9th Royal Tank Regiment - History

History

The "original" 9th RTR was formed in December 1916 as the 9th Battalion, Heavy Branch Machine Gun Corps and was designated I Battalion. The Battalion served at the Battle of Cambrai where, along with III Corps of the Third British Army achieved complete surprise and pushed the German forces out of the town.

Through the remainder of the War, the 9th were used to great effect, using the tactics they learnt at Cambrai. The Battalion were awarded the Croix de Guerre avec Palmes as a regimental decoration, an honour that is shared with only three other units in the British Army, all of which are infantry.

The 9th were also awarded the honour of wearing the badge of General Bourgon's French 3rd Division. A replica of the badge was worn on the sleeve of everyone serving in the 9th Battalion, and later by everyone in the 9th RTR. The 9th took their unofficial motto from this badge: "Qui s'y frotte, s'y brule" which translates to "Touch me, and you burn".

Although the exact details are not known, the 9th were disbanded after the war ended.

The road to the 9th's reformation started in May 1940 when the majority of the 3rd Battalion RTR was destroyed near Calais, with only eight men returning. A number of the reinforcements intended for the 3rd Battalion RTR were split off to become "a detachment of the 3rd Battalion", a Home Details Unit. Soon after this, in November 1940, the 9th Battalion RTR was created.