40th (The King's) Royal Tank Regiment
Encyclopedia
The 40th Royal Tank Regiment (40 RTR) was an armoured regiment of the British Army
from 1938 until 1956. It was part of the Royal Tank Regiment
, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps
.
It was originally formed by converting the 7th Battalion of The King's (Liverpool) Regiment, a Territorial Army infantry battalion that recruited mainly in the Bootle area, to a tank unit.
Equipped with Vickers Valentine tanks, the regiment served with the 23rd Armoured Brigade in North Africa
. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel J.L. Finigan it fought at El Alamein
and acquired the nickname "Monty's Foxhounds" during the long pursuit of the Afrika Korps
and the Italian Army across Egypt and Libya and into Tunisia. It later served in the Italian Campaign
and then in Greece during the Greek Civil War
.
The Regiment was placed in suspended animation in mid 1946, and then reconstituted at Liverpool as an armoured regiment of the Territorial Army in 1947. In recognition of its services in North Africa, Vickers Engineering presented Colonel Finigan with a silver model of the Valentine which still serves as a centrepiece when former officers of the Regiment and its successor dine formally together. In 1956, the Regiment amalgamated with the 41st (Oldham) Royal Tank Regiment
to form the 40th/41st Royal Tank Regiment
.
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
from 1938 until 1956. It was part of the Royal Tank Regiment
Royal Tank Regiment
The Royal Tank Regiment is an armoured regiment of the British Army. It was formerly known as the Tank Corps and the Royal Tank Corps. It is part of the Royal Armoured Corps and is made up of two operational regiments, the 1st Royal Tank Regiment and the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment...
, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps
Royal Armoured Corps
The Royal Armoured Corps is currently a collection of ten regular regiments, mostly converted from old horse cavalry regiments, and four Yeomanry regiments of the Territorial Army...
.
It was originally formed by converting the 7th Battalion of The King's (Liverpool) Regiment, a Territorial Army infantry battalion that recruited mainly in the Bootle area, to a tank unit.
Equipped with Vickers Valentine tanks, the regiment served with the 23rd Armoured Brigade in North Africa
North African campaign
During the Second World War, the North African Campaign took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco and Algeria and Tunisia .The campaign was fought between the Allies and Axis powers, many of whom had...
. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel J.L. Finigan it fought at El Alamein
Second Battle of El Alamein
The Second Battle of El Alamein marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The battle took place over 20 days from 23 October – 11 November 1942. The First Battle of El Alamein had stalled the Axis advance. Thereafter, Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery...
and acquired the nickname "Monty's Foxhounds" during the long pursuit of the Afrika Korps
Afrika Korps
The German Africa Corps , or the Afrika Korps as it was popularly called, was the German expeditionary force in Libya and Tunisia during the North African Campaign of World War II...
and the Italian Army across Egypt and Libya and into Tunisia. It later served in the Italian Campaign
Italian Campaign (World War II)
The Italian Campaign of World War II was the name of Allied operations in and around Italy, from 1943 to the end of the war in Europe. Joint Allied Forces Headquarters AFHQ was operationally responsible for all Allied land forces in the Mediterranean theatre, and it planned and commanded the...
and then in Greece during the Greek Civil War
Greek Civil War
The Greek Civil War was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom and United States, and the Democratic Army of Greece , the military branch of the Greek Communist Party , backed by Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania...
.
The Regiment was placed in suspended animation in mid 1946, and then reconstituted at Liverpool as an armoured regiment of the Territorial Army in 1947. In recognition of its services in North Africa, Vickers Engineering presented Colonel Finigan with a silver model of the Valentine which still serves as a centrepiece when former officers of the Regiment and its successor dine formally together. In 1956, the Regiment amalgamated with the 41st (Oldham) Royal Tank Regiment
41st (Oldham) Royal Tank Regiment
The 41st Royal Tank Regiment was an armoured regiment of the British Army from 1938 until 1956. It was part of the Royal Tank Regiment, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps....
to form the 40th/41st Royal Tank Regiment
40th/41st Royal Tank Regiment
The 40th/41st Royal Tank Regiment was an armoured regiment of the British Army from 1956 until 1967.It was formed in 1956, as part of the reorganisation of the Territorial Army, from the 40th Royal Tank Regiment and the 41st Royal Tank Regiment...
.