44th Royal Tank Regiment
44th Royal Tank Regiment | |
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![]() Cap badge of the Royal Tank Regiment | |
Active | 1938 – October 1956 |
Country | ![]() |
Branch | ![]() |
Type | Armoured |
Size | Regiment |
Part of | Royal Armoured Corps |
Motto(s) | Fear Naught |
March | Quick: "My Boy Willie" (all RTR regiments) Slow: "The Royal Tank Regiment Slow March" |
Commanders | |
Colonel-in-Chief | HM The Queen |
Notable commanders | Gerald Hopkinson |
Insignia | |
Tactical Recognition Flash |
![]() | This article includes a improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (April 2016) ) |
The 44th Royal Tank Regiment (44 RTR) was an armoured regiment of the British Army, which was part of the Royal Tank Regiment, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps that saw active service in World War II.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/44_RTR_Matilda_tanks_UK_Dec_1940_IWM_H_6371.jpg/220px-44_RTR_Matilda_tanks_UK_Dec_1940_IWM_H_6371.jpg)
The 44th RTR was formed before World War II in 1938 from the
It was then withdrawn from the line for re-equipping although a small number of it troops used mine sweeping
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/The_British_Army_in_the_United_Kingdom_1939-45_H8032.jpg/220px-The_British_Army_in_the_United_Kingdom_1939-45_H8032.jpg)
After the Operation Overlord in Normandy, it took part in the break-out and reached the River Scheldt by 9 September 1944. On 17 September it came under the command of the US 101st Airborne Division as part of Operation Market Garden, before returning to the 4th Armoured Brigade. In April 1945 the regiment helped 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division in the capture of Bremen. It then moved via Hamburg to begin its occupational role to Uetersen on 9 May 1945.
The regiment was amalgamated with 50th RTR to form 44th/50th RTR and on 31 October 1956, the new regiment was further amalgamated with the North Somerset Yeomanry, to form the North Somerset Yeomanry/44th Royal Tank Regiment, which has since become the North Somerset and Bristol Yeomanry.
References
- "A brief history of the 44th Royal Tank Regiment 1939 – 1945". 26 May 2002. Archived from the original on 27 October 2009. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
Further reading
- A history of the 44th Royal Tank Regiment in the War of 1939-45, by A. G. Brown, K. C. E. Dodwell, F. E. Honniball & G. C. Hopkinson. Brighton: 44th Royal Tank Regiment Association, 1965.
External links
- Brief history ( 2009-10-22)