30th Armoured Brigade (United Kingdom)

A Valentine tank of the 30th Armoured Brigade which broke down in a stream during exercises near Kirkby Lonsdale in Lancashire, 1 April 1942.

The 30th Armoured Brigade was created on 27 December 1940[1][2] as part of Northern Command.[2] It was initially formed from the 2nd Battalion, The Queen's Westminsters, a motorized infantry unit, which was joined by a cavalry unit, the 23rd Hussars, three days later, on 30 December.[3] Just over a week later, on 8 January 1941, the 23rd Hussars were replaced by the 22nd Dragoons,[3] and on 28 January the brigade was transferred to Western Command.[2]

On 8 March the brigade was augmented with the addition of another cavalry unit, the 2nd County of London Yeomanry (Westminster Dragoons),[3] and the following day another armoured regiment, the 1st Lothians and Border Yeomanry was added,[3] and the brigade also became part of the 11th Armoured Division, alongside the 29th Brigade,[2] for training, under the command of Major-General Percy Hobart, and operating the Valentine tank. Soon after, on 22 March, the 2nd Queen's Westminsters were renamed the 12th Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps.[3]

On 20 April 1942 the brigade was briefly transferred to the 3rd Armoured Group, and on 13 May it was transferred again to the 42nd Armoured Division.[2] The brigade lost the 12th KRRC on 15 October 1943,[3] and two days later, on 17 October was transferred for the last time, joining the 79th Armoured Division,[2] and finding itself once again under the overall command of Percy Hobart.

A disabled Sherman Crab flail tank of the Westminster Dragoons on Sword Beach, 7 June 1944.

It now consisted of three Armoured units - the 22nd Dragoons, 1st Lothian and Border Yeomanry, and the Westminster Dragoons - that would remain the backbone of the brigade. After a succession of officers, command was assumed by Brigadier Nigel W. Duncan on 6 December 1943.[4] Duncan would command the brigade during its active service from D-Day until after the end of the war in Europe.

By the time of the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944 all three units of the 30th Armoured Brigade were operating the Sherman Crab flail tank, designed to clear paths through minefields and other obstructions.[5] However in common with other 79th Division units they rarely found themselves operating together. On D-Day itself, 'A' Squadron of the 22nd Dragoons, and two troops of 'C' Squadron, landed on Sword Beach with the first wave, while the 22nd's 'B' Squadron landed on Juno Beach, with the remainder of 'C' Squadron, landing there later in the day. The Westminster Dragoons 'B' and 'C' Squadrons landed alongside the 50th Infantry Division on 'Jig' and 'King' sectors of Gold Beach in the first wave,[6] with 'A' Squadron landing later in the day on 'Queen' sector of Sword Beach.[7] The 1st Lothian and Border Yeomanry did not arrive in France until 12 July, but soon found itself in action around Caen.[8]

Brigadier N. W. Duncan, commander of the 30th Armoured Brigade, observes the attack on Caen from beside his Humber Scout Car outside Beuville, 8 July 1944.

30th Brigade continued in action for the rest of the war, taking part in several operations, including the assault on Le Havre in September 1944,[9] the invasion of Walcheren ("Operation Infatuate II") in November 1944,[8] and the crossing of the Rhine in March 1945.[9]

It also had various additional units attached to it temporarily. The 141st Regiment Royal Armoured Corps was part of the brigade from July to September 1944,[3] and the 11th Royal Tank Regiment was added from December 1944 to January 1945.[3] 11th RTR returned with 4th Royal Tank Regiment at the end of March 1945 until the end of April.[3]

Finally, the 22nd Dragoons, the 1st Lothians and Border Yeomanry and the Westminster Dragoons were all transferred from the brigade on 31 August 1945, bringing its existence to an end.[3]