4th Royal Tank Regiment
4th Royal Tank Regiment | |
---|---|
Cap badge of the Royal Tank Regiment | |
Active | 28 July 1917- 1993 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | British Army |
Type | Armoured |
Size | Battalion |
Part of | Royal Armoured Corps Royal Tank Regiment |
Garrison/HQ | Tidworth |
Motto(s) | Fear Naught |
March | Quick: My Boy Willie Slow: The Royal Tank Regiment Slow March |
Anniversaries | Cambrai, 20 November |
Battle honours | see Battle Honours |
Commanders | |
Colonel-in-Chief | HM The Queen |
Colonel-Commandant | Lt-General Andrew Peter Ridgway, CB, CBE |
Notable commanders | Hugh Elles |
Insignia | |
Tartan | Hunting Rose (pipes and drums) [1] |
The 4th Royal Tank Regiment (4 RTR) was an armoured regiment of the British Army from its creation in 1917, during World War I, until 1993. It was part of the Royal Tank Regiment, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps.
History
The regiment originally saw action as D Battalion, Tank Corps in 1917. In 1940, it was briefly amalgamated with the 7th Royal Tank Regiment, as the 4th/7th Royal Tank Regiment, returning to its previous title four months later.[2][3]
4 RTR was captured at Tobruk on 21 June 1942. On 1 March 1945, 144th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps was re-designated 4th Royal Tank Regiment to replace the original.[2][3] The newly retitled regiment equipped with Buffalo LVTs took part in Operation Plunder, ferrying troops of 51st Highland Division across the Rhine on the night of 23/24 March 1945. The Commanding Officer (Lt-Col Alan Jolly) carried the same standard that was originally carried across by 17th Armoured Car Battalion of the Royal Tank Corps in the First World War. Once again the RTR was first across the Rhine.[4]
In 1948 it assisted in the ending of the British Mandate over Palestine.[2] In 1959, it was again amalgamated with 7th Royal Tank Regiment, this time without a change of title, and in 1993 due to Options for Change, amalgamated with the 1st Royal Tank Regiment.[2]
Commanding officers
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (February 2021) |
The Commanding Officers have been:[5]
- 1941: Lt.-Col. W.C.L. O’Carroll
- 1960–1962: Lt.-Col. Thomas S. Craig
- 1962–1964: Lt.-Col. H. Brian C. Watkins
- 1964–1967: Lt.-Col. John A. Cowgill
- 1967–1969: Lt.-Col. Roger B.C. Plowden
- 1969–1971: Lt.-Col. Martin H. Sinnatt
- 1971–1973: Lt.-Col. Laurence A.W. New
- 1973–1976: Lt.-Col. David Sands
- 1976–1978: Lt.-Col. Nicholas H. Cocking
- 1978–1981: Lt.-Col. Michael J. Rose
- 1981–1983: Lt.-Col. Philip J. Sanders
- 1983–1985: Lt.-Col. Hedley D.C. Duncan
- 1985–1988: Lt.-Col. W. Douglas Cantley
- 1988–1990: Lt.-Col. Charles J. McBean
- 1990–1993: Lt.-Col. Martin N.E. Speller
Awards
- Philip John Gardner – Victoria Cross Tobruk 1941
References
- ^ Military Tartans: Rose
- ^ a b c d "4th Royal Tank Regiment". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 19 May 2006. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
- ^ a b "Royal Tank Regiment". British Armed Forces. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
- ^ "The History of the 4th and 7th Royal Tank Regiment". Retrieved 4 March 2018.
- ^ "Regiments and Commanding Officers, 1960 - Colin Mackie" (PDF). p. 32. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
- v
- t
- e
- British capture of Tobruk (January 1941)
- Siege of Tobruk (April-November 1941)
- Twin Pimples raid ((July 1941)
- Axis capture of Tobruk (June 1942)
- Western Desert campaign
- Operation Compass (December 1940-February 1941)
- Operation Brevity (May 1941)
- Operation Battleaxe (June 1941)
- Operation Crusader (November-December 1941)
Original units:
- 9th Division (Australia) (main unit)
- 7th Division (Australia)
- 3rd Indian Motor Brigade
Replacement units:
- Czechoslovak 11th Infantry Battalion
- Polish Independent Carpathian Rifle Brigade
- 70th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)
- 16th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)
- 4th Royal Tank Regiment
Artillery: (some original units, some replacements)
- 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery
- 4th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom)
- 51st (London) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery
- 89th (Cinque Ports) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery
- 13th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery
Outside units:
- Eighth Army (United Kingdom)
- Tobruk Ferry Service
- 132nd Armored Division "Ariete" (Italy)
- 55th Infantry Division "Savona" (Italy)
- 61st Infantry Division "Sirte" (Italy)
- 101st Motorized Division "Trieste" (Italy)
- Afrika Korps (Germany)
- 15th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)
- 21st Panzer Division (Wehrmacht) Originally 5th Light Division
- 90th Light Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
External links
- "4th Royal Tank Regiment". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007.
- The History of the 4th and 7th Royal Tank Regiment. revised 2011
- The website of 4th RTR on the internet
- The History of the 4th and 7th Royal Tank Regiment
- Merseyside RTR (Brian Gills website)