7th Armoured Division (United Kingdom) consisted of the 1/5th, 1/6th and 1/7th Territorial battalions of the Queen's Royal Regiment) relieved its 'sister' duplicate, the 169th (Queen's) Infantry Brigade, (consisting of 2/5th, 2/6th and 2/7th Queen's, all formed in 1939), which was part of the 56th (London) Infantry Division, and had been in continuous combat since 9 September. The assembley of six battalions of a single regiment has since been considered a unique moment in the regiment's history. The 169th Brigade was commanded at the time by Brigadier Lewis Lyne, who would later command the 7th Armoured Division from November 1944 onwards. Then, as part of
2/7th Armoured Regiment (Australia) with M3 Grant tanks and following this, in August, the 2/7th Regiment moved to Edgeroi, New South Wales, where they participated in large-scale armoured exercises. In October and November 'A' Squadron was re-equipped with M3 Stuart light tanks. During January to March 1943 the 2/7th Armoured Regiment moved to Mingenew, Western Australia, with the rest of the 1st Armoured Division to undertake garrison duties. The changing strategic outlook that following the Allied victories around Buna and on Guadalcanal, coupled with the manpower shortages in the Australian Army and the wider economy at this time led to the disbandment of 1st