The 42nd Royal Tank Regiment (42 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.
The unit was formed by converting the 7th (23rd London) Battalion of The East Surrey Regiment, a Territorial Army infantry battalion, into a tank unit. For a short while it was 42 (7 (23 London) Battalion The East Surrey Regiment) Battalion of the Royal Tank Corps before becoming part of the Royal Tank Regiment in 1939
The unit formed part of 1st Army Tank Brigade.
For the invasion of Northern Europe in 1944, it was equipped with Canal Defence Light Grant tanks. These were not used in battle.
From 1947, it was in the 22nd Armoured Brigade under the 56th (London) Infantry Division
In 1956, the regiment was converted back to infantry to become the "23rd London" again.
Famous quotes containing the words royal and/or regiment:
“Oh, I know my family’s not of royal blood, but you needn’t throw it in my face all the time.”
—Robert N. Lee. Rowland V. Lee. Queen Elyzabeth (sic)
“What makes a regiment of soldiers a more noble object of view than the same mass of mob? Their arms, their dresses, their banners, and the art and artificial symmetry of their position and movements.”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)