What regiments make Desert Rats?

The 7th Armoured Brigade was an armoured brigade formation of the British Army. The brigade is also known as the “Desert Rats”, a nickname formerly held by the 7th Armoured Division, of which the brigade formed a part of during the Second World War until late 1941.

Is the 8th Army the desert rat?

Commonwealth troops became famous as a result of their role in North Africa. The 9th Australian Division’s defence of Tobruk, a port city in Libya, under the command of Major-General Morshead, gave them the ironic nickname the ‘Rats of Tobruk’.

What happened to the Desert Rats?

The Desert Rats, led by Gen. Tobruk, a key deepwater port city, had been captured on January 22, 1941, by the Desert Rats and the 6th Australian Division as part of a major Allied offensive that saw Italian forces under Rodolfo Graziani effectively wiped out.

Who was known as the Desert Rat?

John McOwan
John McOwan, of Peebles, was an instrument mechanic in the 7th Armoured Division, famously known as the Desert Rats, from 1939 to 1946. John, now aged 99, joined the Territorial Army in January 1939 aged 17. When the war broke out that September, John was one of the first to be called up.

Was there really a rat patrol in World War II?

The Rat Patrol was based on the exploits of the real-life British Long Range Desert Group and focused on three Americans and a Briton fighting the Afrika Korps in North Africa during World War II. The Englishman was Sgt. Jack Moffitt (Gary Raymond), a demolitions expert, and the crew was commanded by Sgt.

Why are they called Desert Rats?

Nickname. The first divisional commander, Major-General Percy Hobart, found inspiration in the pet jerboa, or “desert rat” of Rea Leakey, then GSO 3 Intelligence. Hobart took to the animal and decided to adopt “The Desert Rats” as a nickname for the division.

Is Rat Patrol real?

Did the Desert Rats fight in Italy?

The division was not an assault force in the invasion of Sicily, instead remaining in Homs, Syria for training in amphibious warfare, but did participate in the early stages of the Italian Campaign. The Desert Rats, used to fighting in the desert, had to adjust to the confined Italian roads.

What does a desert rat mean?

1 : any of several pale-coated active rodents found in deserts (such as the American kangaroo rat or certain southern African rodents) 2 West : one who has lived much on the desert especially as a prospector.

What does rat mean in rat patrol?

The title of the program refers to the nicknames given to some of the British Commonwealth forces in the North African campaign (Rats of Tobruk, the primarily Australian defenders of the city of Tobruk or the British Desert Rats).