History
The brigade was raised from garrison troops stationed in North Africa in 1938. It was initially known as the Light Armoured Brigade which was part of the Mobile Division in Egypt.
When the Mobile Division became 7th Armoured Division, the Light Armoured Brigade became the 7th Armoured Brigade in February 1940. The 7th Armoured Division had a red jerboa (a nocturnal rodent indigenous to North Africa) as its emblem and became known as 'The Desert Rats'. The 7th Brigade, meanwhile, had a green jerboa as its emblem. The 7th Brigade became known as the 'Green Rats' or the 'Jungle Rats' after it moved to Burma in 1942.
Read more about this topic: 7th Armoured Brigade (United Kingdom)
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“All things are moral. That soul, which within us is a sentiment, outside of us is a law. We feel its inspiration; out there in history we can see its fatal strength.”
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