Regiments, Troops and Companies which now are or at any time hereafter shall be employed in our Service. We have though good to issue out these following Rules and Directions.

First as to the Foot, that the Regiment of the Guards (Grenadier) take place of all other Regiments.....the General's Regiment (Coldstream) to take place next, the Admiral's immediately after, and all other Regiments and Colonels to take place according to the Date of their Commissions.

A further Warrant was issued on 6th February 1684 and this included those regiments that had been in the garrison at Tangier, including The Royal Scots. The latter were placed, by virtue of the date that they were raised, at the head of the list of Regiments of Foot and immediately behind the Guards.

This order of seniority was changed by King William's Royal Warrant of 10th June 1694 which ordered that a regiment's seniority dated not from the date of its raising but from the date that it entered the English Establishment. There was considerable confusion and dissatisfaction and eventually in 1718 a Board convened to examine competing claims and lay down a new order of precedence of the regiments. The resulting list owed more to the power and influence of individual colonels than it did to either logic or historical accuracy.

The Order of Precedence gave the commanders the choice of 'Right of Line', which effectively meant that at one time they could chose where to position their unit on the battlefield, normally on the right flank. In this position they would normally be expected to turn the enemy left flank and win the day.

By 1861 the order of precedence was firmly laid down and included those regiments transferred from the East India Company after the Mutiny. The list was headed by The Life Guards (numbered 1st and 2nd), Royal Horse Guards, the Royal Horse Artillery followed by, Dragoon Guards (numbered 1st to 7th), Dragoons, Hussars and Lancers (numbered 1st to 21st), Royal Regiment of Artillery, Corps of Royal Engineers, Foot Guards, Infantry of the Line (numbered 1st to 109th) and the Rifle Brigade.

British Army Structure

Over the last two hundred years, the basic relative tactical hierarchy has remained fairly static. The table below shows the basic British Army structure, but please note that in all cases there would have been various support units at the higher levels in addition to the fighting formations shown:

Notes;

[1] Some Royal Engineer units were also know as Squadrons but otherwise followed the infantry organisation.